Career option after B.Arch

B. Arch stands for Bachelor of Architecture. It is basically the study of building construction. You may wonder how is it different from the civil engineering? The basic difference lies in the approach to the field. Unlike civil engineers, architects work on the aesthetic sense of the buildings too. An architect knows how to work as a civil engineer but not vice versa. With the growing competition and hunger for being special, the architects are in huge demand. They can plan, design and execute physical structures in a unique way.

How to get admission in B.Arch?

You can apply for admissions through the JEE and NATA. Apart from having a strong command over maths, physics, and chemistry, you also need to have a good understanding of drawing and sketching. It is actually an additional paper in the test. This is because when studying architecture, you will need to draw construction tit-bits. Also, a deep understanding of color schemes and uses is needed. The whole course is of 5-year duration. In this, the last year usually comprises of the thesis and internship in individual semesters.

List of Someof the Best colleges to study B.Arch

1.  SPA, Delhi
   http://spa.ac.in/Home.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f
2. Sir J.J.College of Architecture
   http://www.sirjjarchitecture.org/ 
3. Chandigarh college of architecture
   http://cca.nic.in/ 
4. CEPT University
   https://cept.ac.in/ 
5. BIT Mesra
   https://www.bitmesra.ac.in/ 
6. 6. IIT Kharagpur
   http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/ 
7. Manipal Institue of technology
   https://manipal.edu/foa/programs/program-list/barch.html 
8. IIT Roorkee
   https://www.iitr.ac.in/ 
9. NIT Tiruchirapalli
   https://www.nitt.edu/
10. Jadavpur University
    http://www.jaduniv.edu.in/

Career Prospects and Job Opportunities after doing B.Arch.

B.Arch is a highly specialized course. With our towns and cities going through a phase of development and restructuring, the professionals are in high demand. But the sector is still growing. So, there are some practical problems. There are a few construction firms. Apart from them, the smaller firms underpay the architects. Freshers do face a dearth of jobs right now. But as we have mentioned earlier, this profession is in huge demand and it is just a matter of a couple of years that it booms.

• Architect: After graduating, you will get a registration number and a license number from the council of architecture, India. This will entitle you to work and authorize architectural projects. Most colleges take 6 months to 1 year in giving out the license number. Students prefer to work under some architectural firm or consultancy during this period. Not only they gain practical knowledge but also know about the market trends. As an Architect, you can work with the construction firms, consultancy services and after gaining insightful experience, you can start your own firm. Freshers get paid 15k-30k solely depending on the firm and the city of the job. some firms in sleepy towns do offer a decent salary but that is solely on your discretion if you want to shift there. But the salary increases with experience. If you open your own firm, your income will depend upon the quality and quantity of work you get.
• Interior Designer: The interior design of a place represents its inhabitants. It brings out the soul of the building. When you know how to do aesthetics right, you can surely create an environment apt for the residents. The architects learn in their study that buildings are art and should be made to bring out the life out of inanimate objects. Architects have a sound knowledge of designing houses and buildings. They can work as Interior Designers too. And since they have a license, they can also authorize the designs. As a newbie interior designer, you will earn around 20k on an average.
• Project Manager: There are lots of construction firms that need architects for overseeing their various projects. As a project manager, you will be responsible for planning, designing, and execution of the buildings. Together with that, the arrangement of raw materials, manpower, and their management will be your responsibility. Overall, your job will be somewhere between a combination of architect and manager. You will be designing the plans and will be supervising the ongoing project too. The work can be hectic at times. But the pay is also good. A senior project manager earns on an average 10LPA.
• Disaster Management Specialist/Consultant: You must have noticed that in the cases of disasters, buildings are most affected. It is even said that nature does not cause casualties but buildings do. To avert such an untoward situation, architects are needed as disaster management specialists. Along with involvement in the construction of disaster-proof buildings, they are also responsible for creating planned mitigation routes. In the planned cities, there is a provision for alternate roads, earthquake-proof houses, and flood-resistant buildings. These are all planned, supervised, constructed and executed by the architects specializing in disaster management. India is already prone to all kinds of natural disasters in its different parts. So, this job is in hot demand. You can work with the NDMA or the NGOs involved with disaster management. The senior specialists earn around 12LPA. The freshers’ salary depends very much on the organization and area of expertise.
• Urban Planner: You must have heard about the marvel city Chandigarh. What amazes people is the absolute planning and perfection of which the city is made. In India, we are accustomed to narrow lanes and traffic jams. But, a country sees good growth only when the transportation is good and she has a strong infrastructure. In the wake of these needs, planned cities are made on the outskirts of the existing cities. Even the old ones are gradually modified to make them better. Proper sewerage, broad lanes and proper provisions for the public spaces are done in these areas. Most of the time, this planning is done is open areas with very fewer inhabitants. As an urban planner, you will design the layout of a city. Along with the proper use of the land, you will be required to create better places for the population, their recreational provisions, green spaces and also the good infrastructure for commuting. On an average, an urban planner earns about 5-9LPA. If you hold a masters degree in urban planning, it will be better for your career growth.
• Draftsman: When a new building is planned, the first step is creating technical drawing keeping in mind all the specifications and needs. This is done by a draftsman. Usually, an architect starts the work as a draftsman. Mostly do this during their internship. This makes them adept at studying, analyzing and obviously creating these drawings. Draftsman work is an association with the architectural firms. They are responsible for taking measurements on the site, planning about the structural placements and then creating the draft. The freshers usually get 15-20K per month. As we have mentioned that architects do it, they definitely move to the higher ladder on gaining experience.
• Urban Designer: The job profile of an urban designer and urban planner may sound same but is slightly different. While urban planners assign places on the planned area, urban designers are responsible for designing those buildings. An urban planner will assign that a particular area will have a hospital, then a park, then a housing society and then a school. An urban designer will design the structure of the hospital, park, housing society and the school. A major part of their work involves making all these structures aesthetically attractive. The average salary of urban designers is 5-9 LPA. If you plan to pursue your career in this field, you should go for the masters. Also, you should do projects with the firms who are involved in these works.
• Lecturer: You can also work as a lecturer in the colleges and polytechnics. After doing your B.Arch, you should go for the M.Arch and then also NET. The architects are needed in interior design schools also. You need to have a strong grasp of the subject and should keep yourself updated with the latest software tools. Most of the time, lecturers tend to ignore updating their skills. As a result, this directly affects their students. If you will not keep yourself updated, how will your students be prepared for the real-life challenges? You should go for the refresher courses, online courses and do practice too. Lecturers are pretty well-paid. In government colleges, you can earn up to 60-90K per month. The private colleges to pay in the similar pay band. The freshers get around 25K per month.
• Furniture Designer: A furniture designer is a highly specialized field in architecture. People need furniture to suit the dimensions of their home, needs and also budget. In this job, you are responsible for creating custom-made furniture as well as mass-sale products. There is a growing demand for space saving furniture due to the space crunch in the cities. This raises the need for furniture designers. The firms like IKEA have trained and skilled designers who create and test durable as well as DIY furniture parts. You can start your work in big firms or even independently. It will be better if you start with some firm. The average salary is around 30-40K per month. The senior designers get handsomely paid to reach about 25LPA. You should go for advanced degrees in this field for better growth.
• Freelance Architect: You can also work as a freelance architect if you don’t like the usual 9 to 5 jobs. Also, there are times when construction companies do not need a full-time architect for short projects. So, they hire freelancers. You can work with the different firms. Also, you may need to design buildings for individual clients who will pay you according to your rate. It may seem like an independent job, but you need to be a team player. You will not be always associated with the same firm. You should adapt to the needs and work culture of a different company easily. Also, you should have the managerial skills to handle the junior colleagues and crew of your client company. This field holds limitless opportunities. The salary may not be fixed for initial years. But with increasing client base, you can earn as much as you want.

Architects the ones who make our buildings pleasing. This career is one of those with the highest potential for growth. As a student, you should do internships in your semester breaks. This will give you exposure to different offices and also the work ethic. You can then showcase these at the time of your job interviews. Most of the time, students even get an offer to join the same company as an employee from where they have done an internship. Also, you should earn the design software. Constantly indulge yourself in training, courses and recent trends. You will surely get to be tomorrow’s, Louis Kahn!!!