Architecture Building

Architecture provides a lifetime of opportunities for creativity and aesthetic problem solving. Using our popular AutoCAD® Revit® Architecture and Autodesk® 3ds Max® software, professionals worldwide are exploring these qualities in designing, visualizing, and animating highly original structures.

Architects design office and apartment buildings, schools, museums, churches, factories, hospitals, houses, and airport terminals. They also design multi-building complexes, such as urban centers, college campuses, industrial parks, communities, and amusement parks. Their profession requires a number of skills, including design, management, communication, and negotiation. Learn more about professions in architecture and building and get a head start on your career.

Architects
Landscape Architects
Interior and Furniture Designers
Construction and Building Inspectors
Construction
Facility Managers
Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Stationary Engineers
Archivists, Curators, Museum Technicians, and Conservators

Architects

Design the cities of tomorrow—the houses we live in, the offices we work in, the theaters we attend, the restaurants we eat in, the bridges we cross. Architects design all of these and more. And it’s not just the appearance of these structures that architects are concerned with; it’s also the functionality of the design, the safety, and—wherever possible—the economy. Architects need to think about all these things as they create their visions.

Architects provide professional services to people and organizations planning a construction project. They may be involved in all phases of development, from the initial discussion with the client through the entire construction process. Their duties require specific skills—designing, engineering, managing, supervising, and communicating with clients and builders. It’s a competitive market, and knowledge of computer-aided design and drafting technology gives you a strong advantage.

Autodesk software you’re likely to use in this career includes AutoCAD® Revit® Architecture, AutoCAD® Revit® MEP Suite, AutoCAD® Revit® Structure, AutoCAD®, AutoCAD® Architecture, AutoCAD® Raster Design and Autodesk® 3ds Max®.

Find out more about architects, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Landscape Architects

From college campuses to shopping malls and playgrounds, landscape architects design for functionality, beauty, and compatibility with the natural environment. In their designs, landscape architects plan the location of buildings, roads and walkways, and the arrangement of flowers, shrubs, and trees. They apply their knowledge of the environment and their aesthetic sense to historic preservation and natural resource conservation and reclamation.

Computer-aided design (CAD) is an essential tool for most landscape architects. Many landscape architects also use video simulation to help clients envision the proposed ideas and plans. For larger scale site planning, landscape architects use geographic information systems technology and computer mapping system.

Autodesk software you’re likely to use in this career includes AutoCAD Revit Architecture, AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite, AutoCAD Revit Structure, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Raster Design and Autodesk 3ds Max.

Find out more about landscape architects, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Interior and Furniture Designers

Interior and furniture designers set the stage for living. They create environments in which to relax, work, do business, and participate in all the other aspects of daily life. An eye for color and detail and a sense of balance and proportion are essential to this career. Designers of all kinds use computer-aided design (CAD) tools to create and better visualize the final product.

As an interior designer you plan the space and furnish the interiors of homes, public buildings, and commercial or institutional establishments, such as offices, restaurants, and theaters. Interior designers also design lighting and architectural details, including color scheme and window and floor treatment. Furniture designers design furniture for manufacture. Using their knowledge of design trends, competitors’ products and production costs, complemented by their aesthetic sense, they design furniture that is both functional and attractive. Some furniture designers fashion custom pieces or styles according to a specific period or country.

Find out more about interior and furniture Designers, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Construction and Building Inspectors

Put on your hard hat and head to the site. You decide whether the work measures up—and if it doesn’t, you determine what needs to be done. Construction and building inspectors examine the construction, alteration, or repair of buildings, highways and streets, sewer and water systems, dams, bridges, and other structures to make sure they’re up to code—building codes, ordinances, zoning regulations, and contract specifications. Inspectors make an initial inspection during the first phase of construction, and then follow up with inspections throughout the construction project.

Building inspectors look over the structural quality and general safety of buildings. Some specialize, for example, in structural steel or reinforced concrete structures. A primary concern of building inspectors is fire safety. Inspectors consider such things as alarm systems, fire exits, and risks posed by adjoining buildings. There are many types of inspectors, including elevator inspectors, electrical inspectors, and plumbing inspectors.

Find out more about construction and building inspectors, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Construction

Put on your hard hat, flex your muscles, and build! Houses, apartments, factories, offices, schools, roads, bridges—these are only some of the products of the construction industry.

The construction industry is divided into three major segments: general building contractors, heavy construction contractors, and special trade contractors. General building contractors build residential, industrial, commercial, and other buildings. Heavy construction contractors build sewers, roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, and other projects. Special trade contractors are engaged in specialized activities such as carpentry, painting, plumbing, and electrical work.

Autodesk software you’re likely to use in this career includes AutoCAD Revit Architecture, AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite, AutoCAD Revit Structure, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture and Autodesk 3ds Max.

Find out more about the construction industry, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Facility Managers

Be prepared for a virtual balancing act. Facility managers coordinate the physical workplace with the people and work of an organization. As a facility manager, you’re in charge of essential planning, designing, and managing facilities. And to do that you must successfully integrate principles of business administration, architecture, and behavioral and engineering sciences. Although the specific tasks you do vary substantially depending on the organization, the duties fall into certain categories. These include operations and maintenance, real estate, communication, human and environmental factors, and many more.

Facility managers suggest and oversee renovation projects with a variety of goals, from improving efficiency to ensuring that facilities meet security standards. Once the work is done, the facility manager continues to be involved by monitoring the facility to see that it remains safe, secure, and well maintained.

Find out more about facility managers, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Electrical and Electronics Engineers

From computer chips that process millions of instructions every second to radar systems that detect weather patterns days in advance, electrical and electronics engineers have developed a wide range of technologies. Electrical and electronics engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment. Some of this equipment includes power generating, controlling, and transmission devices used by electric utilities; electric motors, machinery controls, lighting, and wiring in buildings, automobiles, and aircraft; and radar and navigation systems, computer and office equipment, and broadcast and communications systems.

Autodesk software you’re likely to use in this career includes Autodesk® Inventor, AutoCAD, AutoCAD® Electrical, AutoCAD Raster Design and Autodesk 3ds Max.

Find out more about electrical and electronics engineers, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Stationary Engineers

Stationary engineers operate the machinery that keeps large buildings comfortable, tunnels ventilated, and factories running in all weather and seasons. Some of the machines they use include boilers, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, diesel engines, turbines, generators, pumps, condensers, and compressors.

Stationary engineers start up, regulate, and shut down equipment. They ensure that it operates safely, economically, and within established limits by monitoring meters, gauges, and computerized controls. They manually control equipment and, when necessary, make adjustments. Routine maintenance, such as lubricating moving parts and replacing filters, is a regular part of the work of stationary engineers.

Autodesk software you’re likely to use in this career includes Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Raster Design and Autodesk 3ds Max.

Find out more about stationary engineers, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Archivists, Curators, Museum Technicians, and Conservators

You’re like a detective. You consider facts, look for clues, and analyze what you’ve got. But that’s only one facet of a very complex job. Archivists, curators, museum technicians, and conservators search for, acquire, appraise, analyze, describe, arrange, catalog, restore, preserve, exhibit, maintain, and store valuable items that can be used by researchers or for exhibitions, publications, broadcasting, and other educational programs. Depending on the occupation, these items include such a diverse assortment of items as historical documents, audiovisual materials, works of art, coins, and preserved plants and animals.

Curators usually handle objects found in cultural, biological, or historical collections, such as sculptures, textiles, and paintings, while archivists mainly handle valuable records, documents, or objects that are retained because they originally accompanied and relate specifically to the document.

Autodesk software you’re likely to use in this career includes AutoCAD and Autodesk 3ds Max.

Find out more about archivists, curators, and museum technicians, including job descriptions, salaries, and training requirements.

Portions of this page are adapted from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook and Career Guide to Industries.