To Meccano:
Firstly the difference in building costs between Monaghan and Dublin are not that high. [broken link removed]
Regarding architects charging 8% for domestic designs - I know of two architects in the Cork region who manage to get such fees regularly.
Other than that, it is generally set fees as indicated by Betsy Og.
Unless the design is extraordinarily bespoke and looks like one of these:
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
then , you should not be spending 8% on a design.
Most architects are not wealthy at all - about 50% work as employees where pay is rather poor compared to employees in other professional areas. I know 30 year old architects making €30k-35k after 6 years study and 5 years of practice and 40 year olds making €45k. This would be in a job without pension benefits and with a high probability of unemployment when the current property boom goes bust.
If there is such a vast amount of money to be made in working for yourself, why isn't everyone doing it?
The other advantage to working for yourself is that you have total design control - the opportunity to realise your own projects is one of the most important reasons for becoming an architect in the first place. Why would anyone work as an employee?
The only ones who make significant money (and in some cases eye wateringly large amounts of money) are those who run large practices or who are sufficiently famous that the clients who come to them don't care about cost.
I must say that I find it rather amusing the high points that are required in the Leaving Certificate for a long course of study which ends up with a rather poorly paid job which in most cases simply involves people sitting in front of a computer 40 hours a week cross referencing window schedules for an apartment block or trying to squash an extra 5 houses into a housing estate somewhere. There is a serious split between the perception and the reality of life as an architect.
Firstly the difference in building costs between Monaghan and Dublin are not that high. [broken link removed]
Regarding architects charging 8% for domestic designs - I know of two architects in the Cork region who manage to get such fees regularly.
Other than that, it is generally set fees as indicated by Betsy Og.
Unless the design is extraordinarily bespoke and looks like one of these:
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
then , you should not be spending 8% on a design.
Most architects are not wealthy at all - about 50% work as employees where pay is rather poor compared to employees in other professional areas. I know 30 year old architects making €30k-35k after 6 years study and 5 years of practice and 40 year olds making €45k. This would be in a job without pension benefits and with a high probability of unemployment when the current property boom goes bust.
If there is such a vast amount of money to be made in working for yourself, why isn't everyone doing it?
The other advantage to working for yourself is that you have total design control - the opportunity to realise your own projects is one of the most important reasons for becoming an architect in the first place. Why would anyone work as an employee?
The only ones who make significant money (and in some cases eye wateringly large amounts of money) are those who run large practices or who are sufficiently famous that the clients who come to them don't care about cost.
I must say that I find it rather amusing the high points that are required in the Leaving Certificate for a long course of study which ends up with a rather poorly paid job which in most cases simply involves people sitting in front of a computer 40 hours a week cross referencing window schedules for an apartment block or trying to squash an extra 5 houses into a housing estate somewhere. There is a serious split between the perception and the reality of life as an architect.