Typical duties and responsibilities
A software architect is responsible for designing and developing software systems and applications. They may create software tailored to a clients specific needs or create products geared for consumers, such as games or desktop applications. Regardless of who they create software for, their typical duties and responsibilities include:
- Working with clients to discuss their needs
- Developing software solutions tailored to their clients need
- Looking at poorly behaving software and finding ways to improve it
- Leading projects, which includes create a team of workers suitable for the scope of the project
- Making sure that all aspects of a project are documented and recorded
- Mentoring and coaching other team members
Qualifications
To land a job as a software architect, you will need a bachelors degree in computer programming or computer science.
Skills and work experience
As well as meeting the educational requirements, software architects will need skills such as:
- Critical thinking, as they will need to use logic to identify the strengths and weaknesses with a particular problem
- Software knowledge, as software architects will work with a variety of different softwares and must understand how systems interact
- Problem-solving, as a software architects will need to solve a huge range of technical problems
- Communication and teaching skills, as software architects will need to be able to communicate effectively with coworkers
Hours
You can expect to be working full-time in normal business hours (Monday to Friday). However, sometimes you will need to be on call and work outside of normal business hours!
Salary
According to PayScale, the average salary for a software architect in the United States is $60,586 annually. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $42,000 and the highest 10 percent earned over $94,000 per year.
Progression
Typically, software architects will start their career working under the supervision of someone more experienced. However, as they gather more experience, there are options for them to advance into more senior and specialized roles. Software architects can also progress further by become self-employed or owning their own business.