Architecture is a fun, challenging, and rewarding career for a lot of reasons. When you think about it, architecture — along with being a highly respected position within society — is a field of study that combines a lot of pretty interesting and intensive practices into one very comprehensive idea. There is certainly an element of art that goes into architecture, as the mode of visual expression directly ties into the practice of designing the way buildings and other structures look and operate, but there’s also an incredibly healthy dose of science, too. In fact, few other career choices might be found to blend arts and sciences, numbers and colors, in the ways that architecture does, and as such it’s an exciting career choice that might very well lead one down an incredible path of great success. There’s a lot that goes into becoming an architect, however, and if you’ve got dreams of designing the next great American building, then you might be surprised to learn exactly how intense your studies are going to be before you can land that next great job. We’ll talk about some of the steps that come before finding great work as an architect so that you can know exactly what it is you’re getting yourself into!

For one thing, you’ll want to have a B average in high school. Architecture is competitive, and is a field that’s rife with intellectual prowess. Those in the architectural community have a tendency to be well-versed in issues of art, philosophy, and engineering alike — it makes for impressive conversation, to be sure. You’ll want to do well in high school and get into a good college that’s accredited by the National Architectural Administrations Board. You can earn your bachelor’s in a related field and get your master’s in architecture, or simply go with the five-year Bachelor’s of Architecture option, which is very popular.

While you’re in school it’s very important to make sure you’re working with firms in the summer and winter when you’re not actually in class. These internships are going to build your resume and actually get you a job when you graduate with either your bachelor’s or your master’s so that you can make sure you start a long and illustrious career. Another great way to make sure you get a wonderful job is to make sure you stay involved with just about anything you can on campus. Any club or extracurricular activity that you can possibly get involved with will help boost your resume so that you can compete with even the most qualified CCN architects when you head out to finally start looking for a real job. There’s no limit to what you can achieve as an architect, so long as you take the right steps needed to get yourself into the college of your choice. From there it’s only a matter of how far you want to go.