To survive let alone prosper in such an unsettled environment, employers need workers who have two traits:
they must be expert in their profession, craft or trade
and
they must be committed to maintaining that expertise.
The first trait defines a qualified person. The second indicates they are also a “career activist.”
BTW, I know someone that fits the above and for her 60 and 80hr weeks, and constant studing(passing the A.R.E. exams first time through, and taking the lead in implementing BIM in her office, she was never laid off in the 4 years at her office.
i get what you're saying, rethinkit, but i have to say, i don't know if it is worth it. maybe it is, and i am currently acting as though it is and scratching, scraping and juggling as much and as fast as i can --- but my wife and i have had this conversation, is it worth it? Do we want to wake up at sixty and not remember where large chunks of the last thirty years went b/c we were busting ass to maintain a foothold in a small and deteriorating set of prospects. The alternatives are to greatly downsize our lifestyle (more so than has already happened) and enjoy life without or to move somewhere that our skills are in demand and we can maybe have a workable middle-class life in our professions without destroying ourselves. But as someone whose been doing the 50-90 hour a week thing since starting college fifteen years ago, always engaged in the moment but with an eye toward the future and setting up the next opportunity well in advance, including four different ways to make it happen no matter the fluxuations in the situation, it is getting very old and seems like there is just not going to be a pay-off.
or maybe i'm just down right now b/c i am so overworked and it is not clear that there is any forthcoming benefit other than the opportunity to overwork myself some more
no matter how much you love something, i can't imagine that working 50-90 hrs/week for it...especially when you have a family. i don't even have a family yet and i can't imagine putting so much energy towards one thing. props to you that you've been able to do it, though.
really 50 - 90 hr/week for your whole career? i would have to ask how well that firm is run if that is the case. I have never had to work close that that many hours, even when things were at their peak...im not doubting you but seeing what I saw in Arch school, i think that many architects do not spend their time wisely and then think its cool to bitch and brag about the carzy hours they have to put in.
but about the original post....i agree that taking pride and interest in your careers can and does help one ride out the rough times. But i think more importlantly the people who take a step back and get a glimpse of the big picture often succeed more. By understanding and acting towards what is truely important and removing themself from the little things that most employees get hung up on (ie bitching about every detail of the work) you can make major waves and gain notice of your Sr. peers.
not 50-90 hours a week for working in a firm, but overall --- it is not hard to work that much if you add just a little bit extra to your career-related extra-curriculars --- add reading (no skimming) one to three books (like arch HTC books or similar) per month to your activities and you've probably added 25 to 60 hours to the month. Add a design competition as well and you've added another 20-60 hours to the month. Add participating in a HTC-type reading group, becoming a LEED AP, participating in the local AIA or USGBC Chapter, studying for the AIA, teaching your self new software, looking for other jobs, taking a second job, applying to schools for grad school, building things like your own furniture, going out and picking up some sidework, writing creatively or critically, publishing, taking some classes, etc, and all of a sudden you've added 20-50 hours a week of career-related, programmed activity to your work schedule that is not directly related to work for the firm. Do 2-3 of any of these activities simultaneously and your hours definitely creep up there real fast.
i work 45-50 hours on a normal week (no heavy deadlines), add to that at least 1 hour of "geeking out" (keeping myself up to date on 3d modeling/scripting/tech stuff), and 1 hour of commute of which I spend half of (on average) reading a book (generally) related to design-work (sci-fi is design), and I'm pretty sure I hit 60 hours easily, especially if I decide to teach myself something over the weekend while the girlfriend sleeps late (I'm always up by 10AM on weekends, and generally by 9).
I know someone who fits that mold and she's been laid off. The top 2% doesn't always mean you won't get laid off.
And if you're going to go the route of working in that manner- you should be doing it for more than the $40-60k you will make in Architecture... ie. you should be smart enough to take those credentials and apply them in another way ... in my city, DC, you will start at LEAST $70-$80k as a BIM specialist in architecture. Then you could actually AFFORD to take the ARE's, save some money for a few years, and start your own practice... and you will be an expert in the field.
just a thought.
EXACTLY why i am transitiioning away from the field. i worked no less than 65 or so hours a week for YEARS for about 65k. i was at some top offices (which meant not a lot of input from ME) and the only reward was another project handed to me (or keeping my job in the downturn). once i finally realized that partner opening they kept dangling in front of us was just to keep us motivated (and indeed COMPLETELY vanished when things got bad) i realized i could find something else that i enjoy doing almost as much for a DRASTICALLY increased quality of life. i came to the conclusion that architect is simply not worth it. i sincerely hope that something changes for the profession, and i personally think that would require the architect to act as developer, or else architects will continue to be relegated to smaller and less favorable positions. i would not mind the added hourly input if i had had a LITTLE stability (and perhaps enough money to not ALSO have financial stress. 65k is not much when you have big loans to pay off).
is anyone else thinking about using this situation to leave the profession?
while i'm back in school, i'm quietly taking so many credit hours in one of my concentration areas that i'll be positioned to switch careers if need be -- i work on a research team that works on intelligent/responsive environments -- and i'm starting to pick up side work for some of the researchers -- so i'm actually doing more product design right now -- and i would say, designing an intelligent/responsive high-performance environment (like an operatory with sensor network and some automation) is perhaps as much product design and/or user experience design as architecture --
Career Activism as a way to prevent unemployment - rising to the top 2%
I found this
http://www.physicstoday.org/jobs/seek/weddles_102209.html
To survive let alone prosper in such an unsettled environment, employers need workers who have two traits:
they must be expert in their profession, craft or trade
and
they must be committed to maintaining that expertise.
The first trait defines a qualified person. The second indicates they are also a “career activist.”
BTW, I know someone that fits the above and for her 60 and 80hr weeks, and constant studing(passing the A.R.E. exams first time through, and taking the lead in implementing BIM in her office, she was never laid off in the 4 years at her office.
i get what you're saying, rethinkit, but i have to say, i don't know if it is worth it. maybe it is, and i am currently acting as though it is and scratching, scraping and juggling as much and as fast as i can --- but my wife and i have had this conversation, is it worth it? Do we want to wake up at sixty and not remember where large chunks of the last thirty years went b/c we were busting ass to maintain a foothold in a small and deteriorating set of prospects. The alternatives are to greatly downsize our lifestyle (more so than has already happened) and enjoy life without or to move somewhere that our skills are in demand and we can maybe have a workable middle-class life in our professions without destroying ourselves. But as someone whose been doing the 50-90 hour a week thing since starting college fifteen years ago, always engaged in the moment but with an eye toward the future and setting up the next opportunity well in advance, including four different ways to make it happen no matter the fluxuations in the situation, it is getting very old and seems like there is just not going to be a pay-off.
or maybe i'm just down right now b/c i am so overworked and it is not clear that there is any forthcoming benefit other than the opportunity to overwork myself some more
no matter how much you love something, i can't imagine that working 50-90 hrs/week for it...especially when you have a family. i don't even have a family yet and i can't imagine putting so much energy towards one thing. props to you that you've been able to do it, though.
really 50 - 90 hr/week for your whole career? i would have to ask how well that firm is run if that is the case. I have never had to work close that that many hours, even when things were at their peak...im not doubting you but seeing what I saw in Arch school, i think that many architects do not spend their time wisely and then think its cool to bitch and brag about the carzy hours they have to put in.
but about the original post....i agree that taking pride and interest in your careers can and does help one ride out the rough times. But i think more importlantly the people who take a step back and get a glimpse of the big picture often succeed more. By understanding and acting towards what is truely important and removing themself from the little things that most employees get hung up on (ie bitching about every detail of the work) you can make major waves and gain notice of your Sr. peers.
not 50-90 hours a week for working in a firm, but overall --- it is not hard to work that much if you add just a little bit extra to your career-related extra-curriculars --- add reading (no skimming) one to three books (like arch HTC books or similar) per month to your activities and you've probably added 25 to 60 hours to the month. Add a design competition as well and you've added another 20-60 hours to the month. Add participating in a HTC-type reading group, becoming a LEED AP, participating in the local AIA or USGBC Chapter, studying for the AIA, teaching your self new software, looking for other jobs, taking a second job, applying to schools for grad school, building things like your own furniture, going out and picking up some sidework, writing creatively or critically, publishing, taking some classes, etc, and all of a sudden you've added 20-50 hours a week of career-related, programmed activity to your work schedule that is not directly related to work for the firm. Do 2-3 of any of these activities simultaneously and your hours definitely creep up there real fast.
Umm for me there is a difference between 50-90 hours a week. Hardly 40 hours a week more :) or 7 hours a day more in 6 day-a-week schedule.
i'm with jm here.
i work 45-50 hours on a normal week (no heavy deadlines), add to that at least 1 hour of "geeking out" (keeping myself up to date on 3d modeling/scripting/tech stuff), and 1 hour of commute of which I spend half of (on average) reading a book (generally) related to design-work (sci-fi is design), and I'm pretty sure I hit 60 hours easily, especially if I decide to teach myself something over the weekend while the girlfriend sleeps late (I'm always up by 10AM on weekends, and generally by 9).
I know someone who fits that mold and she's been laid off. The top 2% doesn't always mean you won't get laid off.
And if you're going to go the route of working in that manner- you should be doing it for more than the $40-60k you will make in Architecture... ie. you should be smart enough to take those credentials and apply them in another way ... in my city, DC, you will start at LEAST $70-$80k as a BIM specialist in architecture. Then you could actually AFFORD to take the ARE's, save some money for a few years, and start your own practice... and you will be an expert in the field.
just a thought.
EXACTLY why i am transitiioning away from the field. i worked no less than 65 or so hours a week for YEARS for about 65k. i was at some top offices (which meant not a lot of input from ME) and the only reward was another project handed to me (or keeping my job in the downturn). once i finally realized that partner opening they kept dangling in front of us was just to keep us motivated (and indeed COMPLETELY vanished when things got bad) i realized i could find something else that i enjoy doing almost as much for a DRASTICALLY increased quality of life. i came to the conclusion that architect is simply not worth it. i sincerely hope that something changes for the profession, and i personally think that would require the architect to act as developer, or else architects will continue to be relegated to smaller and less favorable positions. i would not mind the added hourly input if i had had a LITTLE stability (and perhaps enough money to not ALSO have financial stress. 65k is not much when you have big loans to pay off).
is anyone else thinking about using this situation to leave the profession?
while i'm back in school, i'm quietly taking so many credit hours in one of my concentration areas that i'll be positioned to switch careers if need be -- i work on a research team that works on intelligent/responsive environments -- and i'm starting to pick up side work for some of the researchers -- so i'm actually doing more product design right now -- and i would say, designing an intelligent/responsive high-performance environment (like an operatory with sensor network and some automation) is perhaps as much product design and/or user experience design as architecture --
CMNDCTRL, what are you doing now, instead of traditional practice architecture?
I am not qualified enough to be employed, so I'm self-employed!
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.