This is a pretty good time to be an architect or engineer fresh out of school.
A WalletHub study of the best entry-level jobs found that engineers rank first and architects rank 10th out of a group of 109 professions.
Also on the list are electrical engineer (sixth), industrial designer (36th), interior designer (40th), mechanical engineer (41st), and civil engineer (66th).
The results were determined by examining three dimensions: immediate opportunity, growth potential, and job hazards. The categories had 11 total metrics with a score from 1 to 100. The scores were averaged and weighted, and then combined into one total score.
Engineer was pushed toward the top because of the demand (it ranked first in job openings and fifth in immediate opportunity), and architect was found to be a job with favorable immediate opportunity and job growth potential.
ArchDaily’s Vladimir Gintoff provided some context for the architects’ score. “The study doesn’t appear to consider the debt that many architects graduate with, and it also doesn’t specify where this study was conducted," he wrote. "Also, though many of the top professions could be based in cities, architecture firms seem to hold affinities to urban environments above other careers, adding cost-of-living as a potential gouge to earnings. Nonetheless, the information should be reassuring to those deciding if they would like to pursue a career in architecture and also to the long term viability for the profession.”
Towards the bottom of the list are the tradespeople: electrician (74th), machinist (101st), carpenter (105th), and welder (109th, last). The low scores were largely due to the job hazards associated with them.
Related Stories
| Jul 19, 2012
AEC firms ready to dive into public projects
But the size of the pool keeps shrinking for the Top 25 AEC firms in the Government Sector.
| Jul 19, 2012
BIM finally starting to pay off for AEC firms
In surveying Giants 300 firms about BIM, we went right for the jugular: Is BIM paying off—through cost savings, higher quality, or client satisfaction? Here’s what they told us.
| Jul 19, 2012
Contractors finally ‘moving off the bottom’
C and CM Agent + PM Giants 300 Firms also taking steps to improve project efficiency.
| Jul 19, 2012
The best states for a construction job
The top anticipated engineering and skilled labor shortages according to a survey of 2,223 construction industry professionals.
| Jul 19, 2012
Suffolk Construction launches subcontractor development series
Professional certificate program to provide core construction management skills to disadvantaged, minority, and women business enterprises.
| Jul 19, 2012
Construction begins on military centers to treat TBI and PTS
First two of several centers to be built in Fort Belvoir, Va. and Camp Lejeune, N.C.
| Jul 18, 2012
U.S. engineering firms set sail for foreign ports
Other E/EA Giants 300 firms are just dipping their toes into foreign waters, still looking for international business but choosing not to establish additional offices.
| Jul 18, 2012
Architecture giants spreading their wings
A/AE Giants 300 rankings reveal firms branching out globally, merging, adding services.
| Jul 18, 2012
Green expert Kats joins GreenWizard as an advisor
Kats' role is to help further expand GreenWizard’s impact in the sustainable construction industry.
| Jul 18, 2012
Construction employment stagnates in June
Lack of hiring in construction combined with job growth elsewhere threatens to create skilled-labor gap once contractors are ready to hire again.