After 24 years in architecture, I’m finally done with being an architect. This is not because I’ve lost my love for design or the deeply creative process of turning a design concept into reality, but because, in 2024, it simply doesn’t make financial sense to keep going.

Six years ago, when I became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, I started to notice that many of the fellows had quietly exited the profession, moving on to other careers or roles where they were not practising as architects. I also noticed that they were thriving, both financially and professionally. Everyone I asked told me that they had left architecture because it just didn’t make financial sense to them.

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