Poland versus the rest of the EU
According to the 2018 report The Architectural Profession in Europe 2018 - ACE Sector Study, Poland, along with Greece, are the only countries in Europe where salaries in architecture have declined over the past decade. The same report indicates that Polish architects have the second lowest salaries on the continent in relation to the purchasing power of money.
Gross full-time annual salaries (in euros), relative to the purchasing power of money
in individual European countries based on data from The Architectural Profession in Europe 2018 - ACE Sector Study
pic: Piotr Zbierajewski
let's talk about Biedronka for a moment
So we have arrived at a situation where people after high school, high school or technical or vocational school can earn much more at the beginning for a much less responsible job, and at the same time have a much better chance for development and for a noticeable increase in salary in the near future. For example, working at the cash register in a grocery store or driving a garbage truck on the streets of Polish cities. Theoretically, the rate of a cleaner is higher than what architects can count on right out of college. Underscoring the respect for the said professions, which are very necessary and also not easy, it is surprising that a person graduating from a six-year university, considered elite (at least by the very universities conducting studies in this field), at that time spending several or several thousand zlotys on prints, mock-ups and other materials, has rates much worse in his first job (later is not much better either).
more than the eyes can see
Many employers, seeing such data, may be happy that young people can be paid so little. Only that this is a pathological solution. And in addition, there is a much bigger problem that we will all be witnessing for the next few decades, when we see what kind of Poland architects will be designing in one or two generations.
For the architectural profession is already becoming a profession of negative selection. What does this mean? More and more often, when very talented architecture graduates see the situation on the market, which, by the way, they have to face, they decide to re-brand themselves. Thus, in the architectural profession remain people with less clout, less entrepreneurial, who, when confronted with the realities of the market, do not take active steps to improve the standard of professional work.
It is no secret that the earnings of young architects, just starting their careers, are noticeably lower than those of their colleagues graduating from other technical or economic faculties. I believe that this must result in an outflow of talented potential employees either to other industries or, as is already easy to see, abroad (brain drain). Especially the latter phenomenon is worth a closer look. - Agnieszka Maga Baryła, architect, 33 years old, 9 years of experience
Thus, it is these talented graduates who are now most often re-branding themselves into professions related to UI/UX, virtual and augmented reality, programming or graphics in the broadest sense. Virtually in each of these industries, they earn almost immediately several times the rates that await them in most architectural studios. Many of them are already earning more at the very beginning than they would ever receive just by working in architecture.
Architecture faculties - attract people gifted in the sciences, while looking for an environment that supports the development of creativity. Unfortunately, due to the uninviting realities of the domestic architecture market, young graduates are directing their professional activities towards related fields - from real estate sales, graphic design and digital animation to mobile application development. Hardly surprising, market forecasts point to the ability to operate at the intersection of technology and social sciences as one of the increasingly valued qualities in a highly specialized work environment. Big-city startup environments are already full of these talented young people who are used to hard work. Only architecture is a shame. - Ewa Jankowska, AR software engineering manager, WAPW graduate, 31 years old, 8 years of experience
Such negative selection will lead to Polish architecture becoming even more chaotic and haphazard. When we were little, our parents would sometimes wrongly show us Mr. Garbage Man driving a truck and say, "Study, study, or you'll end up like this gentleman!". Leaving aside the unnecessary negative labeling of the profession, we may soon see a situation where people say the same thing when pointing to architects.
