Based on data we gathered from our global community of over 300,000 designers, Information Architects working in the USA make an average of $90,000 per year, $55,000 being the lowest reported salary and $170,000 being the highest one.
Salaries vary a lot by the Information Architect’s experience, so let’s break down this data.
Entry-level Information Architect salary in the USA
Entry-level Information Architects have zero years of experience in the field, usually because they have just graduated from university, or because they have embarked on a career shift. In the USA, entry-level Information Architects usually make about $50,000 per year.
Demonstrate your all-around UX design skills. Take Uxcel’s UX assessments and complete your design Skill Graph.
Junior Information Architect salary in the USA
If you are a junior Information Architect, it generally means that you have 1 to 3 years of experience in the field. You’ll still be getting to know the industry, but you can already work in a team setting and produce very valuable work. If you are looking to work as a junior Information Architect in the USA, you should be aiming for jobs offering around $60,000 per year.
Mid-level Information Architect salary in the USA
Mid-level Information Architects usually have 3 to 8 years of experience in the field. They are proficient in their craft and tend to produce higher-quality work than junior Information Architects. In the USA, mid-level Information Architects usually make about $95,000 per year.
Senior Information Architect salary in the USA
If you are a senior Information Architect, it generally means that you have upwards of 8 years of experience in your field. By now, you have become proficient in what you do and can often produce the highest-quality work in the shortest time. If you are looking to work as a senior Information Architect in the USA, you should be aiming for jobs offering around $150,000 per year.
What Do Information Architects Do?
Like an architect creates a building project, an information architect creates the blueprint of a website, application, or other products. They aim to help users understand where they are and find the information they need to complete a task. The work of information architects involves the creation of site maps, hierarchies, categorizations, navigation, and metadata.
Like UX designers, information architects should keep users' interests in mind and spend enough time researching and analyzing user behavior. Information architects communicate a lot with:
- Clients: To clarify the objectives, requirements, and budgets of the project
- Designers and developers: To wireframe design solutions and implement them after testing
The most common tasks of information architects include:
- Mapping out user flows
- Organizing and categorizing content
- Creating consistent navigation
- Thinking through the search functionality
- Labeling content groups
Skills to Increase Information Architect Salaries
An information architect's job requires familiarity with research, user psychology, design software, programming languages, and metadata frameworks. Good information architects are meticulous, rational, and imaginative. In addition to relevant hard skills, information architects are expected to have excellent communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and analyzing skills.
- The ability to work and communicate with a team, as well as empathy, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and openness to feedback. Depending on your level of seniority and how many people you'll be working with, team management skills may also be required. Test your skills with Uxcel's Core Qualities assessment and see how you measure up to other designers worldwide.
- Attention to the big picture, as well as an eye for detail, which will allow you to spot inconsistencies and mistakes and correctly define the structure of your content. Test your skills with Uxcel's Content Strategy assessment and see where you currently stand.
- UX writing, which allows you to properly label and group related content, as well as stick to the content style guides of your organization. Test your skills with Uxcel's UX Writing skill test and see how you measure up to other designers worldwide.
- The ability to conduct at least basic user research and analyze your findings, both qualitative and quantitative. Take Uxcel's Research assessment to put your skills to the test, or take the Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research skill tests to see where you currently stand.
Career Paths for Information Architects
.jpeg)
When hiring information architects, most employers expect candidates to have a degree in information technology or information science or at least some background in design, computer software, data analytics, or research.
If getting a bachelor's or master's degree isn't in your plans, consider enrolling in a certificated program to learn about the fundamental concepts in information architecture and try your hand at creating sitemaps, wireframes, and flow diagrams.
Data architects, project managers, technical writers, and software engineers might have an advantage when transferring to an information architecture career. After a career in information architecture, you'll be prepared enough to get a job as a UX architect or UX designer.
