This week, Waitack's reading note highlights the publication of a report resulting from the CMA-ARCHI study ("Skills and Future Careers in the Architecture Sector"), led by Véronique Biau and Élise Macaire for the RAMAU network.
This study was carried out as part of the France 2030 plan, whose objective is to identify the training needs and emerging skills required by architecture graduates pursuing "atypical" careers, that is, careers outside the traditional architectural design practice within conventional architecture firms.
The report presented here focuses specifically on the different types of atypical career paths pursued by architecture professionals. The findings are based on the analysis of 454 responses to an online questionnaire, as well as 116 interviews conducted with professionals following atypical career paths.
Quantitative Data Profiling These Professionals
A Younger and More Female-Dominated Population
The population of architecture professionals pursuing atypical careers is younger and more female-dominated than the population registered with the French Order of Architects.
The average age is 40.4 years, compared with 51.3 years for architects registered with the Order. Women represent 61% of this population (compared with 38% among registered architects), and 59% of them are under the age of 39.
Similar Social Backgrounds
Despite their different career paths, these professionals largely come from similar social backgrounds.
- 46% of respondents have parents belonging to senior executive and higher intellectual professional categories.
- 20% have parents working in intermediate professions.
Educational Paths Often Supplemented by Additional Qualifications
During their architectural studies, more than half of these professionals completed one or more additional training programmes.
Most respondents graduated during the 2000s (113 individuals) or the 2010s (199 individuals). They mainly hold one of the following qualifications:
- DPLG: 32%
- HMONP: 39%
- DEA: 33%
Nearly two-thirds (58%) report having completed additional education, primarily in the following fields:
- Engineering, science and technology (20%)
- Urban planning and development (18%)
- Social sciences and humanities (8%)
Income Levels Comparable to Registered Architects
The early careers of these atypical professionals were heavily impacted by the 2008 financial crisis, which limited their access to conventional architectural firms.
Nevertheless, their median income remains comparable to that of architects registered with the Order within the same age group.
Among professionals aged 35 to 44, the average monthly income reaches €3,058, compared with €3,008 for registered architects.
Nearly 10% of respondents earn more than €5,000 net per month. These are primarily professionals working in private project ownership, experienced professionals with multiple activities, or architects undertaking temporary assignments abroad.
Highly Diverse Employment Structures
The majority of these atypical professionals (72%) are not registered with the French Order of Architects.
However, they work across a wide range of organisations:
- Architecture firms: 28%
- Self-employed practice: 16%
- Associations: 12%
- Engineering consultancies: 11%
- Public and semi-public sector: 24%
Most of them benefit from stable employment:
- Permanent contracts (CDI): 44%
- Civil servants: 9%
- Company directors: 23%
- Sole proprietors: 3%
Persistent Gender Inequalities
These atypical career paths continue to be marked by significant inequalities in both income and career progression.
Women remain overrepresented in the lower salary brackets:
- 25% earn between €1,800 and €2,399 net per month.
Conversely, men are more strongly represented in the highest income brackets:
- 30% earn more than €3,600 net per month.
Part-time work is also more common among women (23%) than among men (15%).
Finally, women are less likely to hold management or partner positions:
- Women: 17%
- Men: 28%
The Seven Families of Atypical Profiles
The qualitative analysis identifies seven major families of atypical professional practices among architecture professionals.
Public Policy Implementation and Urban Studies
This family includes professionals whose work focuses on the oversight, planning and operational implementation of public policies related to territorial development.
Examples of profiles:
- State Architect and Urban Planner (AUE) working in central government, responsible for drafting and coordinating legislation related to urban planning.
- Building permit officer within a local authority.
Public and Private Project Ownership (MOA)
These professionals are responsible for project management, maintenance and the energy performance enhancement of public assets (such as school or regional property portfolios) or private assets (such as commercial or industrial real estate).
This is an atypical field of practice in which women are particularly well represented within the public sector.
It is also the family that identifies the least with the architectural profession: none of the public-sector project owners interviewed describe themselves as architects, and none of the professionals working in private project ownership are registered with the French Order of Architects.
Examples of profiles:
- Head of the Energy Maintenance Department within a departmental council.
- Director of a real estate development company.
- Project and research officer responsible for the management of public real estate assets.
Project Management Assistance (AMO), Consultancy and Programming
This family brings together professionals who intervene during the earliest stages of architectural, urban or landscape projects.
Their activities include:
- programming studies;
- participatory consultation processes;
- territorial assessments.
Unlike the following family, these professionals mainly work within engineering consultancies rather than architecture firms.
Examples of profiles:
- CAUE advisor.
- Corporate real estate consultant.
- Project manager within a regional natural park.
Architectural Design / Project Management Assistance (Hybrid)
Professionals within this family seek to ensure continuity throughout the different stages of the construction process: programming, design and delivery.
This category includes a large number of professionals with multiple activities, collaborative design collectives and digital specialists.
Examples of profiles:
- Architect working within a collective practice.
- BIM Manager.
- Interior architect working with private clients.
Specialised Architectural Design and Construction
This family is divided into several specialist fields focusing on:
- advanced technical studies;
- construction site management;
- condominium refurbishment;
- craft-based work involving bio-based materials, material reuse and eco-construction.
Example of profile:
- Architect-cabinetmaker running a craft workshop alongside their architectural design practice.
Teaching, Research and Training
This family includes professionals teaching within National Schools of Architecture (ENSA), vocational high schools or universities, as well as independent trainers delivering courses to both professionals and private individuals on subjects such as eco-construction and renovation.
Some combine these activities with research positions within laboratories or Research & Development departments of private companies.
Examples of profiles:
- Researcher or industrial PhD candidate working in Research & Development.
- Director of Training within a cooperative organisation dedicated to material reuse.
Communication and Mediation
This final family includes architecture professionals working in:
- editorial publishing;
- journalism;
- graphic illustration;
- event scenography;
- public participation and community engagement.
This particularly diverse family is characterised by a high proportion of professionals holding only a DEA degree, as well as self-employed professionals.
Examples of profiles:
- Architecture mediator working in schools.
- Editor-in-chief of a specialist publication.
THE MOBILISATION OF ARCHITECTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE IN ATYPICAL CAREER PATHS
Interviews conducted with architecture professionals pursuing atypical careers reveal that many regret their architectural education having focused primarily on learning architectural design within traditional architecture firms and on the "competition sketch" approach.
Although architecture schools tend to overlook or place little value on atypical career paths, respondents nevertheless acknowledge that their education enabled them to acquire the technical and conceptual foundations of a project, as well as its professional language. They describe it as a "strong generalist education, providing a 'project culture', a broad understanding of architecture, conceptual thinking skills, autonomy, and a specific perspective on the professions of architecture and urban planning" (p.45).
However, this education proves insufficient when atypical career paths require specialised knowledge on a technical subject (from a construction, management or administrative perspective), expertise within a specific field or sector (scenography, research, heritage, emergency response, third places, etc.), or the skills needed to create and manage a business.
CONCLUSION
This report highlights the wide range of atypical professional roles occupied by architecture graduates. It also reveals the persistent gap between an initial education that remains heavily centred on the traditional architectural design model and the reality of atypical career paths, which require more advanced hybrid, technical and managerial skills.
Architectural education remains an excellent generalist foundation, but the need to adapt its curriculum has become increasingly evident in order to better prepare future graduates for the realities of the profession and the emergence of new career opportunities.
Reference
Véronique Biau, Élise Macaire, Charlotte Aristide, Samuel Balti, Stéphanie Bouysse-Mesnage, et al. Emerging, Little-Known or Atypical Architectural Practices and Training Needs. École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris La Villette; Réseau Activités et Métiers de l'Architecture et de l'Urbanisme (France). 2024.