average starting pay.

maximum pay doesnt count. architecture is one of the few profession that doesnt have a maximum income/salary limit. my ex-boss in JB measures his earning by how many porsche he could buy per year. that's how much he earns

the architect's fees are based on the entire project. if it is a housing project, the architect will receive a percentage of the cost of the entire housing project, everything included, and not just depending on numbers of houses built.

lets take for example, 1 house costs RM200k. in the development, there are 100 houses that totals to RM20mil. lets estimate other amenities like road works, electrical & water supply etc at RM5mil. so the architect will receive a percentage of RM25mil. so individual buildings included, as well as the other costs of the projects that the architect would need to supervise.

also, a semi-detached house is considered as two separate buildings, as well as a row of shophouses. so u will get a fee for the individual buildings.

and to be clear, the minimum fees for the architect is 5.0%, and this is for something that is simple as a gudang, hangar or storage buildings. a house is typically 7.5%-10%.

if u're talking about doing a naval arch after finishing ur arch degree, ofcourse u can. what's stopping u? it's just a matter of how much u will use it . the university not allow u to do both at the same time, that's all.

naval architecture is actually more of naval engineering. beats me why they call it architecture. but they do lots of designing, u just simply take one portion out of it - making it beautiful. so all those "i wanna design something gempak; lets design something cool; or jom design kapal paling cantik" - all that goes down the drain. u wont be doing any of that. u will be designing something that is purely functional, efficient and practical.

i've had a friend who switched after finishing his arch diploma into naval arch, both in UTM, and he seems to be doing well now. my bestfriend and his wife worked with simeUEP in pasir gudang, occassionally building stuff on oil platforms and marine structures, which is part of naval architecture. both him and his wife are architects, not naval architects though.



well, most of it are interesting. personally i love design, and i love behavioural subjects too. this subject studies about human behaviours and how they respond or affected by their surroundings. this is an applied knowledge that u will use regardless whether u become an architect or not. unfortunately it's just a small component in the entire architecture education syllabus. example on stuff u learn:

i. why people will frequent the booth on the far side of a public toilet rather than the one closest to the entrance.

ii. how to design a kitchen based on triangular action nodes: the fridge (for storing food), the sink/prep (for washing and preparing food) and the stove/oven (to cook).

iii. why living rooms is always centred around the TV first, and not the main window/view.

u will spend most of ur time studying on site rather than reading about it. meaning u'll be interviewing people, observing behaviours from a far, taking videos and so on. what a way to become a stalker

which interview is that? UTM has already finished its interviews last week.

that's about right. and no, it's not too long. in previous system, it could take u up to 10 years to finish ur part 2 degree. but hey, u've already had 1 year working experience. those graduating with u had none. so u'd be paid atleast RM50-150 more than ur STPM->degree friends for ur starting pay.

it depends on ur office. in small firms, they usually give u to do everything, from proposing to designing to visualizing to drafting. it's a one man's job. boss gives u a job, u do everything.

in bigger offices, they can afford to segregate the jobs into designers, technicians, visualizers and so on. so chances are u'd be spending time doing specialized areas and less in other areas. this can be good and bad. good bcoz u can hone ur skills and be the best at ur specific area. but this is bad for ur part 3, bcoz u need experience in all areas.



when i started my practice, i was given two projects to handle on my own, with 2 technicians under me. imagine a noob 23 year old designer having 2 very well experienced technicians aged 30++ to obey all his commands? what an ego stroker that was. but handling everything takes too much time especially when one project is in PJ while the other in keramat. u just dont have time for anything else...

most of the time, small offices dont even have a technician/draftperson post to boot. and even if they do, they're the ultimate b****es, serving their masters LOL. so if u wanna become a technician/draftperson, i strongly suggest u join a big office. they pay is better, and ur job is more secure.

becoming an architect in small office has its advantages. if u join early enough, u can become a senior in the firm fairly quickly. u also have a better rapport amongst those in the office. however, the disadvantage is, small offices dont usually get big projects, so ur projects would be from interior designs, renovations and perhaps bungalows. that would mean that small offices have bigger chance of closing down when the nation's economy takes a trip to the bottom.

i'll focus straight on the questions. the questions are in bold.

Does landscape architecture deals with anything else besides garden, botanic parks and surrounding area of a building?

landscape architecture is basically environmental design. u design the natural environment from the front yard of ur house to an entire city. so the context is pretty big. however, i'm not sure if landscape architects are qualified to do anything else. but remember than landscape architecture is quite specialized - they're a blend of a designer and a botanist. u'd need to be well off about the science of flora.

do you have to take B.Architecture before you can specialize to landscape architecture?

no. u can take bachelor in landscape architecture straight away from STPM. however, u could also take architecture diploma (after SPM) before going into landscape degree.

A normal bachelor degree only offer till's part1? so does it means we must continue towards master before we can even be a qualified architect?
a very minimum of studies is five years right?( i nv had any idea bout any part 1 or 2 until i checked this thread out)

landscape degrees does not have a part 1, 2 or 3 like architecture. u need a single degree that usually lasts between 4 to 4.5 years. masters is optional, something u take just to specialize into something. finishing ur landscape degree will make u a "Graduate Landscape Architect".

What are the propects for landscape architects in malaysia compare to other countries?

malaysia, as a tropical country, pays more attention to landscape mainly bcoz we are very used to the idea that more trees/plants = better for health/well being. and the best part is, we have a wider range and more importantly a very different range of plant species at our disposal. so if u wanna practice in malaysia, it might be a good idea to do landscape architecture in malaysia, or perhaps in a country which has similar climate as malaysia. what i'm trying to say is, the prospects are still wide. u can see in cities like shah alam, landscape plays a big part in its identity. heck, it is where most landscape architects "experiment" their designs .

not necessarily. architecture is one of those courses that could fall into just about any faculty. in UTM KL it is under engineering school. in skudai, before it is known as built environment, it was known as fakulti senibina. sheffield and the bartlett it is under its own school of architecture. leicester is under faculty of arts. UiTM is under FPSU (fakulti perancangan, senibina dan ukur bahan) while USM under HBU (housing building and planning). there are other schools that are under faculty of science, social science, history or even sociology.

so as u can see, it doesnt really matter bcoz architecture could be any of those things. it is just how the university organizes its courses.

not as much as engineering. we do lots of calculations, true enough, but not mathematical calculations per se. u do a lot of figuring out and calculating pros and cons, decision making, choices to make and so on. in BM u refer that as pertimbangan or perbandingan.

but we still do mathematical calculations, most of the time using simple formula or abit of algebra. nothing fancy, bcoz most of the structural calculations are done by the engineers. during drawing productions, u do alot of geometrical calculations, stuff u do in form 4/5. there are also some ledger check & balance, but only basics, bcoz most of these are done by QS. so that's about it.

is that mathematical intensive? if u failed ur maths during SPM, it'll probably be intensive LOL.

i'm not sure. i know several universities have a collaboration programme with UTM, but i'm not sure how far it'll take u in terms of UTM's degree. i'll inquire about it and inform u later.

my early sources told me that they will NOT be joining UTM KL's diploma into 3rd year. i've indicated this in page 1. i've just emailed the head-department, and we'll have to wait for his reply.

and yes, most were put off by the long duration. but hey, that's the price of elitism . if u're in a party, three group of people will stand out - doctors, lawyers and architects. all these professions take longer to study, has rigorous professional examinations, and cost a lot. elitism is over rated. but hey, as long as a huge majority of the society thinks these are elite professions, we just enjoy the living .

i understand exactly what u're saying. the answer is the same.

i'm not implying that u did. i said that u (the reader) will only feel that architecture is math intensive if they failed their SPM maths. if u pass or even scored, it should be easy.

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Added on April 15, 2008, 1:44 amok, i've received the reply clarifying the UCI or any other diploma in collaboration with UTM. here's how it goes:

alot of colleges interested in hosting architecture courses now adopts UTM's diploma teknologi senibina. reason being the prestige and recognition that UTM offers as one of the most established school of architecture. however, bcoz of UTM's policy on quality control, we can not allow a UTM programme be run by others. so in order to solve this problem, we designed a new programme based on UTM's diploma senibina called diploma teknologi senibina.

so from this point on, any college wanting to use UTM's diploma curriculum will use the diploma teknologi senibina. it will be conducted entirely by the college, using its own resource. the product (ie: the students) will still be monitored by UTM, and if satisfactory, will be awarded UTM's diploma teknologi senibina.

now the issue:

diploma teknologi senibina is not equal to diploma senibina. to put it straight: it's a dumbed down version of UTM's diploma senibina. the criteria of award is less strict than diploma senibina, fairly easier and less rigor.

the implication:

UTM does not consider its diploma teknologi senibina to be as good as UTM's diploma senibina, hence they dont qualify to join 3rd year. infact, i was informed that UTM degree considers its diploma teknologi senibina barely qualifies for 2nd year! meaning if ur results arent exemplary, u'd probably couldnt even join 2nd year.

at the moment, UTM ranks its diploma senibina and UiTM's old part 1 diplomas the highest, then poly diploma, then the other diplomas, and eventually UTM's own collaborated diploma teknologi senibina. it's not necessarily how other schools would rank it, but if u're applying to UTM, u might wanna consider about this. so destroyer, since u're already considering poly diploma, i think u're in the right track to join UTM.

hope this clarifies everything.

This post has been edited by azarimy: Apr 15 2008, 01:44 AM

it should be good enough for u to skip first year, just as any other diploma would be.

i dont have the subject listings. u could email colleges offering diploma teknologi senibina for the subject listing. i'll try and get the subject listing for UTM diploma.

what i'm expecting is that the subject is more or less the same. but the content is different. since subject content (curriculum) is an intellectual property, i doubt any college/university would openly divulge to any inquests about that.

nobody can claim their school is the best. it's a biased opinion. also, there's no real gauge or benchmark that could be used to determine which architecture school is the best in malaysia. hence why i always use accreditation as my own personal benchmark - because it is easier to follow and more importantly, it is more credible.

if i were to say UTM is the best, UM has RIBA. if i were to say UM is the best, UiTM produces more part 2 than UM. and USM is more diverse than UiTM, while UTM are stronger in technical sense than USM. so each school is better in something than the other. and each school strives to be really strong in their niche area.




the fees per semester is about RM1600, which is generally the average of any course in an IPTA (except medicine).

normally UTM produces 40 part 2 graduates per year. but recently the average have risen to 60-70 students. the number might go down again due to new control exerted by the faculty members.

hello sogoatticus,

as far as i know, only one diploma is accredited with part 1, that is the UiTM diploma (4 years after SPM). however, i believe the last batch of this group graduated in 2007 (or 2006). now all part 1 certificates in malaysia are degree programmes. there's no diploma of architecture in malaysia that would allow u to take LAM part 1 exam independently.



technically, no. but there's a huge shortage of naval architects in malaysia, so both architects and naval engineers had to combine their expertise to lfill the need.

no. they only have architecture degree.

like i said before, although they're not certified naval architects/engineers, there are alot of areas in naval architecture that overlaps with architecture, so we (the architects) will fill what the engineers couldnt do.

the number varies from year to year. generally u need atleast 3.50 to stand a chance. anything lower than that, u need a helluva portfolio and an absorbing personality. remember that nothing u learn in matriculation will eventually be used in architecture, so portfolio wise, u're gonna have to start from scratch.



i'd say, poly would fare better. but to tell u the truth, poly takes more time, although easier and less competitive. i'd always opt for poly anytime.

i. normally, it's hard to get an offer straight from degree into academia. u need atleast a few years experience. but i've already made my intentions clear to the entire faculty by 4th year, geared all my assignments, projects and thesis towards academic (rather than practical/professional practice), and most importantly, i became a teaching assistant when i was in my final year, teaching 1st year studio. so by the time i graduated, the school was well aware of my capabilities and interests. they offered me a part-time teaching job (while i practiced for a year) before they finally offered a permanent job.

ii. the starting salary with a phd should be around RM4k (not including allowances etc). it varies depending on field specialization, seniority and the post i will hold eventually (ketua jabatan, ketua penyelidik etc).

iii. yes, all lecturers are even encouraged to practice. this is the only way academicians could be up-to-date with the current practices, as well as becoming the industry experts. most of the lecturers i know are practicing part time or freelancing. a few actually owns their own firm.

iv. no i havent taken the part 3 exam. it's very low in my priority. taking part 3 exam is one thing, maintaining the license is another. if u cant fulfill enough criteria per year, ur license will expire. although there are perks for lecturers to maintain their part 3, but it would get in the way of my research at the moment. so i'm not thinking of taking it right now. but i'm sure eventually i will, just to get the AR infront of my name, along with professor, datuk, doktor, tan sri, kapten, haji or whatever...

well, u should tell him that architects and contractors are two different profession, requiring two different qualifications. to become a contractor, u need a degree/diploma in building construction or construction management. architects do learn about those, but not as deep or specialized. so even if u hold an architecture degree, u should leave expert builders to do the construction. we architects are simply less qualified than they are.

definitely. as the same with any other self-working people. how old do u think most top architects in the world are?

local IPTS can cost between RM8k - 16k per year.
UK schools are currently has an average of GBP10k to 12k per year.
australian schools cost something around AUD17-25k per year.

these are only for the fees; does not include living costs, equipments or whatever else u need for studying.

fees = tuition fees.

tomahto tomayto. same thing, different sound.

i believe only limkokwing is the only full private university that offers architecture degree.

taylor's, UCSI and twintech are all university colleges.