How long does it take to become an architect?

Architecture jobs are some of the most popular, sought-after positions in the world. This is because being an architect is an intellectually stimulating, challenging job that also allows people to flex their creative side.



At the moment it takes about eighteen years of training and education to become an architect in the United Kingdom. Students will need to achieve about five years of undergraduate training in university, as well as three more years of graduate school.



Then, young architects will need to participate in the Internship Development Programme. This programme is meant to train students for their upcoming architecture jobs through various categories of architecture discipline. Students are required to fulfil a set number of hours, and in many cases are expected to hop from job to job and company to company to achieve this goal. Often this takes architects about ten years to complete.



Once a student has completed the Internship Development Programme, they will be asked to take the Architectural Registration Examination, a seven-part exam that tests for the various roles and functions that an architect will have to play in their job.

Before embarking on an architecture job, it’s very important to be committed to the profession, because it takes a very long time to actually become an architect. It’s very rare that an architecture firm will hire for an architecture job without considering the amount of time a student or ambitious architect has taken in their training.



Since the process of getting an architecture job is such a long one, be sure to take as many courses and classes as you can during school to get a feel for what the work will be like. Many architecture firms allow students to undertake a work experience or clerkship position, so they can get a feel for what it’s like to work an architecture job before undergoing the training process.



Architecture jobs suit people with a number of different interests, so students with a strong passion for art or math will probably be equally interested in an architecture job in the field. Even some students with a talent for computer science might be interested in the practical work of architecture.



Becoming an architect is a long process, and not one for the faint of heart. But the training process is well-rounded, leaving trained architects able to apply confidently for the various architecture jobs that are out there.



The author of this article is a part of a digital blogging team who work with brands like Hays. The content contained in this article is for information purposes only and should not be used to make any financial decisions.