Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Grows with AI
Architects, except landscape and naval
Plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 37% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.3% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision and ethical judgement.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $99,280
- Job growth to 2035
- +4.3%
- Openings a year
- 6,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 125,000
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree, then an internship or residency
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare documentation for contracts, applications, or permits
- Document technical designs, procedures, or activities
- Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Design structures or facilities
- Inspect facilities or equipment
- Supervise personnel activities
What the work looks like
- Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
- Plan or design structures such as residences, office buildings, theatres, factories, or other structural properties in accordance with environmental, safety, or other regulations.
- Meet with clients to review or discuss architectural drawings.
- Prepare contract documents for building contractors.
- Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Environmental engineersGrows with AI, Index 39, +6.3%
- Animal scientistsGrows with AI, Index 40, +5.8%
- Civil engineersGrows with AI, Index 44, +6.4%
- Electrical engineersGrows with AI, Index 59, +9.9%
Also known as: Architect, Architectural Designer, Design Architect, Project Architect, Planner, Specifications Writer.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.