wow....i forget....did i write this?!?!? (no i didn't, but i bet the entire "2011 applicants commiserate" thread THINKS i did). so sad and funny at the same time. i could have learned more from this cartoon than from my professors.
oh wow. Ive been struggling with the idea of getting a masters, and well this video just pushed me extremely over to one side thanks you SO MUCH for saving my life. I have seen the light!!
I think there is... I think most people wouldn't keep coming back here, our fellow archinectors, if they didn't have some enthusiasm. It's encouraging, right?
i suspect that, if you showed this to arch 101, but then gave a 1hr slideshow of starchitects' projects, it'd just wipe the whole thing out of their heads and they'd still be on board.
^ this, yes. numbers don't apply to the youf. the exceptionalist "me" generation is pretty sure that they will be different, regardless of the reality of the situation.
Not sure where you all went to school, but at Minnesota our prof frankly spoke of all these things in our first class as freshman... aka the weed out class.
beekay31, i DID get that speech. but my 101 speech was more like "this will be a lot of work. you're not going to be rich, you'll work hard, but it is rewarding if you love it." i loved it, so i stayed. this was from a prof who had ONLY taught. he had no idea what the "real world" is like. i THINK this is what it is like at most schools (i have taught at a few myself).
i think the way the talk SHOULD go is like this: "this will be a lot of work. most of you should not make it through. those who do will barely make enough money to survive let alone pay back your student loans. you'll work hard, and be forced to neglect your family. statististically speaking, you will not be famous or even get more than ONE project with a decent enough budget to actually PRACTICE what it is that you will learn in school. most importantly, in ANY sign of economic falter, you will be seen as frivolous. especially in the largest sector of construction - housing. be prepared to fight and claw for jobs, because not many are out there, and there will be WAY too many of you."
that last part would have been the kicker for me. architects really are frivolous in america (or at least we are seen that way). design is an afterthought, and knowing our culture, it is not surprising at ALL that architects struggle during down times. the liability issue was brought up in another thread, but it is really true. we don't take much responsibility - engineers, contractors, lawyers - all cover our butts for what we USED to do ourselves. so now, we are on a leash. we are given a LITTLE room to play when things are good. but we have little use when things are bad. i think this video just sums all this up nicely and sarcastically enough that people might actually understand. sadly, it is people like the intern in the video who have helped degrade the profession and they don't even realize it.
this is exaggerated, and the stilted speech used in xtranormal combined with the poorly written dialogue makes it all the more hysterical.
however, it highlights some of the very real issues that most in the profession have to face. it misses a few even bigger issues, being the huge risks that most will Architects face during their career, particularly in their own business, of litigation from clients and builders, malpractice suits, now OH&S and implied use adds to the growing threat over our heads (any misjudgment made accidentally or deliberately either by you, your client or a consultant) renders the Architect liable from now until they die.
add to that the mix of comparatively low pay for the industry (check any career/job search website for figures), the stress and emotional and intellectual energy devoted to your projects -- solid reasons for being here are rare indeed.
ultimately the commitment of years of study and accumulated experience ensures that most Architects never leave the profession -- even after reaching the realization of how unvalued their profession is, and how better their life would have been if they had never so much as touched a scale ruler -- all we can do is instruct our kids to NEVER BECOME AN ARCHITECT.
:-P
Nov 21, 10 9:57 am ·
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So you want to be an Architect?
Ran into this last night!
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7429337/?ref=nf
i'm speechless.
the extreme bizarre vs. cogent-ness of that video was too much to take this morning.
-brad pitt says so
wow....i forget....did i write this?!?!? (no i didn't, but i bet the entire "2011 applicants commiserate" thread THINKS i did). so sad and funny at the same time. i could have learned more from this cartoon than from my professors.
oh wow. Ive been struggling with the idea of getting a masters, and well this video just pushed me extremely over to one side thanks you SO MUCH for saving my life. I have seen the light!!
This video should be shown at the freshmen classes in all arch schools. Intro to Arch 101.
paradox,
you are absolutely right!
first day of class. enrollment=150.
Second day of class. enrollment=8
"in a van down by the river"
No prof would allow this...why should they be the only ones crying about their own misfortunes and shortcomings!
a belly flop on a coffee table, turning it into splinters, seems to fit after watching that video.
I do want to believe that there is a happy medium between the jaded creep in the corner cubicle and the optimistic and irritating intern.
I think there is... I think most people wouldn't keep coming back here, our fellow archinectors, if they didn't have some enthusiasm. It's encouraging, right?
same old stuff we've all heard before, isn't it?
i suspect that, if you showed this to arch 101, but then gave a 1hr slideshow of starchitects' projects, it'd just wipe the whole thing out of their heads and they'd still be on board.
^ this, yes. numbers don't apply to the youf. the exceptionalist "me" generation is pretty sure that they will be different, regardless of the reality of the situation.
Not sure where you all went to school, but at Minnesota our prof frankly spoke of all these things in our first class as freshman... aka the weed out class.
beekay31, i DID get that speech. but my 101 speech was more like "this will be a lot of work. you're not going to be rich, you'll work hard, but it is rewarding if you love it." i loved it, so i stayed. this was from a prof who had ONLY taught. he had no idea what the "real world" is like. i THINK this is what it is like at most schools (i have taught at a few myself).
i think the way the talk SHOULD go is like this: "this will be a lot of work. most of you should not make it through. those who do will barely make enough money to survive let alone pay back your student loans. you'll work hard, and be forced to neglect your family. statististically speaking, you will not be famous or even get more than ONE project with a decent enough budget to actually PRACTICE what it is that you will learn in school. most importantly, in ANY sign of economic falter, you will be seen as frivolous. especially in the largest sector of construction - housing. be prepared to fight and claw for jobs, because not many are out there, and there will be WAY too many of you."
that last part would have been the kicker for me. architects really are frivolous in america (or at least we are seen that way). design is an afterthought, and knowing our culture, it is not surprising at ALL that architects struggle during down times. the liability issue was brought up in another thread, but it is really true. we don't take much responsibility - engineers, contractors, lawyers - all cover our butts for what we USED to do ourselves. so now, we are on a leash. we are given a LITTLE room to play when things are good. but we have little use when things are bad. i think this video just sums all this up nicely and sarcastically enough that people might actually understand. sadly, it is people like the intern in the video who have helped degrade the profession and they don't even realize it.
this is exaggerated, and the stilted speech used in xtranormal combined with the poorly written dialogue makes it all the more hysterical.
however, it highlights some of the very real issues that most in the profession have to face. it misses a few even bigger issues, being the huge risks that most will Architects face during their career, particularly in their own business, of litigation from clients and builders, malpractice suits, now OH&S and implied use adds to the growing threat over our heads (any misjudgment made accidentally or deliberately either by you, your client or a consultant) renders the Architect liable from now until they die.
add to that the mix of comparatively low pay for the industry (check any career/job search website for figures), the stress and emotional and intellectual energy devoted to your projects -- solid reasons for being here are rare indeed.
ultimately the commitment of years of study and accumulated experience ensures that most Architects never leave the profession -- even after reaching the realization of how unvalued their profession is, and how better their life would have been if they had never so much as touched a scale ruler -- all we can do is instruct our kids to NEVER BECOME AN ARCHITECT.
:-P
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