Jobs kind of like Architecture, but not?

[TwigTheWonderKid]

DS is in Year 12. He's thought a lot about architecture but he suspects that he may not get the necessary UCAS points for these very competitive courses and that the degree is a massive slog that he's probably not cut out for it.

His A levels are History, Geography and 3D Design and he's now thinking about doing a Geography degree, possibly combined with Urban Planning.

He's not arty but he enjoys his 3D design course and I think it's the creative side of architecture which appeals to him.

I can't help thinking there must be loads of jobs out there which might combine his skills and interests but not sure where to look.

He's got to organise a few days' work experience soon and so this could be really good opportunity for him to learn about a job or field that might inspire him but I'm unsure where to start. Any ideas?

May be worth looking up these courses:
Urban Design, Planning & Development (@Oxford Brooks - if less of a designer but interest in buildings this may suit)
Interior Architecture (@Nottingham Trent - a good 3 year entry into architecture that's very flexible)
Architecture (@Manchester - more design focused, less science focused)

And work experience wise, a council planning office, or an architects office, or a design consultancy...

Architectural technician?

Also things like historic conversation? UCL has geography & the built environment and maybe things with an environmental slant on design / architecture.

Really interesting mix of interests he has! Let us know how it goes :)

Architectural technician sounds perfect. Or design technology?

Architectural technician - lower entry requirements but less design driven. They don’t have to train for anywhere near as long as an architect and are generally in demand.

Another one is building surveying, I don’t know what the entry requirements are like but get him to have a look and see what he thinks. They generally earn more than architects and the again the degree and training isn’t as annoying.

Id stay away from interior architecture I know a few people who struggled to get jobs afterwards as it’s quite niche.

Geography is a good base degree and he could still do something creative on the side or get a more creative grad job after.

Not building related but has he thought of marketing? Would fit his A Levels and has the creative side.

On the creative side what about something like infographics, VR design, industrial design, or games design/elearning type roles?

In my experience careers teachers are rubbish at thinking outside the standard academic subject areas. What are the aspects of architecture that he likes? The planning, the drawing, the computing? VR and AI are up and coming areas, just as one example, and even the NHS and universities use elearning and VR for vast amounts of learning these days. Or, depending on where you live, airline and engineering companies or universities themselves.

@daysfilledwithdappledlight it doesn’t sound like he’ll get anywhere near the grades for Manchester or UCL…

I'm probably doing him a bit of a disservice - he's capable of at least ABB but he was diagnosed with dyslexia last year after a couple of years of quite extreme school related anxiety, and his confidence is quite low so whilst we really want to support and encourage him to do whatever he wants we don't want him to put any massive and unhelpful pressure on himself either.

ABB is great OP! From the way you were talking about points I was thinking that he was more CCC region

Architectural modelmaker. It's great fun!

long term, there is a shortage of Building Control Officers...
nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/building-control-officer
he may get lucky and get a post within Local Govt, but there are Approved Inspectors who may recruit at trainee level.

@TwigTheWonderKid do you know anyone who works for your local council?
They might be able to organise a few days/week with Building Control and Planning (mixed) is he able to make a decent cuppa?

Construction management?

My teen applied for architecture and civil engineering through ucas as they couldn’t decide what degree to do.

My friend is a quantity surveyor and she really enjoys it. Urban planning sounds fascinating too! 'Green' jobs are a big growth area - my uncle studied civil engineering but now works in green energy.

Architectural Technologist. Product design.

Geographical information systems and mapping would suit those subjsects really well. It's a growth area and really interesting mix of art, science, digital and geography. GIS specialists are really in demand for construction, asset management, flood risk, disaster relief, you name it, if you can put it on a map someone will want it. It's not just drawing maps but involves smart kinds of analysis to analyse, manipulate and communicate the data.

Product design

Architectural technology / 3D historic building scanning?

Landscape Architecture?

Mechanical design engineer?

I don't think OP's son will be able to do engineering without a math or science A-Level, but its true that building services design (mechanical and electrical) is all being drawn up in 3D these days.

Maybe look into something in sustainability/building physics modelling.

Anything related to BIM (Building Information Modelling) seems to be a great employer just now. It's basically a 3D model of a construction project - seems to be required now, and it is used to generate 2D drawings etc. I'm a structural engineer and BIM collates the entire project in a physical format. Out current BIM staff are the CAD technicians but I can definitely see great career opportunities for newbies coming into the industry with solid BIM learning.

GIS could also be a great one for him - more geo related. We have a significant sized department working in GIS. My graduate mentor worked in GIS but I still don't really understand it! But it seemed interesting and important.