I've been a graphic designer and web developer for 10+ years. Since I was little, I've designed homes and furniture too. I took drafting classes throughout high school. For several years I've been wanting to see my drawings come to life and not just sit in my sketchbook and I'm getting tired of the 2D world of graphic design.
So, I'm starting to consider going to school for architecture. I remember almost doing that when I first started college but everyone said it was arduous . . .and the I found graphic design and loved it.
Anyway, I've had many kinds of working situations and I'm pretty confident I don't want to work for a big firm or even for a small one. I love working for myself and having clients across the country. I also want to build in the multiple states I have roots in.
What are my options and what is it going to take for me to get to a position to be able to freelance as an architect - I imagine doing residential homes, remodels and retrofits as well as landscaping.
I need advice on schools, programs, and just general stuff I need to know - I don't really know squat right now.
I am a mother of a 2 and 1/2 years old child. I had worked for a year former to my delivery. Now i get time at home and am planning to work as a freelance architect.
I just want some clues to help me out how i can start searching for such jobs and which kind of work i should start with.
I don't want to discourage you, just going to walk through the process, so bare with me for a moment...
I think if you return to school for architecture, you will find that it is very different from what you might imagine. You most likely never will be designing dream homes or learning how to develop and build anything you want, and drafting does not equal design. In school you learn design first and foremost. This is actually a very abstract concept. Once you finish school (and while you're in school over summers) you will need about 5600 hours of work experience working at firms for licensed architects. Then you take a massive licensing exam that takes about a year to complete (taken 4 times over the year). So, if you go for masters (I'm assuming), it will be 3-4 yrs (but if you go for B.Arch that is 5 years...) in school, 3 years working and 1 year licensing. That's about 8 year until you can practice on your own AND stamp your own drawings. That is if you want to be licensed and as soon as possible
NOW, there are other ways...In New York (and maybe some other states) you can just work for 12 years without a degree in architecture and get your license (not sure how this works totally). OR you can go for a 3-4 year professional masters degree and have other people with licenses stamp your drawings..So you do not need to be licensed, I know a lot of people who do this, but you may find it limiting.
I'm not sure what schools exactly would prepare you well for retrofits/remodels and landscaping..because I'm sure you will have a variety of studio projects anywhere you go. One semester you may be designing a small house, the next an addition to a museum, and then an entire housing and entertainment district...so it's hard to say.
Overall, whatever you do, hold on to that imagination! Even if you wont be doing projects that inspire you in school or work it's important to remember what inspires you to be able to come back to that when you're free to do what you want. Good Luck!
Yep. Your ideal architecture job situation you want isn't impossible. It'll just take 10 years to get there and that's after working for a firm (large or small, in what you want to do, you'd most likely want to work within a small firm).
Simply put, we do not come out of school with true knowledge of how things get built. It's such an incredibly complex profession that involves so much you couldn't possibly learn everything on even 10 years time.
You're best situation would be this. Become incredibly skilled and talented in school. Get a job in a small firm during and after you've completed school. Work under the guidance of an experienced architect who trusts you enough to allow to be in a designer role while still learning what we need to know within our profession. Learn how to ask the right questions to complete projects and who to go to when those questions arise. Start your own practice.
Even if you have your own practice. I find it hard to imagine working on your own completely. The odds of you working on "dream homes" is not incredibly rare, but not an every project occurrence. You will also most likely have to work with an interior designer that the client hired, so you'll have to learn to share creative direction of the projects.
But while in school. You might learn that you love urban design. Or healthcare design. Or retail design. Or hell, you might learn you love interior design.
Apr 1, 14 9:51 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
Need advice :: Freelance Architect
Hello,
I've been a graphic designer and web developer for 10+ years. Since I was little, I've designed homes and furniture too. I took drafting classes throughout high school. For several years I've been wanting to see my drawings come to life and not just sit in my sketchbook and I'm getting tired of the 2D world of graphic design.
So, I'm starting to consider going to school for architecture. I remember almost doing that when I first started college but everyone said it was arduous . . .and the I found graphic design and loved it.
Anyway, I've had many kinds of working situations and I'm pretty confident I don't want to work for a big firm or even for a small one. I love working for myself and having clients across the country. I also want to build in the multiple states I have roots in.
What are my options and what is it going to take for me to get to a position to be able to freelance as an architect - I imagine doing residential homes, remodels and retrofits as well as landscaping.
I need advice on schools, programs, and just general stuff I need to know - I don't really know squat right now.
Thanks so much.
j
Hi,
I am a mother of a 2 and 1/2 years old child. I had worked for a year former to my delivery. Now i get time at home and am planning to work as a freelance architect.
I just want some clues to help me out how i can start searching for such jobs and which kind of work i should start with.
Thanks.
I don't want to discourage you, just going to walk through the process, so bare with me for a moment...
I think if you return to school for architecture, you will find that it is very different from what you might imagine. You most likely never will be designing dream homes or learning how to develop and build anything you want, and drafting does not equal design. In school you learn design first and foremost. This is actually a very abstract concept. Once you finish school (and while you're in school over summers) you will need about 5600 hours of work experience working at firms for licensed architects. Then you take a massive licensing exam that takes about a year to complete (taken 4 times over the year). So, if you go for masters (I'm assuming), it will be 3-4 yrs (but if you go for B.Arch that is 5 years...) in school, 3 years working and 1 year licensing. That's about 8 year until you can practice on your own AND stamp your own drawings. That is if you want to be licensed and as soon as possible
NOW, there are other ways...In New York (and maybe some other states) you can just work for 12 years without a degree in architecture and get your license (not sure how this works totally). OR you can go for a 3-4 year professional masters degree and have other people with licenses stamp your drawings..So you do not need to be licensed, I know a lot of people who do this, but you may find it limiting.
I'm not sure what schools exactly would prepare you well for retrofits/remodels and landscaping..because I'm sure you will have a variety of studio projects anywhere you go. One semester you may be designing a small house, the next an addition to a museum, and then an entire housing and entertainment district...so it's hard to say.
Overall, whatever you do, hold on to that imagination! Even if you wont be doing projects that inspire you in school or work it's important to remember what inspires you to be able to come back to that when you're free to do what you want. Good Luck!
Simply put, we do not come out of school with true knowledge of how things get built. It's such an incredibly complex profession that involves so much you couldn't possibly learn everything on even 10 years time.
You're best situation would be this. Become incredibly skilled and talented in school. Get a job in a small firm during and after you've completed school. Work under the guidance of an experienced architect who trusts you enough to allow to be in a designer role while still learning what we need to know within our profession. Learn how to ask the right questions to complete projects and who to go to when those questions arise. Start your own practice.
Even if you have your own practice. I find it hard to imagine working on your own completely. The odds of you working on "dream homes" is not incredibly rare, but not an every project occurrence. You will also most likely have to work with an interior designer that the client hired, so you'll have to learn to share creative direction of the projects.
But while in school. You might learn that you love urban design. Or healthcare design. Or retail design. Or hell, you might learn you love interior design.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.