Enterprise & cloud architecture
Solutions Architect
Half technical design, half convincing people it will work.
Typical pay
$130k-$210k
How you get in
Years of engineering experience plus cloud certifications
Outlook
Strong; cloud migration and modernization sustain demand
Solutions architects design technical systems to meet business requirements and guide teams through building them. It is a senior role — the technical depth is assumed, and communication is what actually distinguishes people in it.
A day in the life
- 9:00aRequirements workshop with a business stakeholder
- 10:30aDraft architecture diagrams and evaluate tradeoffs
- 12:30pLunch
- 1:30pReview a team's implementation against the design
- 3:00pCost modeling for a cloud migration
- 4:30pPresent the architecture to leadership for approval
How to get in
Engineer to architect
Duration
6-10 years
Cost
$500-$5,000 in certifications
Credential
AWS, Azure or Google professional-level architect certification
- Work as a software, infrastructure or platform engineer for several years
- Take technical lead on progressively larger systems
- Earn a professional-level cloud architecture certification
- Move into an architect role, often internally first
Pre-sales solutions architect
Duration
5-8 years
Cost
$500-$5,000
Credential
Vendor certifications plus product depth
- Build technical depth in a specific vendor ecosystem
- Move to a pre-sales or customer-facing architect role at a vendor
- Combines technical design with customer communication
- Often includes commission on top of base salary
Consulting architect
Duration
6-10 years
Cost
$500-$5,000
Credential
Cloud and vendor certifications
- Join a consultancy or systems integrator
- Work across many clients and industries quickly
- Broader exposure than any single in-house role provides
- Travel expectations vary — clarify this before accepting
What people love
- · Among the best-paid non-management technical roles
- · Broad influence across many systems
- · Remote-friendly
- · Cloud certifications are clear, achievable milestones
What wears people down
- · Not entry level — requires years of building first
- · Heavy meeting and documentation load
- · Accountable for decisions others implement
- · Can drift far from hands-on technical work