How to set your salary — a straight guide

The single most powerful thing you can do in a job search is also the thing you're told never to do: say what you want to be paid. Silence around salary isn't modesty — it's a structure that benefits whoever knows more, and at graduate level, that is never you. So let's fix that.

Know the benchmarks

Architecture salaries are more public than you think. The RIBA Journal and the Architects' Journal both run regular salary surveys — read the latest before you name a figure. As a rough, widely-cited benchmark (always check the current surveys for exact numbers): Part I roles sit around the low-to-mid £20ks, Part II around the high-£20ks to mid-£30ks, and Part III into the high-£30ks and beyond — higher in London, lower elsewhere. Treat these as a floor to research from, not gospel.

Adjust for you

Your number isn't just the market rate — it's the market rate plus your leverage. Strong computational skills (Grasshopper, Python), competition wins, live-project experience, a specialism a practice is short of — these move you up the range. Be honest with yourself about what you bring, then aim for the top third of what you can defend.

Name your deal-breakers too

Salary is one number; your terms are the rest of the deal. Unpaid overtime, no hybrid working, a two-hour commute — decide your non-negotiables before you're in a room being flattered. On Gradspace you set these upfront, so practices only pitch you on terms you'd actually accept. Off Gradspace, write them down anyway — it steadies your nerve.

Don't fear the counter

A number is an opening, not an ultimatum. If a practice values you, a considered counter — "I'm at £X, and I could move for hybrid working or a clear Part III path" — reads as confidence, not greed. The people who ask, get. The people who stay silent, subsidise.

You are not asking for a favour.

You spent years, and a great deal of money, becoming good at something the industry genuinely needs. Pricing that fairly isn't arrogance — it's literacy. Name the number.