Architectural Technologist Salaries?

Jake Green

I’m going back to working full time with my employer of 16 years (2 4years total experience) and would like to get an idea of what salary I should be looking for.
Work load has really taken off and there seems to be a sizable increase in jobs out there.

It’s a tricky situation as we have loads of work but fees are still very tight (so he tells me)

I’m senior in qualifications and experience and bring in a reasonable income to the firm producing non-domestic BER’s on top of the usual architectural technologist work using Revit etc.

BryanF

€40-50k
But if your in Dublin.. I just don't know, as the cost of living is going to be higher than elsewhere in Ireland
I read somewhere recently the average industrial wage is 42k

Supertech

BryanF wrote: »

€40-50k

I would suggest that any technologist would be very lucky to secure that level of salary at the moment Bryan, even with the level of experience outlined. The fees just aren't there to support it. I'd say €30K max might be more like it.

DvB

We have 4 Architectural Technologists here, varying degrees of experience from 5 to 15 years, highest salary 39K Lowest 28K, all use revit.

Supertech

DvB wrote: »

We have 4 Architectural Technologists here, varying degrees of experience from 5 to 15 years, highest salary 39K Lowest 28K, all use revit.

Saw the Hays salary survey somewhere yesterday. Looks like €38.5k is the average for Senior Technologists. Down to about €15k for a graduate I think.

DvB

Supertech wrote: »

. Down to about €15k for a graduate I think.

FOOK!!!!! I earned more than that as a graduate back in 1995... that's shocking.

Strolling Bones

The narative of the recovery - which will happen some time ( it has NOT yet ) will be the "greed" of all assocaited with building.

Ivan Yeats this morning reacted to news of (small) rises in salaries for contstruction staff lamenting this for "those who caused the crash".

We don't deserve to be paid properly.

And commentators will wonder why we will not simply "be happy to have a job" and work the recovery.

But many of us won't be present to hear that save from Canada and Austalia.

And posters here will wonder why builders and tradesman will not form an orderly queue for them.

BryanF

Supertech wrote: »

I would suggest that any technologist would be very lucky to secure that level of salary at the moment Bryan, even with the level of experience outlined. The fees just aren't there to support it. I'd say €30K max might be more like it.

I know someone with ~10years exp, who turned down 35k in a southern county last month

Edit: 8-6 5days + additional hours for free at companies descretion

He went back to contract work.

No6

I will certainly not be rushing back from Australia to be grateful I have a job in Ireland, I am grateful I have one out here at a lot more than I would ever earn in Ireland!!

BryanF

No6 wrote: »

I will certainly not be rushing back from Australia to be grateful I have a job in Ireland, I am grateful I have one out here at a lot more than I would ever earn in Ireland!!

What would a building control officer expect to be paid in oz ?
What would an AT expect?
and what's the average industrial wage?

JJs Left Hand

Figure it's no harm resurrect this thread for people to get an idea what is going on.

Salary in Dublin at the minute for people with 8-10 years experience seems to vary massively depending on what office you're in. I know people on low 40s and others closer to 50k with same level of experience with the latter maybe having a small bit more site experience (marginal difference).

Whats the regional salaries looking like?

What reduction would you take moving from a Dublin office to a regional one in the South East?

Mellor

JJs Left Hand wrote: »

Salary in Dublin at the minute for people with 8-10 years experience seems to vary massively depending on what office you're in. I know people on low 40s and others closer to 50k with same level of experience with the latter maybe having a small bit more site experience (marginal difference).

Low 40s to high 40s (almost 50) is not a huge variation imo. there was probably 3k variation on graduate salaries (in dublin) when I entered the workforce. I can only imagine that gets wider at you pass 3, 5, 7, 10 year milestones.

woody1

just to put a bit of variety into things .. im in the west.. i work 4 hour days but if it was to be put into a 40 hour week id be on 30k.. before tax.. not a complaint .. im delighted to have it.. almost 20 years experience.. did 5 years in an accountancy office when everything around here went completely dead.. around the time that things started picking up.. just over 2 years ago.. there was a few places looking for a technician.. i got a few calls.. spoke to them all nobody was going to go to 30k.. thats not a complaint thats the reality of the situation in small towns in the west..
the job im in now.. someone i know was looking for a hand for a while and to be honest the hours and flexibility suit me perfectly .. that in itself is worth a lot ..

Murphster

Hi, I have just finished my Architectural Technology honours degree and I have started interviews in the last couple of weeks ... could anyone offer advice as to what one could expect in terms of salary in the West as a graduate? I have seen and heard variations ranging from mid-late 20k up to mid 30k ... so it is hard to decide what a fair number is! I was a mature student with a number of years professional/corporate experience working prior to and during the crash ... inteviewers have been focusing on this and seem to put weight in the experience and positions I held. I understand the value of experience and I really want to start getting it in my new career - but not at any price! Any experience or thoughts?

woody1

a year since i last posted and things seem a bit busier, i have been offered 2 jobs since xmas, both of these on word of mouth and without interviews or cvs being looked for, that suggests there is at least a demand out there,... a friend working in another part of mayo tells me there is a shortage of techhnicians out there , he does a lot of contract work for various offices and hes kept busy with it .... hours / work-life didnt suit so i stayed where i was and didnt get to enquire about money but i doubt either was any better than where i am...

now for your enquiry .. small town in the west and most likely small office .. take the 30k.. you could try for more and you could also find yourself unemployed fairly quickly as small office struggles for cash flow ..small offices are great for getting experience at everything and not getting stuck on any one thing for long periods..

galway / sligo / limerick .. bigger office .. id be looking for more ..

kieran.

Murphster wrote: »

I was a mature student with a number of years professional/corporate experience working prior to and during the crash ...

How many is a few and what is your experience?

• Can you handle a project from start to finish?
• Whats you construction detailing like.
• Do you understand the general principles of structure?
• Are you up to speed with common Building Regs?
• Can you do DAC or FSC applications?
• Do you know the BCMS system
• Can you survey measure/levels etc?
• Can you run site meeting?
• have you the knowledge and experience to carry out site inspections?
• Have you Experience of IEI RIAI GCCC Contracts

List not exhaustive, but these are many of these items are what an employer would be looking for in an experienced Technician

If you can 'hit the ground running' with little or no supervision/mentoring you should be able to command a higher salary if your work needs constant reviewing expect the lower end of the scale.

who what when

kieran. wrote: »

How many is a few and what is your experience?

• Can you handle a project from start to finish?
• Whats you construction detailing like.
• Do you understand the general principles of structure?
• Are you up to speed with common Building Regs?
• Can you do DAC or FSC applications?
• Do you know the BCMS system
• Can you survey measure/levels etc?
• Can you run site meeting?
• have you the knowledge and experience to carry out site inspections?
• Have you Experience of IEI RIAI GCCC Contracts

List not exhaustive, but these are many of these items are what an employer would be looking for in an experienced Technician

If you can 'hit the ground running' with little or no supervision/mentoring you should be able to command a higher salary if your work needs constant reviewing expect the lower end of the scale.

I think this post sums up quiet well the often blurred lines between technician and architect. In most larger offices things like running a job from start to finish, taking site meetings, dealing with contracts etch are under the remit of the project architect.

You could an outstanding technician with no experience in these areas simply because of office policy.

kieran.

In smaller/medium offices generally the technician needs to be able to act as Project Architect on smaller projects when required.

woody1

have actually found the opposite,

ive worked in very small offices mostly .. with the exception of a year in a very big semi state

in the small places the boss / architect has done 99% of site work, certification, non drawing board stuff .. leaving me to everything else , which is almost everything on your list .. except the last 3,

in the semi state , i actually got out to site a lot more..

where i am now , i occasionally have to cover out on site if the boss is tied up, i'm long enough at this by now to be able to cope...

DvB

I know many Architectural Technologists that have excelled in the role of Project Lead, most of them would put many an Architect or Engineer to shame, & this has been achieved at a wide variety of firms, from Small to large to Multi discipline.

I generally find it all depends on the person, if they're the type to be content to come in to work & sit at a pc all day doing schedules & details they'll tend to get stuck doing just that, whilst the ones that start to look and take on more responsibility tend to develop outside their core duties and become more valuable & hence command higher salaries.
To be fair, nearly all of these people (the ones that have moved up the responsibility ladder) have gone on to do some kind of post grad study in Project Management or some other complimentary discipline which helps expand their professional development significantly. But ultimately it was the type of person they were that got them into these roles in the first place. Theres still a lot to be said for hard graft.

Mellor

woody1 wrote: »

have actually found the opposite,

ive worked in very small offices mostly .. with the exception of a year in a very big semi state

in the small places the boss / architect has done 99% of site work, certification, non drawing board stuff .. leaving me to everything else , which is almost everything on your list .. except the last 3,

If the office is so small that they only need one person to cover that stuff, it will usually be the principal. It's the slightly bigger (10-20 people) offices. Where senior techs often take the lead on small-medium jobs. But in larges offices, 30+ people. The project leads tend to be associate directors - which can include senior technician with the right skills.

who what when

I'm job hunting at the moment and I have a couple of interviews lined up.
I'm a little unsure of what I should be asking for when the question of salary comes up.

I downloaded the Hayes salary guide and it's telling me I should looking for significantly more than I'm on now.
According to this I should be on around 45k a year. I'm wondering are peoples salaries here broadly in line with this guide?

I don't think many of my current technologist colleagues are on this much.
Any advice appreciated.

woody1

where are you looking

as you can see very different rates in dublin to the rest of the country
id also take galway and limerick on their own
big difference between being in an office in a small town in the west and being in galway

working 20 hour week, if i doubled it i'd be around 30000 ish.. i've 20 years experience .. glad to be getting it

who what when

I'm not currently in or looking at Dublin.

I'm really just wondering are peoples salaries in line with the Hayes salary guide.
Going by what you said, your range is 40-50k with 45k being typical. So according to the salary guide you're underpaid by at least 10k (assuming you were working full time). And that's just to get onto the low end of the range.

Using the same logic I'm underpaid by 2k, 7k to get to the 'typical amount.

Anybody else care to chip in?

Mellor

With those salary guides, you need to align the role as well as the timeframe. Somebody could have 10+ years experience but still be in a "regular" role. In that case I wouldn't expect them to be earning the top bracket salary.

who what when

Mellor wrote: »

With those salary guides, you need to align the role as well as the timeframe. Somebody could have 10+ years experience but still be in a "regular" role. In that case I wouldn't expect them to be earning the top bracket salary.

Agree. I guess that's why theres a range. Probably in order to be at the top end of the range you would need to be taking on some of the architects duties.

Mellor

who what when wrote: »

Agree. I guess that's why theres a range. Probably in order to be at the top end of the range you would need to be taking on some of the architects duties.

I dont know "architect duties" it's the right way to phrase it. But I meant in order to get the senior technician, 10 year, salary. Your job title or role, needs to be senior technician or equivalent.