Study in Germany Analysis of the employment situation of architecture majors in Germany

German major: Introduction to the employment situation in Germany of the architecture major

Architect is an enviable profession, and the architecture major is also a major favored by German students. Both German universities (Uni) and universities of applied sciences (FH) offer architecture majors. The admission requirements for German students in the architecture major are that the secondary school graduation examination score is between 1.9 and 2.6.

Since the architecture major is a major with admission restrictions in Germany, the total number of architecture students has remained basically stable since the early 1980s. The student graduation rate is approximately 70%. It is expected that in the next 5 to 6 years, 6,000 to 6,500 architecture students will graduate each year, of which about 4,000 will come from universities of applied sciences.

In Germany in the early 1990s, not only experienced architects, but also architecture students who had just studied drawing for a few semesters were the proud princesses and princes in the job market. The huge project to rebuild East Germany after the merger of East and West Germany brought countless contracts and huge financial resources to German architectural design studios of all sizes. Architecture students back then were as in demand as computer science students are today.

Thirty years have changed. After the mid-1990s, with the cancellation and completion of East Germany’s reconstruction projects and the recession in Germany, there were fewer and fewer large-scale architectural design projects. Architects Our lives gradually became sad. From time to time, you can even hear news about German architectural design offices competing for Chinese project orders.

The problem of the German architect job market is not only related to the economic cycle, but also the unreasonable structure of the university education system. Excessive supply and sharply contracting demand will inevitably lead to an increase in unemployment. In the former West Germany, the number of people employed in the construction industry with university diplomas increased from 23,000 (1985) to 47,000 (1995). The number of employed architecture graduates from the University of Applied Sciences increased from 39,000 to 48,000. In 1998, there were nearly 118,000 architects in Germany.

The metabolism of the industry generally creates certain employment opportunities, but this is an exception in the German construction industry. In 1998, 23% of active architects were over the age of 55. In this way, in the future, an average of 2,000 to 2,500 architects will leave their jobs due to age every year. During the same period, the number of architecture graduates each year was twice as many as the number of retirees.

According to estimates from the German Construction Industry Federation and authoritative economic institutions, in the next few years, although the German construction industry shows no obvious signs of deterioration, the demand for architects is unlikely to increase significantly. The market demand for freelance architects is also saturated. At a ratio of 1,000 architects per million people, the ratio of German architects is already too high. There are only 130 architects per million people in the Netherlands.

Permanent positions are in low demand, but often demanding: the most popular are young architects under 35 years old with experience in tendering, allocation and settlement of construction projects. Computer-aided design skills are also essential.

After understanding the above situation, students who study architecture in Germany and hope to stay in Germany for employment need to carefully consider whether returning to their home country will have better employment prospects.