Architecture press is buzzing with recent Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on unemployment and self-employment figures for those in the architecture field. The media have taken this data and made a plentitude of fearful predictions about the dark future of the architecture profession: there are more too many graduates, seemingly few positions, higher educational requirements and less prestige for the profession as a whole. They paint a somewhat dismal picture, both for those entering the field and those in mid-career, who are looking to start a firm.
The BLA Statistics and a recent study from Georgetown University’s Center on Education offer the following as signs of difficulty and doom:
- Licensing requirements (for architects) include not only a professional degree in architecture (4-6 years of schooling), but also at least 3 years of practical work, training, and passing all divisions of the Architect Registration Examination
- Architecture graduates face stiff competition, especially for jobs in the most prestigious firms
- Undergraduate architecture students are facing 13.9 percent unemployment rates
- About 21 percent of architects are self-employed—almost 3 times the proportion for all occupations
