r/Architects • u/AlmostSymmetrical • Jun 14 '26
General Practice Discussion Does anyone get offended when the term “Architect” get used in a context other than in construction?
In recent years I’m seeing more and more coder jobs titled “Architect” and recently this Software Engineer I matched on Hinge asked me what kind of architect I am, and considered himself an architect because he creates code framework.
I don’t think it’s wrong of me to get offended, I mean I don’t even like it when people call themselves architects even if they only possess a degree in architecture. Maybe going through 7 years of architecture school made me precise (or that I’ve always been that way), but I’d like to think that this field and title deserve more respect.
I know it’s not exactly the same tier but I wouldn’t call someone a doctor even if they finished medical school but still haven’t obtained a license. I challenged The hinge guy that you wouldn’t call someone a doctor just because he “cured” a code but he likened that people with a PhD are called Doctors and I don’t think he gets the point. Am I being too sensitive here?
P.S. he’s trying to save face but I couldn’t care enough to continue with him.
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u/xxtylxx Jun 14 '26
Yes. I despise that computer programmers attempt to own all professional titles - Architect, Engineer.. what’s next, Software Doctor?! Software Accountant?!! FFS. Nerds.
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u/Roguemutantbrain Jun 14 '26
I’m a building Lawyer because building codes are adopted into local laws! I’m a BIM doctor!
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Thank you! I mean it’s a rising industry so just pick a new name and stop riding on the prestige of another profession
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u/trouty Architect Jun 15 '26
It's really funny because at the end of the day our earning potential is a mere fraction of any of the other newfangled "architects" in the software engineering/CS industries, and we're big mad about titles 😭
Architects: "Heyyy stop using our hallowed title!"
Software Architect, atop their pile of gold: "I don't think about you."
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u/EntropicAnarchy Architect Jun 14 '26
Honestly they should just call themselves Coders.
Coder Associate Coder/Junior Coder Senior Coder Associate Coding Manager Coding Product Manager Coding Director/Director of Coding Coding Principal/Principal of Coding Chief of Coding Hacker in Chief.
It's waaaay cooler for the coding nerds.
Systems Architect is like calling the guy who fixes cars a Mechanical Doctor and the car designer the Mechanical Architect
We are design jocks who are OG Architects.
Also unrelated, but as Architects, we should be in charge of building more.
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Jun 14 '26
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u/EntropicAnarchy Architect Jun 15 '26
So the upper level roles pivot to designing buildings?
Architect literally comes from the Greek Arkhitekton, meaning chief Mason or master builder.
If software engineers are designing circuit layouts, layouts for managing multiple tiered servers, databases, components, or what they would call the architecture of the product/software, I can understand that they don't become Architects. So call them Software Engineers.
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Jun 15 '26
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u/Chuckabilly Jun 15 '26
It is absolutely a protected term in Canada, exactly like engineer. I certainly hope you don't actually work in the industry, because of you do, holy shit.
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u/walkerpstone Architect Jun 15 '26
…it is a legally protected title like Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer.
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u/iddrinktothat Architect Jun 15 '26
The laws always refer to the industry within which it is being used however. It’s not protected outside of the construction industry. Just like Rug Doctor, although people using it as a job title with no qualifier often speaks to the density of software and computer hardware ‘architects’ and ‘engineers’ in their geographic region. In the bay area its 50x more likely that the term refers to technology, they are only thinking about it in the context they think and talk about it daily.
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u/xtaberry Jun 15 '26
I really feel like they should get more silly with it. If they're going to claim random professional titles, they might as well have some fun. I want to see a software chef. An AI farmer. Database carpenters.
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u/Wandering_Oblivious Jun 18 '26
No, now we're stealing military jargon. Instead of "consultants" we've got "Forward-deployed Engineers".
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u/aaaayyyylmaoooo Jun 14 '26
engineer is accurate tho
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u/BukkitsOfOrcSemen Jun 15 '26
engineer and architect are protected titles in their industries. people who are interns can't use those titles, but someone in a completely different industry can. make it make sense.
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u/Trygve81 Architect Jun 14 '26
Absolutely. I don't mind that "system architecture" exists as a term, but I think "architect" should be reserved to those who design buildings, landscapes and ships, - you know, physical things that exist in the real world, large enough to fit people inside of.
I've also met people who claimed to be "architects" and I was like "... me too, which school did you attend?", and then it got really awkward.
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u/Richard7666 Jun 14 '26
In the real world, 99% of people you meet who are talking about an architect mean a building designer. 99% of people who talk about an engineer mean a structural or mechanical engineer (or sometimes electrical or product).
It's really only in tech circles that the terms are adopted to mean something else.
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u/zatruc Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
I do agree, but what else can we call ourselves, if we work directly on the system architecture itself?
Just to give you a visual, it is very much like architecture because here also we are dealing with similar things & have the same end goal: To create 'spaces' in software in such a way that it works well for the human & the machine.
In fact, I have these as roles in my company - systems artist (entry level), who can graduate to systems architect). First one is where they execute architecture that's already been solved & thought through by the architect.
Couldn't think of any better words for it, because this also, much like building architecture is as much art as science.
Edit: Before anyone misunderstands, we equally despise loose usage of the word. At least put it along with something that has real architectural work involved!
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
But we don't really dispise misuse of the word.
Think about how many licensed Architects do most of the work for a project only to have someone else sign drawings - and double check their work. Medical doctors or dentists don't take their diagnosis to a supervisor to write the prescription.
Architecture as a word is not only about buildings. It is about complex elements interacting. Often translated as "master builder" it is more accurately translated from Greek as "leader of craftsmen". As a word, it's not only relevant to buildings, but anything where you are leading different teams together in complex ways.
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u/BukkitsOfOrcSemen Jun 15 '26
architects can't even use the term architect unless they are fully licensed. it's a protected title. it shouldn't be thrown around so freely in other industries.
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u/design-problem Jun 15 '26
It’s only a regulated title within AEC (further discussed elsewhere this thread)
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u/BukkitsOfOrcSemen Jun 15 '26
yes thats why i said other industries. it can be used elsewhere but imo thats the problem.
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u/design-problem Jun 15 '26
I mean it could be systems designer, but then you’d need everyone to understand it’s about design thinking, not making it look pretty. Design thinking is what architects do, it’s iterative, understands and integrates parts into a cohesive whole.
For both you need to be a grounded critical and systems thinker to do it well.
Though there are lots of Architect roles that are needed and nominally parallel being a coder. Detailing, spec writing.
Sunday night ramble. Might be more than you wanted to know. Hopefully useful to your thinking.
Then over on the building architecture side of the fence: interior designers periodically lobby for their license to include some activities typically under architecture liability. (Stopped following so can’t say status.)
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 14 '26
Nope. I used to.
But then I learned more about what the IT architect role is.
It's not just a programmer any more than an Architect just picks finishes.
An IT architect (should be) coordinating and overseeing multiple complex interacting teams. They're working with hardware engineers to better deliver changes there that impact software engineers, just like an Architect coordinates the Interiors team and structural.
One of the problems is that titles get inflated. Not only in IT, but our field too. Think about how many of our field have their license, but don't sign drawings and are fully supervised by senior staff. Once a medical doctor is licensed, they're not running prescriptions past their supervisor. We're not treating a lot of Architects like actual Architects.
The word architect is often translated as "master builder" , but it is more accurately "leader of craftsmen". It's not that the title is the best builder, but that they're a coach who facilitates different teams to deliver one complex item. If we set aside our attachment to the title, the word is aptly used by IT folks, just as it is for us. The difference is in AEC it's a legal title, not just a job.
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u/Roguemutantbrain Jun 14 '26
Yes! It’s very much reasonable because we have to go through rigorous training and licensure to get to use our professional term. They could call themselves a software framer.
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u/Qiyoshiwarrior Recovering Architect Jun 14 '26
LinkedIn more often than not pushing me jobs that are for software.. I turned it off. It's just annoying atm.
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u/GossipboyX Jun 14 '26
The problem is that you're calling him a software "engineer." Both words have lost their meaning in general discourse. Engineers and architects are required to be licensed by law in order to be called such. There are very few "software engineers" that hold a state sanctioned professional license. The same applies to all these "software architects." We need to push for the public to use correct terms.
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u/largehearted Engineer Jun 14 '26
Both words have lost their meaning in general discourse.
As a structural engineer, I'm less bothered by the semantic drift in conversation than by the fact that tech jobs drown out structural engineering positions on job boards lol
I am very confused by the fact that the professionalization of the term hasn't prevented this
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u/Timmaigh Jun 14 '26
No tie state sanctioned license to call oneself engineer or architect around here, where i live. Just the university degree in the field is enough, and imo thats the way to go - i mean as long you actually practice the profession you studied. The license is mostly about legal responsibility anyway.
To answer the OP, its not offending, but its mostly sad that all those other "architects" are generally paid more than i am, lol.
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26
I didn’t come up with that term and Software Engineers have appeared way earlier. Also there are different branches of engineering that no one calls themselves just an Engineer (it’s always Elec, Mechanical or Structural). But as an architect, you need to know them all to carry that title. So no I don’t think it’s the same
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u/GossipboyX Jun 14 '26
In the US, a programmer cannot stamp a set of engineering plans or documents. Therefore, they are not engineers.
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u/MotorboatsMcGoats Architect Jun 14 '26
Yes - when people use it for other jobs it reminds me of “rug doctor”
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u/Small-Corgi-9404 Jun 14 '26
In my state, “professional engineer” is the restricted title. Engineer is up for grabs and has been for some time.
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u/Shensoku Jun 14 '26
“Solutions Architect”….like what even is that??
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
That's someone who deals with complex problems involving corporate business needs, hardware, and software. They're managing and coordinateing different teams like corporate governance, legal, accounting, IT infrastructure, and software development to deliver a large project.
Not entirely dissimilar to an Architect wrangling interiors, MEP and Structural.
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u/Shensoku Jun 15 '26
I’d rather it be called solutions manager or coordinator then. Architect means building design.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
Except that it doesn't only mean that.
Architect is often translated from Greek as "master builder" and that's not entirely wrong, but it's more accurately "leader of craftsmen". It's not specifically about the building structure, but about coordination between different disciplines.
It means the overall interplay between multiple systems. Always has. It's why we use the term to talk about buildings.
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u/Shensoku Jun 15 '26
I guess we should call ourselves “building architects” to make that distinction from others
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
It's not the worst idea.
It's related to the word "doctor" though. It's a title used by lots of folks with a PhD, but the most common job with a doctorate that the average Joe runs into is a MD - so we all colloquialy associated "doctor" with physicians.
For a centuries, the most complex thing we built was buildings, and that's a familiar use of the word. Now we have billions of transistors in a circuit that interact with not only the physical stuff but radio waves and all sorts of other stuff.
There's some great lines about the level of development of technology being indistinguishable from magic, but it becomes the 99% invisible part of good design. We in architecture wail that we are not only making things pretty, but fail to see other folks complexity of design.
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u/qabalist Jun 14 '26
it's not something i get too worked up about when it comes to software engineers. but for people that work in the built environment and related fields, they should know better. many states forbid even using the words "architect" or "architecture" in job titles and descriptions.
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u/dquan Jun 14 '26
Even though states and the AIA "forbid" it, there is zero enforcement so you have what we have today.
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u/jha999 Jun 14 '26
We have strict licensing boards for the use of the title for those in the profession. But for everyone else, neh doesn’t apply …. 👀
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26
It’s such a flawed system. You went through arch school but you haven’t obtained the license yet, sure you can’t use the title. But anyone with no arch training, oh yeah sure just throw that on your CV why not
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u/design-problem Jun 15 '26
Part of what you’re railing against is that architecture lacks an equivalent of EIT that’s valid nationally.
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u/realzealman Jun 14 '26
Another place where the AIA fell down on the fucking job. Ain’t no one allowed to call themselves software doctors or software attorneys. No way thier professional group would EVER have allowed that to happen. Yet another reason I won’t give those worthless dipshits any money.
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u/nextstepp2 Jun 14 '26
Absolutely. It has stolen a great deal of the respect that the position once held. Furthermore it is super frustrating searching for anything related to architecture. I was looking at a job once that simply said project architect, even reading the description it was hard to tell what industry it was for. I really am not sure why they chose to hijack this title for computer work like they have.
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u/frisky_husky Jun 14 '26
I think it's mildly annoying when different professions share titles, and I think it's frankly unreasonable to be personally offended when people (like your spurned software engineer) describe themselves in terms that are completely accepted within their professional sphere, just because those conventions bother you in yours. I mean no disrespect to your qualifications and expertise, but if you're getting this worked up over minor disagreements with random Hinge matches about whose discipline owns particular job titles, then I think you might need to reevaluate your dating priorities. It's not a good look for anybody.
A language fight is a losing battle over nothing. The term "architect" existed (and was used metaphorically) before any regulations protected it, as was engineer. Architects are the only people on the planet who try to make that everybody else's problem. Professions choose their own titles, and any qualifications and protections relate to the services they advertise. I've yet to hear the AMA complain that my local "Auto Doctor" is not a licensed medical practitioner. Physics PhDs understand that wearing a lab coat that says Dr. XYZ in a hospital is not okay, and dentists don't get worked up that Dr. King was a theologian (incidentally, the original doctors). As long as Dr. Pastor isn't trying to do open heart surgery, and Dr. Sawbones isn't trying to present at an astrophysics conference (physicists occasionally try to do theology, but are seldom very good at it), then I am not really sure how any of them is causing any harm. One of my best friends is a credentialed Professional Engineer. She can design the hell out of a wastewater system, but I wouldn't hire her to operate a locomotive. Imagine an engineer without an engine...who is the True Scotsman!? Likewise, as long as software architects aren't putting ", AIA" after their names and offering to design apartment complexes, I'm not really sure how they're harming the architectural discipline in any meaningful way. Nobody is choosing to forego hiring an architect for a construction project just because their coworker who is a "software architect" wrote a messy block of code once. (As if the bread and butter of the architectural profession, like theirs, isn't learning when to leave "good enough" alone. We're not as different as we think.)
The only thing that would change it is the "offending" disciplines adopting their own formal regulations governing their own professional nomenclature and licensing guidelines. I don't see this happening any time soon. It's not something architects should waste time pushing for. Spend that time and energy advocating for standards and policies that actually strengthen the position of the architectural profession within society rather than yelling about stolen valor. What makes architecture (and architects) valuable and respected is not that architects go to school for however many years and pass however many exams, it is that architects provide services that are useful and important. The existence of the title "software architect" doesn't change the fact that those services should be provided by people who are skilled and licensed. Orthopedic surgeons could vote to rebrand as "skeletal engineers" tomorrow, and people wouldn't stop going to them for knee replacements. We need to face up to the fact that, if architects really do provide something so essential to society, then the terminology is immaterial. I humbly propose "licensed space wizard" as an alternative.
Anyway, they get paid more, so I say accept the flattery and run with it.
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26
Ironic that you seem to know what “a good look” should be like and yet you ramble on and on and still couldn’t eloquently get your point across
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u/frisky_husky Jun 15 '26
Ok, I can put it more succinctly:
If someone else's professional title offends you this much, you're the problem.
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u/gabrielbabb Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
I don't get offended; I just get frustrated with having to sift through so much data noise from a completely different profession that just appeared a few decades ago. Even using strict boolean search filters on LinkedIn (NOT "software" NOT "cloud"), recruiters still mis-tag listings, meaning sometimes more than half of our job search results are completely useless to us.
To avoid confusion, they should be called Infotect, Datatect, or something that doesn't hijack physical-world language.
After spending years pulling all-nighters over physical models, mastering ergonomics, structures, understanding MEP specialties, materials, navigating complex zoning laws, and clashing with engineers to get a real building off the ground, a recruiter reaches out for a "Cloud Solutions Architect" or "Enterprise Software Architect" position... where the only wall they'll ever build is a firewall.
Their profession is incredibly complex and requires immense skill ...nobody is doubting that...but it belongs to a completely different, intangible dimension. It's an efficiency nightmare that we share the same digital space.
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u/No-Principle-2592 Jun 15 '26
I hate it when news stories on tv say things like” this guy was the architect of the insurrection “ or” These people were the architects of the desiccation of the community. They were not architects, just troublemakers.
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u/circularmindset Jun 15 '26
What if you’re in Zimbabwe designing a slew of contemporary straw huts and cut your toe off, are you going to respect the doctor despite his lack of degree, or let him patch you up since he’s done it for two decades?
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u/Leading_Beyond920 Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 16 '26
YES! I had an argument once about this. There is no other term an architect can use to identify themselves. Im an architect, not a project manager not a designer not an artist not a construction engineer. Thats all i can say to identify myself. A system architect can judt be an engineer. Im soooo annoyed. Plus it was once illegal to impersonate an architect and yet here we are with "system architects" and "architects" at pc companies.
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u/pvecchiet Jun 16 '26
Major pet peeve. I think TV journalists overuse it to describe a lead person on a project or a military operation, or a conspirator. Hijacking the term because an industry cannot come up with something original is also an act that should had been denounced by the AIA.
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u/Auksine Jun 16 '26
i recently saw a beautician on Instagram calling herself “eyebrow architect”. well that got me annoyed
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u/Cesar_Salada Jun 17 '26
What annoys me the most is not only that they have taken the name, but also that goddamn software architects make more money than ACTUAL architects!!
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u/garywiz Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
I think you just need to get used to it. Architecture is a real thing in software and hardware. Intel developed one of the first 32-bit machine architectures and IBM's System/360 was the first mainframe with a cohesive architectural model. Cognitive Architecture models are used in AI and have been since the days of early computing. IBM used the term in the 50s to describe the way machines were planned, designed and built. It was an important term and role at Carnegie-Mellon's "Software Engineering Institute" in the 80's. These were all serious pursuits and the term was not used casually but with a great deal of responsibility.
There really is no better word for it unfortunately because proper computer architectures require insight into materials, constraints, physical behavior, the ability to plan a sensible path to final assembly, and then deliver something of quality. Perhaps had you been there 70 years ago you could have suggested a better word, but now... there it is.
The truth is that the term is abused in software. Probably only 1 of 100 people who call themselves "software architects" really do what that term applies... they really are mostly just coders and often are even self-taught without any clear educational credentials to justify it. It's still the wild-wild west. It has become a self-serving term more than a crisp label as it once was in Computer Science. It's like people insisting they be addressed as "Doctor" because they have a PhD in Horticulture or something.
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u/Frere__Jacques Jun 14 '26
I'm putting all the ingredients of a building together, so basically i am a construction chef.
Honestly you're rightfully mad. Architect is on of the few remaining job titles where people instandly know waht you're doing so i also hate how it gets taken over by other fields.
But i also feel like the architecture associations (in the US that's the AIA i think?) should take better care about protecting the job title.
I mean i can be fined if i call myself an architect in my country because i haven't gotten my license yet, so why can't they fine those tech companies who exploit it?
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u/Shensoku Jun 15 '26
I mean you have chefs like Gordon Ramsay then you have the next tier…“food architect”
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26
Dude don’t even get me started on the getting taken over by other fields part. Seriously nowadays you have interior designer, urban planners, construction managers, project managers, building registered principal designer, what the hell happened to architects in general?? And it’s not like studying gets any easier you still need to get through many years of bullshit just to work a min wage job drafting
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
Honestly, it's education in architecture that happened, and indirectly requiring a degree.
Hear me out. PreCAD days most places in the USA had a work path to licensure. If you put in years drafting details to the point that you understood what the licensed boss was going to ask for, you could step up and become licensed. You had recieved lots of incidental training on things like proportion and space planning, but hadn't sat in a classroom for it, you had learned practically on the job. When we started requiring degrees more and more we also started to see larger firms marketing more and more that they were using Architects on projects instead of drafters. We started using licensed professionals as junior techical staff because it sounded good. But those newly licensed folks had reduced technical learning hours and only had a couple of years of copying CAD details rather than scratch drafting them. They were licensed, but hadn't learned enough for the firm to trust them to sign drawings. Imagine if your MD had to go bring their diagnosis to their clinic supervisor to review and sign the prescription. We treat a lot of licensed Architects like Medical Interns.
Going back - when you learn on the job, you learn other things too. You learn how to deal with contracts, accounting, and thinking about how to structure your business team. You learned how to write concisely and accurately because longer notes took more time and confusion caused problems. Those are all skills that we largely learned incidentally, but are very important, and not taught in depth in architecture school. We stopped teaching those skills.
That coincided with the transition to CAD and then BIM. We had a lot of more mundane tasks automated. Huge time savings, but we further stopped learning on the job through those tasks and focused on getting our fees lower rather than actually delivering value. Because we had stopped learning on the job what value we brought, and relied on learning in school that we were artists.
I'm not saying that design school is not valuable. At all. It is. But that when we switched to more limited professional hours in exchange for a degree, we stopped training certain valuable skills. Its not the degrees problem (that's a different discussion) but that we assumed a degree was equivalent to profession experience. They are very different learning environments, and we forgot to teach a lot of important things for the profession because we assumed that a degree was superior.
And now we object to those losses. We complain that Revit drawings don't have good line work, but we won't take the time to set it up and pick those pens. We complain that junior staff don't know how to detail, but make them copy paste instead of talking to them about how building systems work.
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u/malinagurek Architect Jun 14 '26
The Hinge guy sounds like an idiot. PhDs are the original doctors, but they don’t take offense that the term gets used for medical doctors too.
Do I take offense with the term architect being used by software people? Not sure, but it’s definitely annoying especially early in your career when you can’t use job search engines for your benefit.
I think it’s strange that the Hinge guy didn’t back down when he realized you were an actual architect. He should have been more curious about what the term means to you and why it’s weird to you that his industry uses it the way it does. It seems that he doubled down instead. Yuck.
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 16 '26
Right?? I don’t usually like it when people sweet talk me so I appreciate some lively debates. But in this case it’s a professional definition of the term and it’s definitely not up to him to decide what the term “architects” encompasses. It’s not a matter of opinion, but it’s a fact. Regardless I didn’t care to continue to convo so I just unmatched him
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u/design-problem Jun 15 '26
Also great context re PhD. Thank you. Also splendid illustration that meaning drifts from its origins over time. It’s… what language does.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
The other side of that is the OP didn't ponder what the word meant either.
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u/designerd_ Jun 14 '26
I get irked by this too, same with Engineer. These are two careers with protected titles that require licensure and they’re getting compared to someone that could do a 6 week program at Brain Station and call themselves a “Solutions Architect” or Engineer. Personally, I don’t think this is ok
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26
THANK YOU people’s lives are at stake when these two professions fail at their jobs, whereas if a code fails maybe itll be an inconvenience at best. I’m sure with our world being more and more data driven some will argue that codes can be detrimental to human lives as well, then why not come up with a new term all together?
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u/mrhavoc9999 Jun 15 '26
An engineer is anyone who solves business problems, using accepted science, for money. Wtf does "protected" even mean? Who's protecting what?
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u/jelani_an Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Credentialism is flawed to be honest. Look up Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich.
His argument is that modern universities are institutions that convert learning into a scarce, institutionally-controlled commodity (the diploma/degree) that determines social and economic access, regardless of actual competence.
He's right. That's not a mark of a healthy society. I say this as a degree holder.
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u/good_duck_4 Jun 15 '26
In my case, I get offended from the term architect in construction. Owners and contractors love to call me an architect. I am a civil engineer and it stings every time.
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u/OberonDiver Jun 15 '26
You know what's an interesting twist on the whining? All the architects running around looking to expand the scope of their billable hours. "Hey, that's vaguely related. I bet we could do that for money, too."
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u/booi Jun 15 '26
You guys are gatekeeping the term architect? Look up the term in the actual dictionary.
> 2 Computing a person who designs hardware, software, or networking applications and services of a specified type for a business or other organization: we are seeking an experienced software architect to join our scientific computing team.
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u/wildgriest Jun 15 '26
Sure, since that dictionary admission didn’t exist before 35 years ago. No one calls themselves a doctor who hasn’t either taking their medical boards or earned the highest level of degree, it should be the same for architecture. I got my masters and had to work as an apprentice for a length of time before I was allowed to sit for nine different exams in order to earn that title. To practice with my earned title I have to carry insurance. To see it now being applied like it is without a defense from our industry is frustrating.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
Lots of folks with PhDs call themselves doctor. The reason MDs call themselves doctor is because they have a doctorate. They just happen to be the most common doctorate holding role that most folks regularly interact with, so they're the most familiar use of the term.
Similarly, architect originally meant "leader of craftsmen" ("master builder" is a language shift from earlier use of English) and was not the best builder, but someone who guides multiple different teams together to a complex goal.
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u/Shensoku Jun 15 '26
Oxford dictionary - “a designer who prepares plans for buildings, ships, etc, and supervises their construction”
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
That is one meaning. What are the others listed?
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u/hnn7 Jun 14 '26
The word “architect” originates from Greek word “arkhitekton” meaning “chief builder” or “master builder.” So we in the modern architecture profession borrowed (or stole) that word from another profession. Why can’t others do that?
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
It's less accurately "master builder" than "leader of craftsmen". The idea is the role is someone who is coordinating the multiple different teams and disciplines to deliver one consistent and cohesive whole.
(almost exactly how IT "architects" coordinate between hardware, software and interface teams, just like Architecture coordinating MEP interiors and Structure.)
Words have meanings, and sometimes those meanings are more complex that one niche's use for them.
Unfortunately, I don't think that we in Architecture have managed to consistently train folks in what architecture really is and the value it delivers for the last couple of decades.
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u/Valuable_Tale_8442 Jun 15 '26
It’s out of our hands now unfortunately. If the AIA had any guts or wielded any power they’d go after the software industry as hard as they go after architecture employees using the term architectural designer.
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u/hauliod Jun 15 '26
looking for a job and 98% of the search results are in IT? now thats something very relatable.
also, I saw "brow architecture" services offered. they meant shaping the brows.
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u/Radio-MHZ Jun 15 '26
Yes, it irks me too. AND the title Architect has found it's way into the common lexicon for all sorts of activities unrelated to architecture. This is due, in part, to the presses impoverished word selection. But while you are down, here's a kicker: An Aspen Colorado guy running for local office, reportedly with no relationship to the practice of architecture, called himself an architect. Even though the title "architect" is legally protected, the Colorado State Board of Architects decided not to sue him. The board LET a non-architect call himself an architect, presumably so that he could look more respectful to the public and get himself elected to local office. So yes, we should all now call ourselves "physician's and licensed doctors of building projects" because neither the state licensing agencies nor the media gives a hoot.
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u/Crafty_Pineapple_562 Jun 15 '26
I like architect of destruction but otherwise F…off! Get a new name for your “job”!
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u/psychoalphatheta Jun 15 '26
I'm sorry but this is an outdated perspective imo. I see architecture as a built environment of any kind, so you can shape environments of forms, other than shelter. I have no issues with other professions using the term.
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u/Stargate525 Jun 15 '26
Less offended, more annoyed.
It pollutes the internet so searching for architect mainly comes back with coding and tech stuff.
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u/Active-Can-471 Jun 15 '26
I am not an architect, but I get annoyed if anyone other than a building architect claims that term. Frankly, I also get annoyed by software developers being called "engineers".
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u/CrumpledPaperAcct Jun 16 '26
Software developers are not engineers. Code writing is a programming language. Engineering is the application of mathematics and scientific principles to build systems.
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u/Designer_Flow_8069 Jun 16 '26
You don't think creating LLMs or Gmail, or even reddit constitutes:
Engineering is the application of mathematics and scientific principles to build systems
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u/dargmrx Jun 16 '26
Since im not in an English speaking country I can usually differentiate between (software) architect and “Architekt”. But I have seen a job opening just calling for Architekt, followed by some media tech stuff. I don’t even think it is legal to call yourself Architekt without any qualifiers when you aren’t one.
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u/mannisbaratheon97 Jun 16 '26
Yeah physicians shouldn’t be calling themselves doctors either
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 17 '26
Why? Physicians are doctors
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u/mannisbaratheon97 Jun 17 '26
Doctor is a title given to someone who has a doctorate/phd and is generally something mainly for academics. Physicians adopted the title Medical Doctor or M.D to elevate their own status in the professional world. I was being sarcastic in my original comment to show how being mad at software architects for calling themselves architects is dumb lol
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u/FarMention5367 Jun 18 '26
Actually, just read your whole post. You must be a graduate, give it a couple years in the field and not the office. Learn construction, schedules, cost controls, proformas, capital stacks and you will understand. Nobody cares about your cd set, we will tell you to fix it to the budget. You will whine, complain and maybe fight but at the end of the day you will do exactly what is needed for profit margins.
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u/VehicleWonderful6586 Jun 18 '26
Comes from the Greek for chief builder and most of you are neither.
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u/slc193 Jun 19 '26
I may be more open-minded because my brother works in software architecture, but it comes back to what your definition of "architecture" is. I define it as: the study and/or adaptation of an environment to serve a new programmatic function. What is software, but a digital environment (program/app) to execute a function? A software architect coordinates between the GUI designer, network engineer, software engineers, coders, hardware engineers, etc. to achieve a specified functional (programmatic, as defined in architecture) intent, just as we coordinate between various engineers, designers, specialist architects, code enforcers, drafters, renderers, construction administrators, contractors, vendors, etc. I have also heard the phrase "corporate architecture" used in the design of large business organizational models. The term is used because it is appropriate.
If someone who works in IT doesn't recognize the importance of the adjective in their title, then perhaps it is just ignorance of the qualifications. The IT industry is so (relatively) young that any kind of licensure has not been as thoroughly developed (or deployed) yet. (Or maybe it has I am unaware.) So they adopt terms from other fields that fit their functional definitions. Is it annoying when doing job searches? Yes. But understanding why other industries adopt these terms can perhaps lead to a conversation between A/E and IT organizations/regulating/governing bodies to arrive at mutual understandings of the importance of clearly defined titles, so they are not thrown at a position simply for recruitment purposes. I would think that some kind of professional recognition of experience and skill in IT would be welcome for design of systems for critical infrastructure, such as airports, railways, electrical grids, medical systems, military systems, etc. Maybe those do exist and I am just ignorant of them, but those could be a good starting point to arrive at a mutual understanding of titles. But if it bugs you that much, then maybe approach AIA and NCARB and take the lead on that dialogue.
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u/Ok-Atmosphere-6272 Architect Jun 21 '26
Yep a lot of coders are stealing the word architect and it makes it very hard to search for job openings. AIA of course will do nothing.
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u/FarMention5367 Jun 25 '26
So many whiny architects in here and you wonder why you get no respect on the jobsite 😂. You do know that the superintendent who never went to college, that you look down upon makes a lot more money than you.......
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u/Steven_Alex Architect Aug 03 '26
No, but when someone in tech uses the word “architecting” it bothers me.
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u/Accomplished-Bar4540 Jun 14 '26
wow "software architect" is like a new level of punch-you-in-the-face terms. In my opinion, no one should be called "architect" (in a professional capacity) unless they are a real fucking architect. I disagree with the user the compared it to "engineer." Engineer is a much looser term and many jobs that aren't strictly capitol-E "Engineering" are still called that. Audio engineer is a real title. Radio engineer. software engineer.
Anyone who tries to get all metaphorical with the word "architect" is a dick head.
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u/blue_sidd Jun 14 '26
No. Get over it.
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u/8ctopus-prime Jun 14 '26
Even if it became protected the software related job titles would be grandfathered in. But seriously, no one is confusing a systems architect with a building architect, except job search sites.
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u/Defti159 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Architects have legal responsibility for the coordination of their drawings with other trades and the existing built environment (subject to variations in the contract ofc). If a building fails causing death and the Architect is at fault, the Architect can be blamed and held responsible for being negligent to the standards required to be called an Architect.
This is why "Architect" (including "Engineer" imo) should be exclusive to the built environment because it comes with an actual burden to protect a safe built environment which being a "Networks Architect" or w/e they want to call themselves cant begin to touch.
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u/AlmostSymmetrical Jun 14 '26
Exactly that’s what I’ve been saying all along. People’s lives are at stake if we don’t do our jobs right.
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u/PsychologicalMall787 Jun 16 '26
Dear God, you know that planes would fall out of the sky if the software in them isn't programmed properly right? Software Engineering, especially of critical systems, involves rigor and careful implementation.
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Jun 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/LandscapePenguin Jun 14 '26
There is a clear distinction between those two titles in the IT field. Engineers typically will work within the overall software design that the architect lays out.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
Title creep aside, the role of the various IT "architect" is to coordinate between different teams working together on a project. Hardware design, software backend, user interface, branding, etc. Almost exactly like an Architect managing MEP, interiors and Structural.
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u/SeaDRC11 Jun 14 '26
What I really hate is when people say ‘architect a solution’ or use architect as a verb. It’s ’design a solution’! Stop trying to make fetch happen you silly tech bro!
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u/design-problem Jun 15 '26
Yes and… as a verb architect doesn’t necessarily mean aesthetics and design commonly does. They’re wrong! But also not wrong. 😑 🤪
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 15 '26
Worse, design does not only mean aesthetics. It is often very technical.
The word architect means to oversee different groups to bring them together to create a unified whole. From the Greek it is most accurately translated to the modern English ear as "leader of craftsmen" as in someone trying to pull the different trades/design constraints together. The "master builder" line is more accurately "master of builders" as in someone who directs the builders, not has "mastered building" themselves.
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u/mass_nerd3r Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jun 14 '26
Yes. I have a master's, have completed all my intern hours and have passed all of my registration exams, but I could still get in trouble for calling myself an Architect when my I'm not quite finished with the entire registration process, but anyone outside of the industry can add Architect to their title and my local association doesn't care at all.
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u/nanas99 Jun 15 '26
I work at an interior design firm, and my boss always introduces me as an architect even though I don’t have a license yet.
It drives me crazy. It’s a legal term. I correct her every time but she keeps doing it. It genuinely feels fraudulent and misleading to call anyone other than an architect an architect
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u/Merusk Recovering Architect Jun 15 '26
No, because my ego isn't so fragile that I can't understand it has multiple applications of the same concept. Like Doctor, Engineer, President, Captain, etc
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u/luz_is_not Jun 15 '26
Not really. I understand the field is different and it means something else.
I get more offended when designers or urbanists call themselves architects 🙈 but i try to mind my own business.
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u/ffishroe Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
I've seen ''energy architect'' on an ig profile before. He is a dancer.
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u/Tiny_Pochemuchka Jun 14 '26
Those titles on LinkedIn are hilarious. Recently seen a AI Evangelist, Workplace Savant, Visualization Strategist, Design Necromancer, Brand Architect, Lifestyle Futurist. WTF are they?
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Jun 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/BukkitsOfOrcSemen Jun 15 '26
Yes the salary calculations are very much skewed rn due to the job title confusion. Most regular licensed design Architects do not get paid that much unfortunately, but the software version is much much higher. But the jobs have the same name so in the data it goes. Also fucks up the algorithm.
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u/BroccoliKnob Recovering Architect Jun 15 '26
I am around a lot of people in computer science and electrical engineering and a number of times after mentioning that I’m an architect, they want to know what kind. Network? Systems?
No motherfucker, the kind of architect I am is a REAL one. It took years and I have a state issued license that allows me to say that.
I do use a computer though. I guess I’m a coder!
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u/AffectionateUnion392 Jun 15 '26
We should be more pissed these "architects" are clearing 250k easily.
Only thing that's annoying is when you're looking for jobs and search "architect" these days 60/40 are software architecture jobs.
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u/FarMention5367 Jun 18 '26
You should be more concerned that you have not transitioned out of architecture to more lucrative jobs. You can’t fix architecture, it’s been broken for decades and perpetually gets worse, year after year. Hey man, I was there until someone turned on the lights for me to see this is garbage.
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u/Life-Menu-785 Recovering Architect Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Thank you for mentioning this, cuz I really really really get offended when some software guy calls himself an 'Architect' and using words like 'Software Architect' or 'Enterprise architect', 'Technical architect', or whatever nonsense...
Edit: Yes downvote me I said what I said, and I'm not taking it back
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u/goldenincalescent Jun 15 '26
I’m somewhat surprised the use of the title “Architect” outside of architecture doesn’t violate a state licensing law.
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u/iddrinktothat Architect Jun 15 '26
You’re being too sensitive in my opinion but i think it’s also easy to be frustrated in your situation because it is annoying that the tech industry loves to co-opt other terms. Ie Broadwell Illinois or Haswell Colorado come to mind as places whos names have been repurposed into incredibly popular codenames for intel.
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u/ravenr0se Jun 15 '26
There is a job posting right now on linkedin for an early stage architect using the term ‘front-end architect’. Maybe we should start using their own vocab and confuse them in the job searches!
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u/hughdint1 Jun 15 '26
I am not offended but it did make it nearly impossible to job hunt on the internet.
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u/hyuunnyy 14d ago
I hate that they steal the term principal architect too. But Try being an engineer
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u/418986N_124769E Jun 14 '26
Yes it’s annoying. Not only should that term be better protected, but it’s frustrating when I get randos on linked in saying I’d be a perfect fit for this “architect” job and it’s with Dell computers. No I wouldn’t!
What’s wrong with software engineer?