A lot of us have dreamt of owning homes and many people have them visualized in their minds. But it is much harder to execute if you don’t know how to put the good images of the different rooms in your head on paper. We need someone who can easily visualize the images in our heads to turn our dreams into reality and eventually have our dream house in the future.
Architects can help you with that. They turn their clients’ dreams into reality. They have the needed skills and knowledge to create their clients’ vision on paper and execute their vision of the perfect home with the proper techniques and methods. Without architects, we couldn’t accomplish our dreams of having the best house for our family.
Now that we got you hooked, here is everything you need to know about becoming an architect in Canada.
Educational Requirements for Architects in Canada
Those aspiring to become architects must have a bachelor’s degree in architecture from an accredited school or have completed the syllabus of studies from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In some cases, a master’s degree in architecture may be required. The architecture school should be approved by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board.
Licensing and Other Professional Requirements for Architect in Canada
Architects are considered regulated professions in Canada. Therefore, you must be registered to get a certification from your province or territory’s regulatory authority before becoming eligible to practice the profession. You should also complete and pass the architect registration examination, which will give you a professional license to work as an architect anywhere in Canada.
Aside from those, you need a three-year internship under the supervision of a registered architect. A certification coming from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) may be required by some employers. This is especially needed if the architects will be commissioned for outdoor projects, such as parks and plazas. This specific certificate is offered by the Canada Green Building Council.
Skills, Knowledge, and Other Requirements
Aside from the education, requirements and licensing, and other professional requirements mentioned above, architects are expected to have several skillsets for their job. They must be knowledgeable in different subjects and topics related to their profession to help them become competent and successful architects for their careers.
Architects should have supervising skills, which will help them delegate tasks on the construction side of things when they are commissioned to oversee a project. They should also have excellent analyzing skills, communication skills, advising and consulting skills, planning skills, negotiating and adjudicating skills, and above-average professional communication skills.
In addition, they must be highly knowledgeable in areas such as client service, business, finance, management, engineering and technology, building and construction, design, engineering and applied technologies, and public safety and security. Their knowledge on these topics helps them perform more competitively in their professions as architects.
Architect Salary, Wages, and Prospects for Job Opportunities
Architects are well paid in Canada compared with the other professions in the country. On average, architects working in Canada earn from $23.08 an hour up to the median of $35.58 an hour. Some architects can even reach up to $60.10 an hour, depending on several factors that affect their salary packages.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have the same lowest possible average hourly salary for architects in Canada, each earning as low as $17 an hour. On the other hand, architects working in Nova Scotia earn the highest possible average hourly salary for Canada-based architects. They can reach as high as $75.38 an hour.
Please note that this only covers the basic salary of the architects working in Canada. This excludes other factors such as bonuses, incentives, and other perks that architects receive throughout their careers.
Architects have relatively stable job prospects in Canada. As of the current data available, the new job openings are expected to total 6,800 while new jobseekers are 7,800. Thus, it is highly anticipated that they can fill the job openings for architects in Canada. Jobs were created due to expansion and replacement demand. In contrast, jobseekers are available thanks to graduation from colleges and universities, immigration, and mobility.
Even though there doesn’t seem to be any fair job prospects in Canada for architects, Canada is considered one of the most promising countries for real estate development, where architects are expected to do professional work for various companies and individuals.