Lets not tarnish Archinect podcast with that kind of low brow comedy. I wouldn't do one of these podcasts unless there is something decent to discuss. There are some things I do value and the podcasts does not deserve to be grounds for low brow humor and those kinds of discussion. 

While I may dick around with you guys and stir up a hornet nest on the forums here behind anonymous or even semi-anonymous names. This is a forum noted for this amateurish attitude before I ever came here. Okay. 

Do we really take the forum comedy too seriously? I hope not. Sometimes we get heated and worked up but at some point, you just have to laugh it off.

Right? 

However, the podcast is a little more real and you might even say 'profession' so I'm not entertaining that kind of low brow comedy. A podcast like any interview or public speaking is something you take more seriously in a more professional manner. 

People can forgive or disregard forum antics and crap. When there is real voice or in person, that's a bit more 'real'. We can dick around behind anonymity or in a fire chat but I take the podcast as something more professional and serious. 

That's more real and not the ever shifting pseudo-character one may present in a web forum. 

Rick your claims were that these architects and engineers are unable to bring in steady work, are teaching to supplement their incomes, and are hobbyists.  I mentioned construction dollars to establish that these are legitimate firms bringing in more than full time steady work, and couldn't be further from "hobbyists".

Fair enough. As for myself, I live in a small community and only about 2-3 years into starting my business, we had just been hit with the biggest recession since the Great Depression. I'm in ground zero of that recession because exemptions don't leave me much room to do projects other than that which the recession hit the most hardest on. Healthcare almost never involves projects that would be exempt. They just don't do small projects like that. 

Education facilities are almost always large projects and usually anything that doesn't require an architect, their glorified custodian designs and occassionally builds it. 

If I didn't follow the licensing laws, I probably would have a bit more business and work designing buildings. Think about it. I would chase more of those projects. 

Rick if you have any building design related income to speak of then why are your student loans on perpetual financial hardship deferment?  Are you lying about your business and expertise? Or are you lying about your income? Or both?

I just filled out the IRS tip form suggesting that they look into the books of your design business, since if you have the clients and experience that you claim then you shouldn't be eligible for full deferment.

How can I be lying about the income if I don't tell you. Deferrment doesn't apply to work I made or had prior to my time at the University. I came back to Astoria from the University in 2014. Deferment established in early 2015. 2014 taxes would be based on income of 2013. There wasn't much income when you are a full-time student at the University. In 2014, there wasn't much work or paid work at all because there was about 6 months at the University and then getting back into Astoria for the second half. There wasn't much income, then. 2015, there was several prospects but not much in clients and they were small projects. They mostly covered basic licensing expenses and stuff like that. This is is 2016, there hasn't been too many projects but I am working through some prospects. However, securing them is often a hit or miss. Quite often, when I present a realistic pay rate for anyone in this business, it sometimes scares them because they are looking for a lot of work for nothing.  I'm not interested in laboring for hundreds of hours for just $500 or less. While a contractor may offer that, they are subsidizing that work in their construction. Don't kid yourself. They make it up somewhere.

If I am designing buildings and that's the business, I can't subsidize the cost. There's no second source of business income that I can absorb the costs. There is a lot of out going in terms of 'sweat equity' as it is. 

jla-x,

Housing is very strong right now Rick.  Stop making excuses. 

It is not so much so anywhere near my area. It might be in places like Texas but it isn't quite so hot because housing lending is targetted in specific areas. 

There is no control ANYONE has over where banks are lending money except those in control of the money lending itself. This area where I am does not do NEW CONSTRUCTION. This area's values restoration, renovation, rehabilitation of existing and historic buildings, first and foremost. New construction is almost always something you only do if you can not otherwise do with existing buildings, first. 

That is how things are done in this area. Astoria is largely about historic preservation. It is a 4 sq. miles museum of historic architecture. That's what people come to Astoria for. It has more historic buildings per capita than most cities in the entire country.

This is why you don't see housing tracts being developed. Even outside the city of Astoria, new construction isn't heavy. You need a trend of people coming to live in the Astoria area. I can't subsidize building design fees through other sources. I can't compete like that. In order to do so, I need to expand service offerings other than design. I would add construction only if I have construction contractors license so I have to pick up enough design work at one time and have enough actual client projects each quarter of the year to be able to invest that kind of money in contractor license and associated costs. 

jla-x,

I'm not into living a vagabond life. I like to live and work my career in one area not run around a damn country for life. You can never be serving a community by being a vagabond because you never stay there long enough to give a shit. 

For example to like terms, there are architects that goes from place to place globetrotting or whatever. They have no home. They are never truly integrated into any community.

I don't live in big cities because there, no body really cares to know you. It's impersonal. People just see other people as a number.

Or work elsewhere and commute an hour like I did for 5 years.

I like serving clients at a personal level. Those are the kinds of projects worth remembering. Those are the things that makes this profession worth it. 

An hour commute from Astoria, for example is around Longview/Kelso. Okay.

One reason I am not interested in starting business in a highly populated area is there is to many competitors to start business in. You get drowned out by all the established competition. You can't start from scratch a business in that kind of environment. 

In some ways, it is probably among the best time to get business work in architecture/building design in Astoria and become aware. While it maybe slow at first, there is a lack of competitors out here aside from the construction contractors. One benefit for me to carry on a construction contractor license is I can actually pursue more work as long as I pick up an architect (as back office support). If I picked up an architect under contract for services constituting practice of architecture. Exercising a provision of the exemptions and not worry about the exempt/non-exempt. Take care of that behind the scenes.

I'm sure there are architects that can be of assistance.

no_form,

You know this would be hitting the contractor more than me. 

No_form,

Shut the fuck up.

no_form,

Don't get too presumptuous.