Just graduated school. I've worked at a few design firms and some well known architecture/professors. However, I havent ever worked a salary job.
the job market is real bad in the city im in, and chances are its just as bad as anywhere else.. (im in socal).
Ive been offered a job as a Branding/Graphic Designer for a upcoming website dealing with oversees trade.. all in all it seems legit, and there is possibility of quick promotion since the company is still small.
i was wondering if i decide to work for these guys to wait out the recession, will that be alright? 1-2 years minimum?
also, there is a possibility of me being paid way more than a entry level architect.. i was wondering if it would be hard to return to architecture (get hired, even as entry level) 5-10 years down the road?
i have a masters and am currently 25..
i intend to keep reading about architecture and/or take classes here n there and do side projects hopefully on the side .. as it is something im regularly itnerested in anyway
an idea situation is being able to branch my own architecture practice based on the work given to me by this web company. i am directly working with CEO as we are first friends than partners..
You couldn't come back to "design practice" not because you had left architecture for a while but because you are not rich enough to suppoert yourself which is the reason that you are planning to leave "Design" profession now.
You could come back to a replaceable un-paid desinger, but definitely not to a respected designer.
Do "architecture practice", then you could be a real desinger someday if you have a talent.
Is it just me? Really, is it just mypersonal [mis]interpretation of literally every post? Or is this forum ridiculously insecure? Can someone please answer?
These are the threads of the past year:
Can I make enough money?
Am I really an architect?
Where should I go to school?
Is my portfolio good enough?
Do you guys think it's okay if I go away and come back?
Are markets elsewhere more viable?
Design is design, trust me I habe clients who design or are very involved in something like say web designing who not only immediately understand design concepts but can expand on them,
With that said, you need some real technical and dirty experience...you could still get your license by taking exams but to really convince the design savvy client of your worth beyond creative design ideas,
That's architecture practice....not academic conceptual design, my dog does it in his dreams.
Oh, now I understand why you're upset, nbn. Seriously, I had no idea what background or context you were coming from at all. Now I get it. My sincere apologies, did you want to ask anymore questions about professional life? Would you like to ask me how to get and hold a job? Maybe a job that you might like? Would you like any advice on life choices? Seriously, anything I could do to help you in your path as a graphic designer, I would be more than willing to offer. I hear 2x4 is hiring.
a) Life is short; you only live once; by all means, do the best for yourself that you can! If you've got a good job that you will like, that pays well, take the damn thing and worry about the rest later. You'll be fine, architecture isn't going anywhere.
b) You never know what skills you'll grow, what people you'll meet, in a new situation. You are really young - you have ample opportunity to learn and grow from this web design position as you would almost any position. You never know who you'll meet, or what you'll work on, and where that will lead you later. If you will enjoy the work, take the job, and enjoy it! Don't worry so much over hypothetical future possibilities.
c) web design is a useful skill to arch firms anyway.
I sometimes feel like I give the same advice over and over on this forum. Not that that's a bad thing - people need reassurance, that's why it's nice that this forum exists. But I probably should start bookmarking and copy-pasting my responses, just to save time.
but my thoughts are along the line that peoples feelings are being insulted when they bust their asses in school only to get to the real world to stand on the unemployment line....but...BUT you need to actually TRY to get a friggen job before you can give up. Take the graphics job...more for architecture me!
I graduated in 1991 with a BS in Arch Design (4+2 - still need to do the masters) and at the time ACAD was just getting accepted by the firms- most still used t-squares.
It was the end of the S&L crisses and architecture was not doing very well. Most of the offers with firms were at minimum wage. I applied for corporate companies who needed a CAD monkey and the pay was 1.5x of the firms.
So for the next few years I work every other job I could get into with corporate companies and stayed out of traditional firms. I was able to afford a house, support my growing family and work small jobs on the side as I wanted. I heard from friends who were associates what their pay was and I couldn't believe the pay was that low. They were licensed.
During the late 90's I got hooked on 3D illustration, video animation and the web 1.0. I did very well and worked freelance. I only survived the dot com bust, as I did a lot of Arch Viz work and still did well. Architecture at the time was just starting to become the Era of Starchitects and things did very well.
During the 2000's, I had a lot of high pay offers to work as a 3D viz guru and decided to go back to working as a Arch designer. I did OK, I took a little pay cut and worked on some large condo towers and high end custom homes.
In 2006 we sold our house (I'm sorry to mention it), moved, bought another and I decided to go back to grad school to work on my MBA in Real Estate and finance. I was 1/2 through 2008, just as everything began to slide and had to stop to try and take care of family issues.
Since then I haven't been able to find work in much of any field I've been successful in during my past. I would have to move, without family to find a job. I don't and didn't get unemployment, as I was in grad school and was contract prior. I'm a few hours from a major metro area and there isn't much use for my skill sets here and the remote work isn't that great, as I've been competing with less expensive area of the world.
My wife is carrying most of the bills and I'm working for $12 p/h as a Foreclosure field rep, Customer Service phone support, remodeler, handyman, and what ever blows my way.
Don't feel too bad for me, as you remember, I sold my home in '06. We've been slowly working through the $ from that sale and are now down to about 1.5 years worth of funds. No new cars, toys or college tuition for the kids. We aren't on food stamps, but we are showing out kids what its like to grow your own food and live frugally (like our undergrad days in college). We'll survive.
If I were you, I'd gladly take the job.
Architecture as been around for eons and it isn't going to go away anytime soon. This is the normal cycle of the industry.
Maybe when this industry is in recovery, perhaps the web 2.0 will be in decline?
I pass the torch. Good luck.
Nov 18, 10 1:51 am ·
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Help! Leaving Architecture for a while for $, will it be OK to return?
Just graduated school. I've worked at a few design firms and some well known architecture/professors. However, I havent ever worked a salary job.
the job market is real bad in the city im in, and chances are its just as bad as anywhere else.. (im in socal).
Ive been offered a job as a Branding/Graphic Designer for a upcoming website dealing with oversees trade.. all in all it seems legit, and there is possibility of quick promotion since the company is still small.
i was wondering if i decide to work for these guys to wait out the recession, will that be alright? 1-2 years minimum?
also, there is a possibility of me being paid way more than a entry level architect.. i was wondering if it would be hard to return to architecture (get hired, even as entry level) 5-10 years down the road?
i have a masters and am currently 25..
i intend to keep reading about architecture and/or take classes here n there and do side projects hopefully on the side .. as it is something im regularly itnerested in anyway
an idea situation is being able to branch my own architecture practice based on the work given to me by this web company. i am directly working with CEO as we are first friends than partners..
you arent going to start your own architectural practice having not had any real professional experience
oh sorry, i didnt mean architecture practice.. i just meant design practice..!
i would only be starting my own practice if i can commit to completing IDP/ARE for licensing..
You couldn't come back to "design practice" not because you had left architecture for a while but because you are not rich enough to suppoert yourself which is the reason that you are planning to leave "Design" profession now.
You could come back to a replaceable un-paid desinger, but definitely not to a respected designer.
Do "architecture practice", then you could be a real desinger someday if you have a talent.
Is it just me? Really, is it just mypersonal [mis]interpretation of literally every post? Or is this forum ridiculously insecure? Can someone please answer?
These are the threads of the past year:
Can I make enough money?
Am I really an architect?
Where should I go to school?
Is my portfolio good enough?
Do you guys think it's okay if I go away and come back?
Are markets elsewhere more viable?
Grow a pair.
ohhh so you were refering to this thread.. haha
ur a douchebag.
Design is design, trust me I habe clients who design or are very involved in something like say web designing who not only immediately understand design concepts but can expand on them,
With that said, you need some real technical and dirty experience...you could still get your license by taking exams but to really convince the design savvy client of your worth beyond creative design ideas,
That's architecture practice....not academic conceptual design, my dog does it in his dreams.
yea understood...
see thats a legit response. a good bit of reality in a decent manner..
jplourde, listen when your masters are talking to you.. you shermanator
I say this all the time, but if you could be zaha and kwinter and waterproofing expert in one...you'd be money
Oh, now I understand why you're upset, nbn. Seriously, I had no idea what background or context you were coming from at all. Now I get it. My sincere apologies, did you want to ask anymore questions about professional life? Would you like to ask me how to get and hold a job? Maybe a job that you might like? Would you like any advice on life choices? Seriously, anything I could do to help you in your path as a graphic designer, I would be more than willing to offer. I hear 2x4 is hiring.
a) Life is short; you only live once; by all means, do the best for yourself that you can! If you've got a good job that you will like, that pays well, take the damn thing and worry about the rest later. You'll be fine, architecture isn't going anywhere.
b) You never know what skills you'll grow, what people you'll meet, in a new situation. You are really young - you have ample opportunity to learn and grow from this web design position as you would almost any position. You never know who you'll meet, or what you'll work on, and where that will lead you later. If you will enjoy the work, take the job, and enjoy it! Don't worry so much over hypothetical future possibilities.
c) web design is a useful skill to arch firms anyway.
I sometimes feel like I give the same advice over and over on this forum. Not that that's a bad thing - people need reassurance, that's why it's nice that this forum exists. But I probably should start bookmarking and copy-pasting my responses, just to save time.
JP, you're quite a douchebag.
Lotsa bitterness around here these days
I found jp's comments valid and pretty funny...
but my thoughts are along the line that peoples feelings are being insulted when they bust their asses in school only to get to the real world to stand on the unemployment line....but...BUT you need to actually TRY to get a friggen job before you can give up. Take the graphics job...more for architecture me!
What makes you think you are going to want to go back to architecture anyways?
man, what a tough crowd. cut the kid some slack.
i say take care of yourself and take the job,...like mantaray said:
"architecture isn't going anywhere."
My 2cents-
I graduated in 1991 with a BS in Arch Design (4+2 - still need to do the masters) and at the time ACAD was just getting accepted by the firms- most still used t-squares.
It was the end of the S&L crisses and architecture was not doing very well. Most of the offers with firms were at minimum wage. I applied for corporate companies who needed a CAD monkey and the pay was 1.5x of the firms.
So for the next few years I work every other job I could get into with corporate companies and stayed out of traditional firms. I was able to afford a house, support my growing family and work small jobs on the side as I wanted. I heard from friends who were associates what their pay was and I couldn't believe the pay was that low. They were licensed.
During the late 90's I got hooked on 3D illustration, video animation and the web 1.0. I did very well and worked freelance. I only survived the dot com bust, as I did a lot of Arch Viz work and still did well. Architecture at the time was just starting to become the Era of Starchitects and things did very well.
During the 2000's, I had a lot of high pay offers to work as a 3D viz guru and decided to go back to working as a Arch designer. I did OK, I took a little pay cut and worked on some large condo towers and high end custom homes.
In 2006 we sold our house (I'm sorry to mention it), moved, bought another and I decided to go back to grad school to work on my MBA in Real Estate and finance. I was 1/2 through 2008, just as everything began to slide and had to stop to try and take care of family issues.
Since then I haven't been able to find work in much of any field I've been successful in during my past. I would have to move, without family to find a job. I don't and didn't get unemployment, as I was in grad school and was contract prior. I'm a few hours from a major metro area and there isn't much use for my skill sets here and the remote work isn't that great, as I've been competing with less expensive area of the world.
My wife is carrying most of the bills and I'm working for $12 p/h as a Foreclosure field rep, Customer Service phone support, remodeler, handyman, and what ever blows my way.
Don't feel too bad for me, as you remember, I sold my home in '06. We've been slowly working through the $ from that sale and are now down to about 1.5 years worth of funds. No new cars, toys or college tuition for the kids. We aren't on food stamps, but we are showing out kids what its like to grow your own food and live frugally (like our undergrad days in college). We'll survive.
If I were you, I'd gladly take the job.
Architecture as been around for eons and it isn't going to go away anytime soon. This is the normal cycle of the industry.
Maybe when this industry is in recovery, perhaps the web 2.0 will be in decline?
I pass the torch. Good luck.
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