I’ve run head first into this problem at a number of different offices…and the trickle down effect for me is that it dampens my growth in terms of responsibility, impact, and salary. 

The problem: For residential projects, architects are often thought to be too expensive and clients want to pay less.  
The result: a professional career requiring 7 years of school, 5 exams, and 3000 hours of internship is chronically undervalued and underpaid. 

Why?

Architects do a poor job at defining the value they provide and the problem(s) they solve. 

Why? (excuses only)

Hard to articulate the value of spending 3-5M on a house when the same core function can be had for 1/10th. It’s easier to proclaim the wonders of the design. 

Inefficiency is hard to fix, learning from the past is an admission of fault. Status quo seems OK, don't push it. 

Architects shy away from calling themselves "experts" because the legal language draws the line of responsibility at what an average architect would do. 