Brendan - Congrats on looking to "take the leap." Your question can be tough to answer without some additional info but I will share with you my overall thoughts as I'm currently investing while working a full time job.
1 - Ensure your profession allows you some sort of time to "break away" to handle issues as the come up (and they will). I'm not sure about the time constraints of being an architect but you want to be sure you have the flexibility to answer the phone if/when needed
2 - It all depends on your investment strategy but you will want to build a solid team around you that can deflect some of the noise that comes with being a RE investor. We primarily deal in buy and hold right and we have an awesome property manager that only reaches out when things hit, what we have determined to be, level 10. Same would go for finding a trustworthy GC if you intend to flip
3 - Structure and process. I can't preach this enough. The RE game is fluid and requires a certain amount of agility but the more structure you can put around it the better chance you have of being successful (my opinion). As an example, maybe you set up a process by which your real estate agent vets the deals for you. Once the deal hits a certain criteria it gets pushed to you for final approval before an offer is made. That way you aren't spending all of your free time searching for and vetting deals
4 - Be prepared to put in the extra time. This seems like a no brainer but at some point you will have to spend time after work or on the weekends working on your investments or your business. Make sure the people in your life understand this and support you. Having that support makes the conversation way easier when you look at your significant other on Sunday at 3pm and tell that person you have to bail on family dinner because the deal of the century might have just dropped into your lap
5 - Research. You are a step ahead of the game by posting here but I would suggest you check out the BP Podcast. Go back and look for shows that deal specifically with investing with a full time job. They are easy to find and provide a lot of good insight.
Good luck on your architectural journey as well as your real estate investment journey. Keep us posted as your progress or let us know if you have any other questions.
Thanks,
Adam