The Population of Architects: What's in a name?

Architecture has been on my mind a lot lately. Not the practice of architecture, but the word itself, and more specifically, the word Architect. As I attempt to crank out marketing-speak for myself in relation to my profession, I am often reminded that I, as a "building and spaces design specialist" can not legally call myself an architect, or reference the word or its derivatives when I'm speaking of my profession to others. This is frustrating on a number of levels, as it inhibits the ability to come up with a name for anything I do, from my own firm, to my own website, to my own blog.

I understand the reasons. Certainly every person who is a "health care provider" would not call themselves a "Doctor" without passing the medical boards, and a "legal advisor" would not call themselves a "Lawyer" without passing the bar. Still, the "practice" of Architecture is very far removed from these other professions, and needs to either distance itself from the parallels or rise to the stature and prominence (and yes, financial return) of them.

Yes, I know the easy answer. Pass the exams, get my license, no issues. And even though I have mixed feelings about staying in the profession at all, I'm working on this increasingly expensive and prohibitive process, if for no other reason than to avoid ambiguity of my "title".

But in the meantime, as a member of the architectural profession who is (currently, and subject to change sooner than later) not yet licensed but perfectly capable of designing, building, and managing a project, what do I call myself?

"Designer"? Not an apt description, because the word does not encompass the range of services I can provide. "Project Manager"? Manager of what? "Project Architect"? Nope, uses the A-word. "Intern"-Really? "Supreme Being and Grand Master of All Things Constructed"-perfect description, but too wordy.

So I'm open to suggestions. With only a hundred thousand licensed architects in the U.S. (which means a lot of unlicensed "building and space design specialists"), there have to be some more creative titles out there than I'm capable of coming up with. How do the unwashed and unlicensed designate themselves to prospective clients and employers?

On a related note, how do I know there are only one hundred thousand licensed architects in the U.S.? Well, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards or NCARB, the often maligned governing body for all things architect, has released a survey indicating how many registered architects there are in the country, listed by state. Although I could provide a link to their survey I feel that its missing some compelling information and so I have compiled my own here. Using the data from the survey and U.S. Population statistics from the ALWAYS credible Wikipedia, I have added percentage of the population who are licensed architects in each state.

My findings?
1) Washington D.C. is apparently a hotbed of architecture.
2) California really does have more of EVERYTHING, and a lot of it.
3) South Dakota may be the place to be if you're an architect who doesn't like competition.
4) With under .05% of the population licensed to practice, you would think there would be a bit more work to go around ITTET.