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Heading into my third year as an architecture student in a few months is a confusing time. On the one hand, I want to become an architect no matter what. I've already given 3 years (1.5 previous at a different uni and 2 at my current) and I still have 2 more to go not including this year. The coursework isn't too difficult but the way they teach and from what I read online and from others who work in the industry, it's quickly becoming something different than what I dreamed of as a child. I'm 28 years old now, so I've wasted some time diddling around needless to say.
On the other hand, I have too many interests to be contained to just architecture and I only have a 1-2 years left of free tuition left. The problem is that architecture as a degree doesn't lend itself to studying anything else and getting credit for it, even though I've spent a lot of time in school. The same can be said for degrees of all kinds, I know. But architecture is so specific that there's no way to jump ahead in terms of general education credits or core classes. If I wanted to start over, I'd have to spend another 4 years in school going for something else.
I guess this rant is more of getting out the frustration that no matter what you go to school for, if you decide to change your mind and pursue something else, you've already invested so much time and money into it, that changing doesn't make any sense. Now, if you're in the profession and making decent money and want to expand your expertise or horizons, then you have the financial backing to do so. For us poor college students and people in general, another degree or more education online is simply out of the question. You must either sacrifice money to get more education, or sleep to make sure that you know enough or more than the person next to you, and to make yourself seem like a wise investment to a company.
Besides writing, I've got my hand in computer programming, app (Android) development, graphic design, furniture design/building, opening a bar/coffeehouse, and art in general. I spend most of my time going over the technologies that are emerging and what the latest graphics are emerging from around the world. I try to keep my ear and eyes to the pulse of the world, to see what is going on but it's a challenge to say the least.
My laundry is almost done and I better get to it before some homeless person steals my underwear (again)
ZerOCool
 
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There's many architects that work in other fields. From math teachers to app development (usually working in the design of background or scenarios).
Some young technician architect (friend of a friend) opened a sausage shop (no joke) and is swimming in the bucks, while most of the rest of architects and technician architects work our asses off and barely make a living 
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Of course. I know some myself that are no longer in the profession. One of my teachers left and developed a game for pc. We are taught to think holistically and that lends itself to a lot of other avenues. The problem is the investment of time and money. We can be anywhere from 40k to 100k in debt by the time we graduate . And a job isn't certain afterwards . Not to mention a job that will pay for the knowledge that you gained.
I generally don't like being a jack of all trades but it seems to be the way the world is headed if you're not a computer technician, lawyer, or doctor .
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joohyunee
Korea (South)1087 Posts
I graduated from Uni 2 years ago and I've been working in architecture for the last 1.5 years at a small firm. Even from when I was in university, I could tell that the field is not for everyone - long hours, perfection is the standard to which we are held - even for the greatest architects, you will be underpaid compared to the amount of work you put in. But for architects it's not the project that gives us the satisfaction, it's the process of fighting an almost impossible war against all the elements thrown at you and overcoming it. If the process doesn't give you joy or gladness at some point, this field becomes much more quickly daunting, difficult, and purposeless. People will say this is true of any job or work that you do, but because of the sheer expectations put on you as an architect (to be perfect), you often are pushed to the extreme on many fronts. Burnout is rampant (or the opposite case of workaholics) and it's hard to get on the same page with a bunch of people who will criticize the hell out of everything you do, but working through the problems and the process one by one has its merits - that you have fought, and won, and achieved something much greater than the little building that goes up at the end of the design process.
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On July 23 2015 01:40 joohyunee wrote:
I graduated from Uni 2 years ago and I've been working in architecture for the last 1.5 years at a small firm. Even from when I was in university, I could tell that the field is not for everyone - long hours, perfection is the standard to which we are held - even for the greatest architects, you will be underpaid compared to the amount of work you put in. But for architects it's not the project that gives us the satisfaction, it's the process of fighting an almost impossible war against all the elements thrown at you and overcoming it. If the process doesn't give you joy or gladness at some point, this field becomes much more quickly daunting, difficult, and purposeless. People will say this is true of any job or work that you do, but because of the sheer expectations put on you as an architect (to be perfect), you often are pushed to the extreme on many fronts. Burnout is rampant (or the opposite case of workaholics) and it's hard to get on the same page with a bunch of people who will criticize the hell out of everything you do, but working through the problems and the process one by one has its merits - that you have fought, and won, and achieved something much greater than the little building that goes up at the end of the design process.
I agree. It's quite easy to spot those that shouldn't be in architecture and I feel my school passes people just to keep the money, even to the detriment of the students. But at the same time, people should know what is and isn't for them. I'm a decent architecture student. Model making is somewhat lacking but my concepts and drawings are top notch. The problem I'm having is that they don't teach you architecture aka how to put a building together. I can give you concepts all day. Schematic and Design until the cows come home, but how a building is put together, that's how I think when I design. First thought that goes through my mind is "How can this building be built with the materials we have today? Is there a way to create the curve with glass instead of steel? etc" Once I answer those and I have a sense of how the building will be put together, I design around that. I'm sure you've seen it, where people come up with the most absurd designs and then they are asked to build it and you get blank stares. Luckily we have 3D printing now but that's a cop out to me.
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I'd imagine if you added physics/mechanics to your coursework you'd be a kickass civil engineer.
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Along with studio coursework, we have to take physics, structures (concrete, steel, brick), building systems (frame building, concrete slab forming, steel framing), environmental systems (sustainability, LEED), professional practice, and write a year-long thesis your graduating year.
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joohyunee
Korea (South)1087 Posts
well the thing is, the projects you do in school do not have to have any realism to them. The way that architecture as a discipline to be learned and studied is far far from any of the stuff that you need to know in practice, and I think it's actually a good thing that you do that. In school you're not bound by real-life constraints like budget, material, client vision, building security, engineers, etc. that all partake in the real life design process. Like you said, you learn how to THINK about architecture in school and learn how to PRACTICE architecture in the real world as you work in the field. I've seen people who have gone to trade schools who learned how to practice architecture before they did any design work, and all their buildings turn out, in my opinion, rather unimpressive for lack of creativity that pushes the boundaries of what it feels like to be in a space where you had complete control to create space as desired. School is the only time that you get to do that because you're not bitch to any real life issues like money and clients and engineers, and I think it'd be a wasted opportunity not to explore the most ridiculous thing you can make in school - it might take a while and it might not be what you might've been looking for, but you'll def. end up with a job when you can prove that you're smart and can speak intelligently about the crazy spaces you've been able to make and sell it to your potential bosses. Uni is the time to push the boundaries of who you are and your creativity - at least, that's what the higher-ranking schools will give you. The tangible things you need to know (how to work with Revit/other programs), if you're tech-savvy enough, you will pick up within a week or 2 to functional levels and soon be better than most others who are working at your firm - from there your knowledge of how things work in the real world will grow with experience, and that you'll get in due time (and even more quickly so if you're in grad school for arch).
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Thanks joohyunee for the advice. I can't help but to keep most of my designs restricted in some senses just because I have want to build some of these some days. So I look at the real world equivalent to my designs. I think this year, as long as my professors don't give me the most asinine program constraints as last year (build on a 50ft x 150ft plot for 17 people with necessary amenities. Or build on 120 cubic feet space), I'll be able to explore some more interesting designs.
I'm excited to start this year come October, but I don't want to waste time doing projects that don't allow for any creativity. Some of the stuff I do in school...it's laughable. The turn around for projects that didn't have anything to do with the final project tested my patience and forced a lot of us to turn in sub-par work just because we didn't have the time or couldn't get the feed back we needed to tweak them. I'm sure this year will give me something to add to my portfolio at last.
joohyunee, do you have a website or portfolio I could look at to see what your school taught you and what your creativity is?
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EPT
