About to get offered a job working for a developer. Not producing drawings at all! I am wanted to help come up with concepts for developments and help drive marketing.
I have an unaccredited BS of Arch or whatever already and have been accepted to an m.Arch that starts in a month....
Do you want to go into development later on? Go for it
Do you want to be a 'traditonal' practicing architect? Dont fo it , or delay for a year to make some money.
Both are learning exercises. One pays, one you pay.
The other factor is the quality of the developer. If he/she/they are cowboys, forget it.
Kind of a personal choice. I know theres a good amount of money in developers make some good money. More than arch's. Ur call. Do some soul searching...
I would do it, you would get to oversee the architecture portion, still having input and you would eat a little better. It could be a great experience. If you realize its not for you then go back to school. It would be real hard to try and work for a developer after you accumulate arch experience...
If this is a development company that you respect and has capital...take the job! This is a great opportunity in your career. The difference between Partners and employees is that Partners have developed the relationships to get projects. You are only going to get projects if a person trusts you. If you want to have your own firm or become a Partner some day you should take this opportunity...it is not "selling out" It is thinking like a business person...something sadly lacking in a lot of Architects.
Accepted to a good M Arch with funding? go for the M Arch, the job (or a better one) will be there when you get out.
If you are breaking the bank to go to an M Arch that won't add much to your marketability then go for the job, spend time refining your applications and try again later if the M Arch is still something you desire.
1. can you defer entry to school?
2. what kind of work does the developer do?
if the developer is good and not just into mcmansions then it would be very good experience, especially if they are doing commercial and/or mixed use development.
learning the financial side of things is essential to moving beyond drafting in most offices, so why not, assuming the answers to above questions are to your liking...?
The developer pretty much does high density residential mixed with a and also typical high end residential communities. the high density looks like it has some commericial mixed in.
probably cant defer school this close to its start... 3 weeks.
hm, probably worth calling uni and asking them if possible. then you have an easier decision.
not sure what high density residential means. if you think it looks like good work then go for it. if its just mcmansions where architecture is not part of the picture not sure how much you will learn, although the financing side of these kinds of things is fascinating and def worth knowing about.
my biz partner is developer. we do mid to high end residential for rent in tokyo. knowing the financial side of things means we get real estate agents coming to us to do feasibility studies that combines physical limits of buildings based on code, plus the financing. sometimes it turns into jobs, although the process is MUCH longer than when clients simply drop in and ask us to do something for them....anyway, we are only able to do all that because we understand the banks, the financing, and how to calculate a yield. i wish i knew all that when i was younger and perhaps for you this is a chance to figure things out early on...
Never ever take a job with a developer unless under contract, developers are always running out of money and trying to find investors to fund work, do your M.Arch, as it is already difficult getting in. Take my advice lightly, though, I'm only starting my undergrad.
If its a quality job for a quality outfit take it. You will learn much more useful stuff than you would in school, and the future for architects right now is very murky. Who knows if there will be any jobs for architects when you graduate.
Defer the education, that will always be there, a good job, particularly in this economy, will not.
As jump points out, learning the 'other side' of things is a great things to take advantage of. Look at the job as 'learning', perhaps even express your enthusiasm to the developer - "I really want to be involved with as much as possible, learn the ropes..."etc., etc.
Who knows, they might take you and teach you all you need to know.
Keep in mind that you don't need a license or another degree to design buildings. You do, however, need to have someone to pay for any buildings, so the more you learn about financing them, what goes on on the business side, the more empowered you will be later in your career.
I am with jump on the 'wish I knew this when I was younger' deal. Wish I had even thought about it, to be honest, and sadly, most architecture students are in outer space with idealistic dreams of competitions, billionaire clients, etc. (as I was).
It is a good position to be in - to be young and have options - and there is much to take advantage of.
I would take the job. You never know when an opportunity like that will come again. As mentioned before.. School will always be there with their hands outstretched waiting to collect your money. If you got into an m arch program I'm sure you can do it again if the job isn't what you hoped it would be.
I suppose just be sure you have a contract for a year to avoid getting screwed in a few months if they're a hire/fire kinda company
Aug 10, 10 10:30 am ·
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Uh oh...
About to get offered a job working for a developer. Not producing drawings at all! I am wanted to help come up with concepts for developments and help drive marketing.
I have an unaccredited BS of Arch or whatever already and have been accepted to an m.Arch that starts in a month....
The siren beckons, what do i do!?
Do you want to go into development later on? Go for it
Do you want to be a 'traditonal' practicing architect? Dont fo it , or delay for a year to make some money.
Both are learning exercises. One pays, one you pay.
The other factor is the quality of the developer. If he/she/they are cowboys, forget it.
definitely not cowboys. these guys are backed by a venture capital firm and has some serious cash to work with from what they told me.
to be honest, i would feel like a sellout chasing something like that right now! ah...
Kind of a personal choice. I know theres a good amount of money in developers make some good money. More than arch's. Ur call. Do some soul searching...
I would do it, you would get to oversee the architecture portion, still having input and you would eat a little better. It could be a great experience. If you realize its not for you then go back to school. It would be real hard to try and work for a developer after you accumulate arch experience...
being on the development side is a dream, definitely take the job
if you hate it, then just quit it before grad school
This would be insanely helpful experience for your future arch career.
but be careful how you late-notice your M.arch. They might stick you with a protractor or something.
Got to grad school and give the developer my resume
If this is a development company that you respect and has capital...take the job! This is a great opportunity in your career. The difference between Partners and employees is that Partners have developed the relationships to get projects. You are only going to get projects if a person trusts you. If you want to have your own firm or become a Partner some day you should take this opportunity...it is not "selling out" It is thinking like a business person...something sadly lacking in a lot of Architects.
Accepted to a good M Arch with funding? go for the M Arch, the job (or a better one) will be there when you get out.
If you are breaking the bank to go to an M Arch that won't add much to your marketability then go for the job, spend time refining your applications and try again later if the M Arch is still something you desire.
accepted to a cheap (but very respectable in my opinion) state school.
thanks for all the advice people! im glad i found this forum.
2 questions to ask.
1. can you defer entry to school?
2. what kind of work does the developer do?
if the developer is good and not just into mcmansions then it would be very good experience, especially if they are doing commercial and/or mixed use development.
learning the financial side of things is essential to moving beyond drafting in most offices, so why not, assuming the answers to above questions are to your liking...?
The developer pretty much does high density residential mixed with a and also typical high end residential communities. the high density looks like it has some commericial mixed in.
probably cant defer school this close to its start... 3 weeks.
hm, probably worth calling uni and asking them if possible. then you have an easier decision.
not sure what high density residential means. if you think it looks like good work then go for it. if its just mcmansions where architecture is not part of the picture not sure how much you will learn, although the financing side of these kinds of things is fascinating and def worth knowing about.
my biz partner is developer. we do mid to high end residential for rent in tokyo. knowing the financial side of things means we get real estate agents coming to us to do feasibility studies that combines physical limits of buildings based on code, plus the financing. sometimes it turns into jobs, although the process is MUCH longer than when clients simply drop in and ask us to do something for them....anyway, we are only able to do all that because we understand the banks, the financing, and how to calculate a yield. i wish i knew all that when i was younger and perhaps for you this is a chance to figure things out early on...
do school.... unless they offer you a 1 year contract..but then again they can hire/fire you within a few months....
Never ever take a job with a developer unless under contract, developers are always running out of money and trying to find investors to fund work, do your M.Arch, as it is already difficult getting in. Take my advice lightly, though, I'm only starting my undergrad.
If its a quality job for a quality outfit take it. You will learn much more useful stuff than you would in school, and the future for architects right now is very murky. Who knows if there will be any jobs for architects when you graduate.
Defer the education, that will always be there, a good job, particularly in this economy, will not.
As jump points out, learning the 'other side' of things is a great things to take advantage of. Look at the job as 'learning', perhaps even express your enthusiasm to the developer - "I really want to be involved with as much as possible, learn the ropes..."etc., etc.
Who knows, they might take you and teach you all you need to know.
Keep in mind that you don't need a license or another degree to design buildings. You do, however, need to have someone to pay for any buildings, so the more you learn about financing them, what goes on on the business side, the more empowered you will be later in your career.
I am with jump on the 'wish I knew this when I was younger' deal. Wish I had even thought about it, to be honest, and sadly, most architecture students are in outer space with idealistic dreams of competitions, billionaire clients, etc. (as I was).
It is a good position to be in - to be young and have options - and there is much to take advantage of.
I would take the job. You never know when an opportunity like that will come again. As mentioned before.. School will always be there with their hands outstretched waiting to collect your money. If you got into an m arch program I'm sure you can do it again if the job isn't what you hoped it would be.
I suppose just be sure you have a contract for a year to avoid getting screwed in a few months if they're a hire/fire kinda company
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