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Should I quit my job?

apricot

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

After graduating with bachelor's, I became an 'Everyday Intern'. I having been interning in four cities and counting; acquiring much technical and professional skills and learning on the fly while taking time to explore each new city. I have been exposed to working with building architecture as well as urban studies, landscape, structures and interior.

I have always dreamed of studying in Europe. I applied to some schools without application fees and got accepted by some UK schools, SAC and Polimi. Some UK schools offered me an MA degree instead of M.Arch cos my undergrad degree is not RIBA accredited. I'm still undecided of where to go for Masters as my favourite school still has my application on hold.

Since school starts in September, I decided to take time to gain more working experience. I'm currently trying to find my place in another big city. Working in a small studio that does mainly interiors has been pretty challenging. I realised that I really don't know much about interiors or rather, lack an interest for furnishings. My job today has been to 3D model a maisonette from plan with details of each door and window. I did the model in Revit as it allows for the ease of door and window type selection as well as changing of their dimensions. The supervisor then asked me to add in furniture and I added in some Revit furniture. However, the supervisor become quite pissed at my choice of furniture and then instructed that I change all the furniture to Italian designer ones like Minotti and Maxalto... I was even accused of being lazy for building Revit families instead of painstaking modelling each window frame and door joint in Sketchup. For the record, I am a Sketchup noob as I never used it in university. But for the sake of adding designer furnitures which could be found on 3DWarehouse, I transported my workflow to Sketchup. I had to adjust the dimensions of each piece of furniture model to be identical to that in the plan. 

I feel like I'm gonna take forever to painstakingly adjust all the furniture. Nothing I'm doing is right as the supervisor is perpetually discontent with the 3D model I show him, i.e. he would want a round ottoman instead of a square one even though in the plan it shows a square -.- I really don't wanna see myself tiresomely adjusting furniture everyday T-T 

 
Jul 21, 17 12:36 pm
zonker

I really don't wanna see myself tiresomely adjusting furniture everyday T-T 

welcome to architecture - if this is a problem for you, then maybe you should go do something else - comes with game - you just need to disappear the attitude - sheesh - so you wanna be an architect? do the work

Jul 21, 17 12:54 pm  · 
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chigurh

you are in an uncomfortable situation in which you might actually learn something and become better at what you want to do with your life...leave immediately!  I'm sure somebody out there will give you a partnership, a huge salary and full leadership/design authority...Don't settle for anything less.  

Jul 21, 17 1:01 pm  · 
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s=r*(theta)

hahaha!

Jul 21, 17 3:53 pm  · 
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archinine
lol xenakis - truer words

OP your boss sounds like a prick. Typical small firm attitude. Sketchup blows. Detailing things in a model of whatever software is unnecessary and counterproductive. You do that in a detail line drawing. Model shows general form only, more 3D detail = slower/bigger files.

Try working somewhere bigger, where the manager doesn't have so much time to micromanage you / is busy enough to not have staff waste time modeling window hardware.

Consider the cost both financially and in terms of time when heading to grad school. What are your goals? How will you utilize the program to achieve those? Simply having an excuse to quit your job is not a great reason. You can do that without dropping $100k+ on a degree...lots of places hiring all over
Jul 21, 17 1:11 pm  · 
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sameolddoctor

If they love sketchup so much, they must suck. Leave and never look back.

Jul 21, 17 2:09 pm  · 
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apricot

love is an understatement

Jul 22, 17 1:11 am  · 
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Bloopox

Don't underestimate the value of current jobs for future references and contacts.  If you're going back to school in September then you've only got 5 or 6 weeks left on this internship, and if I were you I'd stick it out just for the sake of not leaving behind a history of having quit mid-summer.  It's a small world - even if you don't list this guy as a reference, someday you're going to put this gig on your resume and a future potential employer is going to know him and ask him about you, and it's not going to be good if what he remembers you for is quitting in July.

If he were treating you abusively or the working situation was completely intolerable in some other way then I'd say quit now.  But it sounds like your boss is just hypercritical with unrealistic expectations - in other words fairly typical of design-firm bosses - and if you're just bored and annoyed with modeling ottomans then chalk it up as part of the learning experience, finish it out, and try to avoid future similar positions and bosses.

Jul 21, 17 2:55 pm  · 
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Driko

idk why everyone is shitting on you.

quit. if you feel that it isn't worth the time then stop wasting your time. I don't understand why everyone in the architecture field doesn't have this sense of urgency and just goes with the flow and tells them selfs "i need more work exp", "i need a masters", "work at a big/small firm", "work less/more hours" what ever it is the industry is full of complainers and that partially due to that fact everyone is tacked with this crazy loan they took out for grad school.


for the comment about how future employers might know your boss. That is the biggest BS ive heard. 100% of jobs I have ever had never call my references or follow up with my previous employers because the hiring process is long and hard enough. dont believe me? go ask your recruiting buddies or go work in recruiting/sales for a year. The best way to avoid this is by controlling your Resume. 

Jul 21, 17 3:34 pm  · 
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TED

Having a part 1 is not a criteria in most UK Schools (AA it is as it is a 5 year degree).  So you did not get offered a place in a MArch Part 2 programme is most likely because of your portfolio and or interview.

If your practice specifies the furnishing, of course it is very important that the specified furnishings are correctly drawn in the scheme.  Size, modularity, etc could be significantly different than the Revit defaults. More important it demonstrates to the supervisor that you have no appreciation nor interest in what types of projects that firm does. You are demonstrating to Him/Her - you are only a cad monkey and have little regard for the design they do.

Does sound as if your heart is not in Architecture - job hopping isn't the solution. 

Jul 21, 17 3:51 pm  · 
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apricot

Thanks for your comment. Indeed I realised that my company prioritises furnishings and soft selections. I was badass to use a software they've never seen before. Then, I started using Sketchup seriously for the first time in my life. 

Having a part 1 exempted degree is a criteria for Cardiff, Sheffield and Liverpool. Do you recommend pursuing a MA in the UK?

Jul 22, 17 1:30 am  · 
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TED

Cardiff does allow - 'Normally' is not exclusive. If you plan to try to practice as an architect in the US, stay in the US and get a Masters there. There are 49-55 Part 2 programmes in the UK. https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Architecture so plenty to choose. If you want to study in Europe then consider a 1 year masters AFTER you finish your masters or do look for a US programme with a Year abroad as part of the studies.

Jul 22, 17 3:32 am  · 
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apricot

I do consider taking a one year M.Arch in my own country and then take a MA in the UK.

Jul 23, 17 10:36 am  · 
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apricot

where I can broaden my scope and learn from European cities. What benefits are there to taking an MA after an M.Arch (with regards to working in the industry in the future)?

Jul 23, 17 10:48 am  · 
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Flatfish

Quit - but then don't come back here in 3 years or whatever to bitch about how you're trying to get licensed and you can't get approved to test because your work history doesn't meet your state's requirements because your jobs have been too short, or your past employer won't sign off on your IDP hours because he's got a grudge because you left in the middle of a project, or you can't get hired because you've got nothing on your resume but short-term jobs, or you've got nothing in your portfolio that shows any long-term involvement in any project from conceptual design through construction.  All recurring themes here.

Jul 21, 17 3:52 pm  · 
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randomised

Just do what they ask you to do first and do it well, and if you care enough you can do some of your preferred options as bonus, which you can show your bosses to explain your point of view and who knows...




Nobody likes the intern or junior telling them how to run the place, you're apparently only just good enough to get hired but clearly not good enough to be offered more than a first trial contract, maybe that says something...it does to me.

Jul 21, 17 4:35 pm  · 
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archinine
You guys make a lot of assumptions. Driko is the only one with the right idea.

OP doesn't want to be an interior decorator. Doesn't mean s/he's lazy, a job hopper, entitled or any other of these ridiculous accusations.

I prefer working at bigger firms where the decorators pick the fabrics and the chairs whilst we architects make a building that functions. But hey everyone has different preferences.
Jul 21, 17 4:56 pm  · 
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randomised

Ah well, maybe I misunderstood my bad and apologies to the OPP

Jul 22, 17 7:55 am  · 
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apricot

Woke up, made omelet and read the comments. Thanks and good morning all. (wait, we're in different time zones)

I honestly prefer working in big firms. They have a more organised structure. This Spring, I got an opportunity to intern in Tokyo at an office of a third generation modern architect. Though it is a small studio, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The design process starts with hand sketching and model making. I learned to be focused on my work, doing one thing at a time and doing it well among many laudable qualities of the Japanese architecture work culture. Among my other work experiences I got to design some small tourist service centres which will be built in real life. 

In a sense, I have never taken interiors seriously. But I know that interiors are instrumental aspects of the spatial experience. I can immediately jump boat to another big firm more focused on architectural design right now. As much as I have been distraught at spending so much time modelling customised ottomans and sofa legs.. After sleeping on it, I feel that I shouldn't leave something while halfway through

Jul 21, 17 11:06 pm  · 
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randomised

Who knows when your in-depth knowledge of ottomans and sofa legs might come in handy...remember that Pritzker winner who said in her acceptance speech she would have never made it that far in architecture if she didn't have to make 3D Sketchup models of ottomans and sofa legs.

Jul 23, 17 6:38 am  · 
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apricot

Yes, landing a partnership, a huge salary, full leadership/design authority and a Pritzker Prize sounds like a plan

Jul 23, 17 9:16 am  · 
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ctrldsgn

I fully agree with Driko and archinine.  It's just a stupid internship and bosses like that just like to shit on you. Are you getting paid with actual money or is this one of those BS "paid with experience" internships?

Find a small office where you can learn the ins and outs of real architecture. Where you can learn each process of what it takes to get something built, then you can move on to bigger things if you'd like. You're not an interior designer so don't work for them, it clearly doesn't interest you. Just move on. 


Jul 22, 17 5:40 pm  · 
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apricot

My Tokyo stint was unpaid. My other overseas internships provided salary and accommodation. By all accounts, I'm very much an opportunist and nomad

Jul 23, 17 3:51 am  · 
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geezertect

One advantage of working at shit gigs during your early years is that your bullshit-o-meter will be in good adjustment and working order when you get to the main event after graduation.

Jul 23, 17 2:20 pm  · 
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