How to Become a Corporate Architect

There are examples of corporate architecture in every community around the world. Corporate architects design chain restaurants, malls and office facilities that must mix comfort and function for maximum effect. You need to develop a knowledge of design, productivity and business management in order to become a corporate architect.

Instructions

1. Finish an architectural degree at a major university to become a candidate for corporate architectural jobs. Many corporate firms look at the grades, portfolio and the level of competition at an applicant's university to find new architects.

2. Use your college and advanced degree projects as a way to show your potential as a corporate architect. You can work with fellow students to develop malls, corporate centers and public facilities that span entire blocks instead of a single lot.

3. Learn foreign language skills to become competitive in the field of corporate architecture. Successful architects know at least one foreign language in order to expand career possibilities beyond the United States.

4. Register for night, weekend and single-day courses in online design programs at the beginning of your career. Corporate architects have moved away from an emphasis on pencil sketches toward a focus on clear computer designs.

5. Pursue internship programs through your university to get a taste of the projects designed by corporate architects. You can spend a semester during your senior year supplementing your school studies as a design assistant for a local architect.

6. Expand your search for architectural positions outside of the corporate world to gain experience early in your career. Positions with home builders and local architectural firms give you practical experience on a smaller scale than corporate projects.

7. Establish an expertise in corporate building standards before you enter an interview for a position as a corporate architect. Architectural firms and corporations work together to create color schemes, signage and other branding tools to maintain uniformity in every location around the world.

8. Remain flexibility in your schedule while you build a name as a corporate architect as a consultant to smaller firms. Your ability to provide design, implementation and regulatory insight into a ongoing project can help you develop a reputation as a problem solver.

Tips & Warnings

• Develop a good relationship with fellow architectural graduates and assistants in your early career. These colleagues may be your competition for entry level positions but it is important to have strong contacts in the corporate world. You should hold teleconferencing and live meetings regularly to stay in touch with your contemporaries.