To say that job titles shouldn't include the word 'architect' unless they are actually an architect?

[itssunnyyay]

Hi all, so my partner is an architect, It takes years to become an architect and you have to be registered on the RIBA (royal institute of British architects) to call yourself an architect.

I have noticed an increasing number of jobs using the job title 'architect' that has nothing to do with architecture.. for example, "solution Architect" which is 'responsible for evaluating an organisations business needs and determining how IT can support those needs leveraging software" so .. not an architect.

Other job titles are "software architect", "senior enterprise solution architect manufacturing", "web solutions architect", "HR solutions architect", "finance and accounting digital architect", "analytics implementation architect", "deputy food architect", "platform architect" ... the list goes on

Isn't Architect a protected title? IMO job titles should actually mean something, and all of the above mean absolutely nothing?

@C8H10N4O2

and they have to pay for their licensing

I also have to pay for my professional body memberships and maintain certification levels.

Like pretty much anyone else in a professional qualification career.

Not to be an architect though

Engineering is another classic one.

Think ‘I work as an engineer’ or architect’ is easily understood to mean those specific professions.

Any added words usually gives away that it’s people or employers seeking grandeur!

@Fridafever

Please can nobody else on this thread tell us what your husband, boyfriend or father thinks.

No body has done this

Nothing beats the sign on the cubicle door reading: "This toilet is blocked and out of use. Engineer has been called."

Other interesting ones are ‘office holders’ under employment law. Virtually no employment rights. Eg clergy, police.

On vicarious status through the people we date/live with/marry, I weirdly sometimes have similar irritated thoughts to the OP, over 20 years after dating a man whose job was as an engineer. Wouldn’t have guessed that such internal pedantry over an occupation I knew bugger all about would be one of v few lasting things about the relationship

@Loopytiles

Engineering is another classic one.

Think ‘I work as an engineer’ or architect’ is easily understood to mean those specific professions.

Any added words usually gives away that it’s people or employers seeking grandeur!

Not in the IT world no.

I've worked with Solutions Architects since the early 2000s.

In its truest sense, it's an enormously responsible, skilled job for very experienced people. Constructing blueprints, connections and designs of multiple systems, data centres, data warehouses and more.

It's not a new or faddy term, OP.

Architect = designing a building(s) for construction trades to build
Solutions architect = designing a technical infrastructure for IT trades to build.

Makes perfect sense to me and my industry.

@Loopytiles

Other interesting ones are ‘office holders’ under employment law. Virtually no employment rights. Eg clergy, police.

Do you mean officer? That is true actually.. I always get confused by 'associate' is that term not totally meaningless? Or in contrast, it means so many things

[quote itssunnyyay]@Nnique does it though? Someone further down the thread said they thought their friends husband who was a solutions architect was an architect.. most people don't know what a solutions architect is and if they heard the word architect they would assume they were an .. architect [/quote]

Most people?

Perhaps you can rephrase that to "most people in your circle".

@EinsteinaGogo tbf I've never asked anyone in my circle about this, but I feel confident enough to say that the average joe wouldn't be able to tell you what a solutions architect is

@EinsteinaGogo and that's not meant to be offensive.. there's loads of worthwhile important jobs that no ones ever heard of

@BitOutOfPractice

Why do you care so much then?

The utter straight up irony of that question has absolutely made my day! OP!

Me too, @BitOutOfPractice !!!

@Nnique - I hope you laughed at the irony too!

OP - I feel you're far too hung up on your DH's job. Is being a dietician not worshipped enough for you?

@EinsteinaGogo tbh loads of people don't know what a dietitian is lol

I'm a web programmer and I can do the entire lot front end, middle ware and DB and can call myself a few titles. But when I was in the top four international IT companies our lead architect was the person who oversaw the creation of the system. He was a bloody genius and web Developer/ web designer/ programmer didnt touch what his role or knowledge was. It's just a technical term for his role. No one associates his role with the building trade surely? But he did design a government IT system and its platform in it entirety. It cost many millions to build. He needs no formal qualifications for his job. No insurance and no professional body membership is compulsory. So it's not comparable. But that's not to say he is a numpty earning peanuts that any person could do that job. The role was even in such a huge IT company very technical and possibly the most technical role you could have. If he was run over you couldnt of found another of him to pick up his work for the following weeks or months.

Maybe it's over used in small tech start ups? But never ever have I considered them as like for like roles. That's just madness. I could say I'm a web designer but I dont think anyone could say me and a fashion designer had anything at all in common.

YABVU. I have the word 'architect' in my job title (IT- related) and it is perfectly reasonable in the context of what I do. Absolutely no one expects me to be able to design a building.

YA probably BU but I agree with you anyway. Recently two people described themselves to me with job titles with designer and architect in - I was really interested, but it turned out they were management consultants, one of them focusing on how to restructure companies and make people redundant.

The one that irritates me more though is the co-opting of the word artist for singers, actors, sandwich makers etc. If you are an actual artist you have to call yourself a visual artist.

@SweetPetrichor

Gas Engineers install boilers, tanks, and heating systems etc. which mean assessing structures, installing pipe work, locating and connecting services and designing the optimum schemes.

How totally snobby of you to sneer 'they're not engineers'.

@WhiteJellycat

I'm a web programmer and I can do the entire lot front end, middle ware and DB and can call myself a few titles. But when I was in the top four international IT companies our lead architect was the person who oversaw the creation of the system. He was a bloody genius and web Developer/ web designer/ programmer didnt touch what his role or knowledge was. It's just a technical term for his role. No one associates his role with the building trade surely? But he did design a government IT system and its platform in it entirety. It cost many millions to build. He needs no formal qualifications for his job. No insurance and no professional body membership is compulsory. So it's not comparable. But that's not to say he is a numpty earning peanuts that any person could do that job. The role was even in such a huge IT company very technical and possibly the most technical role you could have. If he was run over you couldnt of found another of him to pick up his work for the following weeks or months.

Maybe it's over used in small tech start ups? But never ever have I considered them as like for like roles. That's just madness. I could say I'm a web designer but I dont think anyone could say me and a fashion designer had anything at all in common.

I'm not in any way shape or form saying that they're useless roles that earn peanuts, and my point in the post is that they aren't comparable roles

@drpet49

Same as Engineer. No, the man from Currys who comes to fix your washing machine isn’t an Engineer

You sound like my dh who’s a proper registered engineer and was very pissed off when I got a job which was x engineer. He said I shouldn’t be allowed to call myself an engineer. 😂

I think the ship has sailed on this one, OP. The use of architect for some roles in IT where you are designing networks is now well embedded.

Not the sole example of job titles being potentially misleading or inflated. Managers used to manage people, whereas now it's almost become just a pay grade in many instances.

@SisyphusDad

YABVU. I have the word 'architect' in my job title (IT- related) and it is perfectly reasonable in the context of what I do. Absolutely no one expects me to be able to design a building.

I didn't say anyone expects you to design buildings.

[quote itssunnyyay]@EinsteinaGogo tbf I've never asked anyone in my circle about this, but I feel confident enough to say that the average joe wouldn't be able to tell you what a solutions architect is [/quote]
Yep those job titles are pretty hard to decipher if you're not in the IT world

Not to be an architect though

Actually yes, that is in my registered titles...

@C8H10N4O2

Not to be an architect though

Actually yes, that is in my registered titles...

May I ask what your job title is then? Because you said you were an architect in areas of IT?