[ Background Music ] 

 This is the sleeping area, the master bedroom. 

 Hey guys, I'm here with Keith, and I'm getting a look at how the architects spend their workday. 

 Architects are the vision behind building designs. 

 You can come up with an idea, you kind of--and then you try to explain that idea to everybody else so they can character role. 

 An architect's job is to design buildings that are functional, safe, economical, and aesthetically pleasing. 

 Okay, what time do you show up in the morning? 

 What time do I show up in the morning? I show up at 8:30. 

 Okay. And what is the first thing that you do? 

 The first thing I do, basically just check my email and see what's going on. 

 Okay, that's important. 

 After emails, it's on to speaking with clients and contractors, and the fun stuff, designing. 

 This is basically a mixed-use building with offices on the bottom and residents, like apartments on the top. 

 Blueprints are just the beginning. 

 What we do is way more than that, I mean what we do is, gosh, we assist the owner from the conception of the building to the final, you know, completion of the building. 

 Do you guys have meetings here? 

 Oh, yeah we-- 

 Just walk around each other. 

 We have a--we have meetings here. We verify that the building is being built as per the drawings. Answer questions from the general contractor, sometimes they need help interpreting the drawings. 

 Between time on construction sites and back in the office, architects put in long hours. 

 [Inaudible] how many hours do you typically put in a week here? 

 Right now, with it being slow, probably about 40 to 50 hours. 

 Still a lot, but you're saying if you're very busy-- 

 Yeah, if it's busy-- 

 --you're gonna work a lot. 

 --you can work a lot. 

 So here's what the blueprint for a career in architecture looks like. First, you need an architecture degree from an accredited school. 

 After you graduate, what's your next step and becoming-- 

 After you graduate. 

 --an architect professionally. 

 Next step is fulfilling your internship which is required 3 years. 

 Once you've got an experience, you need to pass the Architect Registration Examination to get a license. Then many architects join a firm or start their own. 

 Basically I would say there's, you know, you have your really large firms and then probably that's quite about 10, 15 percent of profession, and the other 85 percent is like this, just small firms, you know, with 5 to 10 people in them. 

 Expect a lot of competition for architecture jobs. Keith says interning while you're still in school is key. 

 I would recommend not only, you know, working on an architect's office, but if you can get experience working in a general contractor's office, that is invaluable. 

 Just how much will that experience payoff? 

 You know an intern probably makes about 30,000 just out of school. But if you work for, say, one of the large firms and you want to remain architects and stuff, you make probably about 75, 85,000. 

 Beyond the sweet salary, if you're creative, you may also enjoy being an architect. 

 So you are an artist? 

 Somewhat, yeah, there is an aspect of it. Yeah, there is an aspect of being an architect. I mean you have to be very artistically minded and also very technically minded. 

 Architects think big. The Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure you can see from space, far out. Imagine a career where you get to make your vision a reality. If that sounds like your dream job, consider becoming an architect. I'm Tina for Youniversity TV, and I've got this cool house to check out. 

[ Music ]