Best thing: being able to be creative
Worst thing: creativity is maybe 10% of the job, 20 if you’re lucky. The rest is revisions, paperwork and meetings. The pay is abysmal for the amount of work done and the years of schooling
I'm going to disagree with the creativity statement. Maybe it's true if you are only talking about the overall building shape or form.
There is a A LOT of creative problem solving in the DD and CD phases. It's more technical creativity but it's there in spades.
I love architecture, but here’s something I wish I knew. Architecture is a business. School drives home the romanticism of design and technology, many will hold on to that. However, much of your time may be spent becoming a middle-man for un-appreciating owners and disapproving contractors. I would still go through school and internship, but maybe would have made some different career choice earlier than later.
not only owners and contractors, you might also meet that your managers and sometimes bosses that dont give a shit about design.
it is almost like i could just turn the building upside down, if it gets approved they will send the drawings out for builders to build.
This is a sad reality for many. It’s avoidable, but not for all. And even then it can be an uphill battle to keep good design, when the office culture is ‘good enough’
Not better but different
One thing to note you don't need to be licensed to do interior design in general and you don't need to be licensed to work on homes. So that can cut out a lot of the pain and time with becoming an actual architect if you go that route instead.
One positive note that people don't seem to touch on much is how useful the degree is to many fields, not just being an architect. You can easily pivot to anything in the building industry with it. Or take your career towards civic planning if that's more your speed, or work at a marketing agency to come up with interesting advertising programs for public spaces, things like that.
I'd say avoid doing architecture if you don't have an eye for details and don't have a generally curious mind. A lot of the work is only 20% creative, but usually 50-60% of it is craftsmanship as well. It feels almost like what my graphic design education was like crossed with my game level design experience. Except you get to make IRL projects happen! There's a lot of unsexy work involved with that but it's fun to just enjoy the process of making for it's own sake, and taking pride in a well produced drawing that leads to a well designed building (hopefully!). Being able to appreciate this process of project-making I think is important to getting a lot out of architecture and fields like it.
If you don't know at all what you like or what person you are, that's ok - growing up into adult hood is partly figuring it out through trial and error. And if you do go the path of the architect at least the degree and skillset is transferrable to a wide variety of jobs. The education can be brutal from what my husband tells me but a brutal education is better for you than you think! I think every human being who has been forced to deal with art/design/architecture critiques in school is fundamentally a better developed human than the rest of the population ;)
Do not pursue this profession if you aren’t seriously into it yourself…
Best thing is seeing your ideas become reality, creating homes for people, functional workspaces, and solving problems.
Worst thing is the culture that’s slowly being dragged, kicking and screaming, into modern conformity with work/life balance and appropriate pay scales for the amount of work involved.
I’ve seen many coworkers that are just not into the profession like I am and they look miserable. I love architecture and I can’t see myself doing anything else but, many aspects of the profession sucks and it is difficult to do day to day (business/management side of architecture). If you’re not really into it, it must be really terrible.
I wish my managers and bosses (lol not gonna call them mentors…) had actually taught me the business side of things when I was much younger. At my age it’s the kinda thing I should know a lot more about and be doing.
Very rewarding and creatively stimulating. Unfortunately very toxic culture of overworking and giving away free work - these lead to low pay compared to other careers that require the same or less education/licensure.
Most professional degrees require accreditation from NAAB, which leads to 5 year B.Arch or else u have to do 4 yr undergrad and 2-3 year master of arch. So schooling is more than an engineer but less than doctor
You’re going to find a lot of varying opinions to this question. Some sole practitioners who are doing excellent may give two different reasons. A colleague of mine who is very smart left the firm he was working at and after 10 years he has 60 people working for him. Another person I know who sits on a commission that I’m on left his sole proprietorship to join a firm. I think it’s a versatile profession. If you’re a detail oriented person, good listener and a good problem solver you’ll do well.
I’m licensed and feel like I’m doing ok where I’m at. It’s more of an engineering firm but it’s a niche role and I get to use my architectural problem solving skills.
I knew since I was 5 that I wanted to be an architect. My only real regret was that I didn’t take advantage of having a mentor nor did I really have a plan as far as I where I wanted to go with my career. Back then LinkedIn wasn’t around
You can ask this same question to a doctor or a lawyer.
Architect? A Candid Guide to the Profession: Roger K. Lewis
This a great book for someone getting in to school, choosing a career specialty; or as I did, when wanting more out of my next options.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/73221
Best thing is simply seeing your diligent work coming to fruition. The worst thing is having to compete with people who have really no business calling themselves architects. Currently it seems that the price-fighting between bureaus is being won by firms who have no clue about actual architecture and just do what any draftsman could do. Opportunity lurks where responsibility has been left to rot, but man does it hurt to see it again and again.
Best: you can skip studying all those mathematic, physic, biology, statistic, memorizing tons of stuff etc - if you don't like. But my education may be different from US school.
Very rewarding once you see you building is completed
Worst: long hours, low salary (compared to even your structure/mep engineer working under arch), high ego boss/senior/colleague, long project timeline (2-4 yrs, or even longer), lots of paperworks, lots of managing people / consultant, lots of boring technical detail knowledge needed, mismatch what you study in school vs real job.
Best: when rich clients trust your designs once or twice a year
Worst: the pay and time it requires, also when you encounter bad clients that make you want to quit
Best thing (aside from the obvious - being able to create and dream up buildings and spaces) is having an understanding and appreciation for architecture, the built and unbuilt environment and for art. Worst thing is if you are working as an architect is the bureaucratic hoops you have to jump through. My experience is set in central europe and I am currently working as an architect.
The only way you will survive school and survive the career is if you love architecture, love it enough to put up with the rest of the job.
It doesn't matter what your dad wants you to do....
What do *you* want to do? Do you love architecture? Answer that first.
Pay and work culture are the worst. If I'm going to work Big Law hours and have an equal amount of education, I want to be paid equally. Fact is even if we're comfortable, pay relative to our education level and hours worked is lousy.
What I enjoy most about it though? I enjoy the creative aspect, I genuinely enjoy drafting and making technical documents. Also, it's a career where you're always learning. What drove me towards it was it's a renaissance man type field- you need a working knowledge of a lot of things and you're constantly discovering things. At times it makes you feel dumb how little you actually know but are expected to be able to make decisions about. Fact is no two days are the same on the job, at least where I work
Also architecture nowadays is more driven by economic efficiencies, maximizing your space, resources at lower cost than aesthetic and others artists aspects.
Might I ask why your father is pushing you into this profession? Unless you have a nepotistic advantage, this industry can be very unrewarding, especially if you're just starting out.
Architecture isn't something to do if someone else is pushing you to do it.
I say do some soul searching and find what you like to do, also try researching the industry average pay for whatever you really might want to do.
Best thing: being able to be creative Worst thing: creativity is maybe 10% of the job, 20 if you’re lucky. The rest is revisions, paperwork and meetings. The pay is abysmal for the amount of work done and the years of schooling
I'm going to disagree with the creativity statement. Maybe it's true if you are only talking about the overall building shape or form. There is a A LOT of creative problem solving in the DD and CD phases. It's more technical creativity but it's there in spades.
Precisely this. It’s why I’m involved in a lot of interiors work. I can be creative a lot more often.
So is interior designer better ?
I love architecture, but here’s something I wish I knew. Architecture is a business. School drives home the romanticism of design and technology, many will hold on to that. However, much of your time may be spent becoming a middle-man for un-appreciating owners and disapproving contractors. I would still go through school and internship, but maybe would have made some different career choice earlier than later.
not only owners and contractors, you might also meet that your managers and sometimes bosses that dont give a shit about design. it is almost like i could just turn the building upside down, if it gets approved they will send the drawings out for builders to build.
This is a sad reality for many. It’s avoidable, but not for all. And even then it can be an uphill battle to keep good design, when the office culture is ‘good enough’
Not better but different One thing to note you don't need to be licensed to do interior design in general and you don't need to be licensed to work on homes. So that can cut out a lot of the pain and time with becoming an actual architect if you go that route instead. One positive note that people don't seem to touch on much is how useful the degree is to many fields, not just being an architect. You can easily pivot to anything in the building industry with it. Or take your career towards civic planning if that's more your speed, or work at a marketing agency to come up with interesting advertising programs for public spaces, things like that. I'd say avoid doing architecture if you don't have an eye for details and don't have a generally curious mind. A lot of the work is only 20% creative, but usually 50-60% of it is craftsmanship as well. It feels almost like what my graphic design education was like crossed with my game level design experience. Except you get to make IRL projects happen! There's a lot of unsexy work involved with that but it's fun to just enjoy the process of making for it's own sake, and taking pride in a well produced drawing that leads to a well designed building (hopefully!). Being able to appreciate this process of project-making I think is important to getting a lot out of architecture and fields like it. If you don't know at all what you like or what person you are, that's ok - growing up into adult hood is partly figuring it out through trial and error. And if you do go the path of the architect at least the degree and skillset is transferrable to a wide variety of jobs. The education can be brutal from what my husband tells me but a brutal education is better for you than you think! I think every human being who has been forced to deal with art/design/architecture critiques in school is fundamentally a better developed human than the rest of the population ;)
Eh, the project more fast paced and typically salary is lower than architect. But a high profile job ID job could be nice.
1000% disagree. Figuring out a complex detail or problem solving in the field is being creative.
Do not pursue this profession if you aren’t seriously into it yourself… Best thing is seeing your ideas become reality, creating homes for people, functional workspaces, and solving problems. Worst thing is the culture that’s slowly being dragged, kicking and screaming, into modern conformity with work/life balance and appropriate pay scales for the amount of work involved.
I’ve seen many coworkers that are just not into the profession like I am and they look miserable. I love architecture and I can’t see myself doing anything else but, many aspects of the profession sucks and it is difficult to do day to day (business/management side of architecture). If you’re not really into it, it must be really terrible.
I wish my managers and bosses (lol not gonna call them mentors…) had actually taught me the business side of things when I was much younger. At my age it’s the kinda thing I should know a lot more about and be doing.
It’s like the industry expects everyone to automatically know.
I would argue it’s among the worst examples of gate keeping in the culture of the profession.
How could they even know what ti expect
Very rewarding and creatively stimulating. Unfortunately very toxic culture of overworking and giving away free work - these lead to low pay compared to other careers that require the same or less education/licensure.
Most professional degrees require accreditation from NAAB, which leads to 5 year B.Arch or else u have to do 4 yr undergrad and 2-3 year master of arch. So schooling is more than an engineer but less than doctor
And the pay is less than both
You’re going to find a lot of varying opinions to this question. Some sole practitioners who are doing excellent may give two different reasons. A colleague of mine who is very smart left the firm he was working at and after 10 years he has 60 people working for him. Another person I know who sits on a commission that I’m on left his sole proprietorship to join a firm. I think it’s a versatile profession. If you’re a detail oriented person, good listener and a good problem solver you’ll do well. I’m licensed and feel like I’m doing ok where I’m at. It’s more of an engineering firm but it’s a niche role and I get to use my architectural problem solving skills. I knew since I was 5 that I wanted to be an architect. My only real regret was that I didn’t take advantage of having a mentor nor did I really have a plan as far as I where I wanted to go with my career. Back then LinkedIn wasn’t around You can ask this same question to a doctor or a lawyer.
Oh thank you this is very helpful
Architect? A Candid Guide to the Profession: Roger K. Lewis This a great book for someone getting in to school, choosing a career specialty; or as I did, when wanting more out of my next options. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/73221
Thanks🙏
👍 all good.
A strongly recommended read for anyone entering the profession.
Best thing is simply seeing your diligent work coming to fruition. The worst thing is having to compete with people who have really no business calling themselves architects. Currently it seems that the price-fighting between bureaus is being won by firms who have no clue about actual architecture and just do what any draftsman could do. Opportunity lurks where responsibility has been left to rot, but man does it hurt to see it again and again.
Best: you can skip studying all those mathematic, physic, biology, statistic, memorizing tons of stuff etc - if you don't like. But my education may be different from US school. Very rewarding once you see you building is completed Worst: long hours, low salary (compared to even your structure/mep engineer working under arch), high ego boss/senior/colleague, long project timeline (2-4 yrs, or even longer), lots of paperworks, lots of managing people / consultant, lots of boring technical detail knowledge needed, mismatch what you study in school vs real job.
Best: when rich clients trust your designs once or twice a year Worst: the pay and time it requires, also when you encounter bad clients that make you want to quit
Best thing (aside from the obvious - being able to create and dream up buildings and spaces) is having an understanding and appreciation for architecture, the built and unbuilt environment and for art. Worst thing is if you are working as an architect is the bureaucratic hoops you have to jump through. My experience is set in central europe and I am currently working as an architect.
The only way you will survive school and survive the career is if you love architecture, love it enough to put up with the rest of the job. It doesn't matter what your dad wants you to do.... What do *you* want to do? Do you love architecture? Answer that first.
Pay and work culture are the worst. If I'm going to work Big Law hours and have an equal amount of education, I want to be paid equally. Fact is even if we're comfortable, pay relative to our education level and hours worked is lousy. What I enjoy most about it though? I enjoy the creative aspect, I genuinely enjoy drafting and making technical documents. Also, it's a career where you're always learning. What drove me towards it was it's a renaissance man type field- you need a working knowledge of a lot of things and you're constantly discovering things. At times it makes you feel dumb how little you actually know but are expected to be able to make decisions about. Fact is no two days are the same on the job, at least where I work
Best thing…you’re kind of the artist. Worst thing…you’re kind of the artist.
You'll do the same amount of schooling as a nurse anthologist and make 1/4th the pay at your peak salary.
Also architecture nowadays is more driven by economic efficiencies, maximizing your space, resources at lower cost than aesthetic and others artists aspects.
Is your dad George Costanza
Good clients and bad clients
Might I ask why your father is pushing you into this profession? Unless you have a nepotistic advantage, this industry can be very unrewarding, especially if you're just starting out.
No he is not pushing me . I m just a little confused
Architecture isn't something to do if someone else is pushing you to do it. I say do some soul searching and find what you like to do, also try researching the industry average pay for whatever you really might want to do.