Careers in Architecture

In "Careers in Architecture" Blythe Camenson shares the process of education and career development for potential architects. The book is relatively brief, but full of vital information. It details aptitudes and preparation needed for architecture school, as well as the educational process and internship and licensing processes used in the profession. She also details information about allied professions such as urban and land use planners, landscape architects, and historic preservationists. Central to the book are a series of interviews with a number of practicing architects in different specialties and at different points in their careers, which is very interesting and useful for focusing on areas of the profession most interesting to a specific reader. Also included are several listings of professional organizations, architecture schools, etc., along with contact information for each of them, in what may be the single most useful feature of the book. The book is certainly enlightening regarding all aspects of the profession, and in some cases is nothing short of eye opening, for instance in the area of salary, in which the author reveals that a beginning architect can expect to make only $25,000 to $35,000 annually after completing school, a figure well below most other professions. Despite the salary wake up call, architecture still comes across as a vibrant, interesting career field, and any reader considering a career in architecture would be well advised to read this book.