| In more years in this profession than I care to admit I have never seen an architectural engineer. I have worked with dozens of Structural engineers, mechanical engineers, Electrical engineers, civil engineers, acoustical engineers, but no architectural engineers. So perhaps this is a degree that leads you into one of those engineering fields, but don't imagine that you are going into a special field that allows you to do both.
As far as construction careers, we are part of a large construction firm and for construction we hire folks with architecture, engineering, and construction technology/engineering degrees and have had equal success with all of them.
There was a time when an architecture graduate would have fewer job prospects than an engineer and would start at a lower salary. That is not the case today. I would say that even architecture and construction jobs have become pretty equal. A new graduate in our architecture group would start at about $46k, a new graduate in construction would start at $53k. However the architect typically gets responsibility a little faster and by the end of the third year they are equal in compensation.
My suggestion is that rather than basing your career choices on outdated comments about compensation, go figure out which career is going to get you out of bed excited to go to work for the next 40 years. Try to spend some time at an engineering firm, an architecture firm, and a construction job trailer. They are very different careers that attract very different people. Follow your heart.
rick |