Are you an aspiring Architectural Designer? Or are you on the fence about this career path and want to learn more? Before applying for Architectural Designer jobs, research the role and the responsibilities the role entails. You can read books and articles about Architectural Designers and speak to them 1-on-1 to understand the career. Architectural Designers grow as they gain more experience, from interns to senior designers. This article will help you understand how to get started as an Architectural Designer and the career growth you can expect to experience once you’ve started down this path. 

Getting Started

Are you ready to begin working as an Architectural Designer? Once you’ve decided to commit to this career path, you’ll have a few steps to take.

  • Read about Architectural Designers: The best way to start familiarizing yourself with the Architectural Designer career path is to read about the role. You can find articles discussing the work that an Architectural Designer does along with the skills needed to become one. 
  • Interview Architectural Designers: Another way to learn about what Architectural Designers do as part of their job is to interview someone working in the field. Meeting with and interviewing an Architectural Designer can help you get a more accurate understanding of what tasks you would perform each day as an Architectural Designer. They can also provide you with tips for starting in the world of architectural design. 
  • Enroll in free classes: Sign up for free on-demand classes offered by an online learning platform like Udemy or Coursera. These short-form classes can teach you the basics of architectural design without having to make a large financial or time commitment. 
  • Attend info sessions: Colleges and libraries often host informational sessions for a variety of career paths. Look for upcoming informational sessions about architectural design held at your local library or college. These events will give you the chance to hear from professionals, ask questions, and receive suggestions for further resources. 

Do I Need a Degree to Become an Architectural Designer?

You can become an Architectural Designer without a degree. Although some Architectural Designers pursue degree programs before entering the field, others pursue accredited architectural design classes and non-degree programs. In these classes, you’ll learn about conceptual design and fundamental design principles. You can also enroll in blueprint reading courses and pursue certifications. 

The types of classes and resources you can rely on to learn architectural design include:

  • Free resources: Enrolling in a free short-form training class, like the classes offered by online learning platforms Udemy and Coursera, can help you learn the basics of architectural design before pursuing formal training methods. You can also save money by watching training videos uploaded to YouTube. These videos can help you learn how to use software Architectural Designers use, such as AutoCAD. 
  • On-demand classes: Students who can’t commit the time or funds to a degree program can enroll in on-demand classes. These asynchronous courses let students learn the fundamentals of architectural design at a pace that works for them. If you have a busy schedule and need to fit in lessons after work or school, consider signing up for an on-demand class. 
  • Live online classes and bootcamps: For a more traditional learning experience, enroll in a live online class or bootcamp. Expert instructors guide live online students through lessons. Learning from a live instructor gives you the chance to ask questions, receive feedback, and view demonstrations. You can find classes that run from anywhere between one day to several months. 

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Internships

Architectural design training plays an important role in preparing students to become Architectural Designers. In addition to learning in the classroom, you’ll need to gain hands-on experience in the field to prepare you for the job market. A paid or unpaid internship will give you the experience you need to attract employers during your job search. The experience you gain during an internship will help you add to your portfolio and reach the skill and experience level that many employers expect of candidates. 

Entry-Level Architectural Designer Jobs

Entry-level Architectural Designers, like interns, spend their time focusing on gaining practical experience. Their day-to-day work includes designing and drafting so that they can learn to understand how architectural projects work from start to finish. They also support architects at their firm and other team members during the different phases of the design process. An entry-level position at a firm committed to furthering the professional development of its employees will also emphasize time spent on skill development and software training. 

Mid-Level Architectural Designer Jobs

Mid-level Architectural Designers have more responsibility than entry-level designers thanks to their experience level and time spent working on projects. At this point in their careers, mid-level designers can now handle leading the design process for small projects or components of projects. They’ll continue supporting other team members while taking on the responsibility of coordinating with clients and other professionals working on projects. Mid-level Architectural Designers typically find themselves contributing to their firm’s best practices and mentoring entry-level Architectural Designers and interns. 

Senior Architectural Designer Jobs

After gaining significant experience, you will qualify for senior Architectural Designer roles. Senior Architectural Designers can contribute to their firm by directing the conceptualization and implementation of major projects. They also work closely with clients and lead project teams. Firms may also expect their senior Architectural Designers to contribute to business development and proposal writing, to influence the firm’s design culture, and to foster leadership skills among the team. 

Another Path: Freelancing

Another path open to you is freelancing. Instead of working for an architecture firm, you can offer your services to clients as a freelance Architectural Designer. Most freelancers work on small projects, including residential projects. As a freelancer, you can work from home or establish an office. Working as a freelancer means taking on the responsibility of running your own business. You’ll need to market your services, communicate with clients, and handle the legal aspects of projects. Freelancers enjoy the flexibility of their jobs, like flexible scheduling and the ability to take on more passion projects. One major challenge to freelancing is the availability of work. To make sure that you get enough work to financially support yourself, you’ll need to market your services well. 

How Do I Find an Architectural Designer Job?

Are you ready to apply for Architectural Designer jobs? You have a variety of options when looking for open positions. 

Freelance Architectural Designers can look for jobs using popular freelance platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork. These websites allow freelancers to market their skills and portfolios to individuals looking to hire freelancers. Another way that freelance Architectural Designers find design jobs is by word of mouth. After establishing yourself as a competent Architectural Designer and building connections in the field, you can rely on word of mouth to do marketing for you. 

If you want to pursue a career as an Architectural Designer who works for an architectural firm, you’ll want to look at online job boards. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has an online career center where architectural professionals can look at job postings. Once you make an account, you can upload your resume and browse hundreds of job openings. AIA also offers a free resume evaluation. During the resume evaluation, an expert with AIA will let you know how you can make your resume more competitive. 

Archinect is another site by professionals in the industry. On Archinect’s job board, you can look for junior, intermediate, and senior-level positions. Archinect’s filtering system also allows you to look at jobs based on job type, like part-time or full-time, and will inform you if they company is under diverse ownership.

Other popular job boards for finding Architectural Designer jobs include LinkedIn and Indeed. LinkedIn is a professional social media platform that offers users access to its job board. Tens of millions of people use LinkedIn to look for jobs each week and to network with people in their field. Indeed one of the most commonly used job boards by people seeking employment in the US. With Indeed, you can upload your resume to make the job application process faster and filter out opportunities based on experience level and required skills.

Learn the Skills to Become an Architectural Designer at Noble Desktop

Interested in developing the skills needed to become an Architectural Designer? Check out these live online classes you can enroll in today. 

Noble Desktop’s AutoCAD Bootcamp will teach you the fundamentals of technical drawing. The 30-hour live online bootcamp covers the creation of 2D drawings using AutoCAD. Lessons range from beginner to intermediate-level skills. You can expect to learn basic drawing and modifying techniques for drafting and technical drawing in the bootcamp’s beginner-level lessons. As part of the bootcamp, you’ll receive access to a 1-on-1 training session with an expert who will answer questions you have about challenging course concepts and provide assistance with your project. After completing the course, you have one year to take advantage of a free retake. Before enrolling in this bootcamp, please be aware that Noble designed the course for PC users. Noble hosts in-person PC-only versions of the bootcamp, but Mac users may attend the live online bootcamp. If using a Mac, be aware that the Mac AutoCAD graphic interface is different from the PC version that the instructor will use.

For a more intensive AutoCAD training experience, enroll in Noble Desktop’s AutoCAD Certification Program. This live online program will prepare you to become an Autodesk Certified Professional. An expert instructor will guide you and your classmates through beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level AutoCAD. In addition to 48 hours of hands-on lessons, you’ll have access to six hours of private tutoring. During your tutoring sessions, you can ask questions about topics of interest and challenging course content. The program fee includes the cost of the certification exam and a retake. If you want to enroll in the program but don’t want to take the exam, let Noble Desktop know and they will instead provide you with an extra hour of tutoring. 

Sign up for Noble’s AutoCAD Masterclass to learn the foundations of AutoCAD along with advanced-level skills. You’ll learn through hands-on lessons that cover the basics of AutoCAD, like opening and creating drawings, exploring the interface, and using fundamental drawing and editing commands. Later lessons covered in the course teach effective working methods and accurate positioning. The course intends to help students gain real-world experience through project-based lessons where you’ll learn to use productivity tools commonly utilized by Architectural Designers. Along with 48 hours of training, Noble includes one 1-on-1 training session where you can ask an expert about challenging course topics. 

VDCI offers accredited classes to help you develop the skills needed to work as an Architectural Designer. In their Introduction to Revit course, you’ll learn about foundational Revit concepts and how they relate to BIM. This hands-on class will help you gain real-world experience as you work on a class project that includes floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, curtain walls, and roof design.

VDCI’s Revit Architecture Professional Program will introduce you to beginner and intermediate-level Revit. During these lessons, you’ll design 3D building models and learn how to explore BIM project management techniques. Three courses within the program cover construction documents. In BIM Construction I, II, and III, you’ll learn how to produce renderings for presentation and documentation. Lessons also cover building topography for projects and cataloging building information using schedules. 

Enroll in VDCI’s BIM Certificate Program to learn how to use Revit to create 3D models of commercial building projects. The 100% online class includes 290 clock hours of comprehensive lessons covering Revit, construction documents, and BIM detailing. You will also have your choice of 60-80 clock hours of electives that will count toward completing your certificate program training, and you will gain relevant work experience while working on a capstone project.