What does a Architect actually do?

The short version

Architects carry buildings from brief to construction — design, planning, regulations, contracts — and the title is legally protected: seven years via RIBA Parts 1–3 and ARB registration before you can use it. It's one of the longest training routes in the Atlas.

The pitch: real creative authorship and a protected professional identity. The catch: pay is modest relative to the training, the job is more coordination than sketching, and employment follows the construction cycle — practices hire and shed fast.

Entry routes that actually work

• RIBA Part 1 → 2 → 3 — degree, two years in practice across the route, then the professional exam and ARB registration.
• Architect degree apprenticeship — qualify while employed; the debt-free version of the same route.
• Architectural technologist — a shorter, technical parallel route for people more interested in how buildings go together.