One of the fastest-growing career domains with different specializations is technology, as it has several benefits with a good salary attached to it. One of these specializations is Enterprise Architecture (EA).
This article will examine the skills and qualifications, career paths, required certificates, and salaries for Enterprise Architecture (EA) jobs.
Who is an Enterprise Architect?
The enterprise architect is a senior-level professional seeking reasoning in the designing and implementation of strategic architecture across disparate clusters of systems in an enterprise. The aim is to create an active solution for future changes that might affect the business objectives. An enterprise architect, who is an information technology (IT) personnel in an organization has some responsibilities to fulfill for the smooth running of the organization, such as, evaluating the internal functions and business development strategies and processes, as well as suggestions for ways for improvement. An enterprise architect is expected to create a business solutions prototype to reflect the organization’s plans and goals, as well as implement the business vision. A good enterprise architect has to understand the ecosystem of the organization and how it depends on the other systems for the solution provided. S/he has to take a well-organized approach to view all the architectural subsections and programs in order to guide the enterprise to make a well-informed decision regarding maintenance and risk control. They are also in charge of making policies and plans regarding solutions, and to also enquire and partner with management to ensure all plans, goals and objectives are aligned adequately. Enterprise architects anchor and influence the delivery of cross-cutting abilities that enhance change, as well as support and consulting collaborations across the corporation.
Skills and Qualifications of an Enterprise Architect
Strategic thinking skill
Critical thinking is the capability to define and understand Information from various sources and perspectives and make reasoned judgments and decisions. An enterprise architect must have this skill as it helps to avoid assumptions and errors that can hurt judgment and performance. It can also help present solutions in a convincing way.
Critical analytical skill
Enterprise architecture is focused heavily on solving complex problems related to IT architecture, technology and business processes, as well as gathering and evaluating data in order to develop creative solutions to improve business processes and outcomes. Analytical skill is simply one’s capacity to gather information and thoroughly analyze the information. It aids in problem solving and makes meaningful decisions based on data collected from the information, like designing effective solutions.
Communication skill
An enterprise architect is saddled with the responsibility of interacting with various people in the organization like the executives, management and different colleagues. They communicate the advantages of architectural approaches very clearly. A Good communication skill is important to relay difficult and technical terms in a way that will be easily understood, especially for members of the management who have no technical background. It helps to make sure that everyone in the organization understands and supports the architectural goal.
Leadership skill
An enterprise architect helps to manage and coordinate activities and teams across the technological aspects of the organization’s project, programs and departments. Leadership skills often include the ability to motivate and coordinate a team to achieve a common goal and keep a project track to promote productivity. It also involves making critical IT decisions, inspiring confidence and gaining respect from business as well as technology stakeholders.
Career Path for an Enterprise Architect
Enterprise architecture is a field that has a broad range of career options for IT personnel. They boast a robust skill set that places enterprise architects in different career options apart from the archaic enterprise role. When choosing a career path, a lot of things have to be put into consideration, like skills, career objectives and interests. In essence, choose a job that best resonates with your type of person. Here are some of the career options you can opt for:
- Junior IT role
- Mid-level IT role
- Enterprise Architect
- Chief Architect / Chief Technology Officer
- Specialization and Consultancy
- Cloud Architect
- Data Architect
- Solution Architect
- Technical Architect
- Technology Strategist
Salaries and Job market
The income of an enterprise architect is determined by a wide range of factors like education, skills, certification and many many. The increase in the level of education brings about an increase in the salary of any IT personnel, same as an enterprise architect. Experience and certification are also important factors to take note of, the more experience and numbers of certain certifications in the field, the higher the chances of an increased salary. Other factors that can also affect the range of salary are the location, industry, and the company size. All these are what determine the salary of an enterprise architect. In the USA for instance, an enterprise architect gets an annual average salary of about $134,320, which can start from $120,110 to $149,320. In the UK, an enterprise architect gets an average annual salary of £79,230. But generally, the average annual salary is between $139,500 to $157,900.
Conclusion
The technology landscape is constantly changing and in very high demand, therefore, considering enterprise architecture jobs will be a wise thing to do as enterprise architects will be at the core of these changes in order to blend technical knowledge and strategic thinking to solve complex problems and design creative architecture. They also play a crucial role in developing and implementing technology solutions that help businesses move forward. Furthermore while on the job, they will gain an understanding of how different arms of the organization function and they also stand to gain satisfaction from seeing their ideas come to life and bringing about positive change.
