The primary factor influencing the pay in any field is obviously the amount of experience the person has. The average salary of a fresher architect in India is an average of 2.1 LPA. As the experience increases, the salary increases. Around 2-3 years of experience get an architect a salary of around 3-3.5 LPA. Someone with 5 years of experience would earn around 5 LPA. After this point, the architect fits into the senior category or sometimes even becomes a project lead. Architects can then choose to become associate architects to incur larger monetary gains either in the salaried form or on a contract commission basis.  

The location of practice plays a pivotal role in deciding the pay of an architect. In a metropolitan city, one can expect the pay to be higher than in tier 2 or tier 3 cities. Architects in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad are able to demand a higher salary for the increased cost of living in these cities. These cities also have a booming real-estate and development sector that comes with a higher demand for architects. Thus, this allows the architects to earn more. 

Similar to the previous metric, larger firms in metropolitan cities can afford to pay a higher sum of salary to their employees. Architects in renowned firms, government jobs and large companies are often paid a higher sum of money as their salaries. If an architect is practising in a boutique firm, he might not be able to get a comparable salary. 

The salary of an architect varies on the basis of their educational qualifications as well. The two slabs of architectural education that create the change of pay are bachelor's and master's qualifications. A bachelor’s in architecture degree gives an architect an entry into the professional landscape and an average salary of 2.0-3.0 LPA. A master’s degree can give an average salary of 5-6 LPA, which further varies as per the type of specialization. 

Architects with specialized skills and expertise can demand higher pay. Upskilling and polishing skills to a level does pay. Getting certifications like LEED (Green Buildings) and BIM (Building Information Modelling) generates opportunities for architects in niche setup that pays them higher-than-average salaries. Also, building on skills and becoming an asset for the employer can increase the chances of getting salary hikes. 

The architecture industry faces a slight disparity in the way it pays the different genders. We live in the modern era and an ideal world, the pay gap between genders should not exist. However, this is not the reality yet for most professions. In architecture, a male architect is approximately paid 7-9% more than a female architect for being in the same role and doing the same job. 

Annual hikes, incentives and bonuses in the salary of an architect are highly subjective to the parameters mentioned above. However, an architect generally gets an annual hike of around 10-12% depending on their performance in a company. Sometimes, architects get paid incentives for completing projects within strict deadlines. They might also receive bonuses occasionally or annually. 

Architecture is a booming field in India with ever-increasing demand. It is challenging to get a high-paying job in architecture. However, by understanding the responsibilities and learning the right skills such as BIM, project management, etc. architects can get a high-paying job in the current day scenario. 

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Text provided by Namita Dhawan-

Namita Dhawan is an architect and a writer. She is extremely enthusiastic about architecture, design, history, research, and writing. She believes architecture is about power, it can provoke thoughts, and emotions, and control the actions of the users subtly.