anything really. depends on the office.

Our office is based on a 37.5hr week and all OT is paid-out.  Most work the 37.5 and go home... others work 50+ hours. Depends on the project.

Easier to answer where not to go; starchitects and young emerging practices, prikster winners and new urbanists.

Pretty much anywhere else it depends on you and your work ethics, I get paid by the hour and not to sit around chatting over coffee, I do that at home.

most architecture offices are pretty standard in terms of a 35-50 hr workweek. small offices are generally more flexible about when those hours are over the course of a week. in my experience someone stays late once or twice a week and acts like they're there till midnight every day. 

early/mid career starchitects and some aggressively capitalistic offices are really the only firms I've ever come across that genuinely push past 60 on a weekly basis

OP, what do you mean? Do you want to know which offices have a standard 40 hr work week or...?

I do 40-50 hours a weeks but cause I choose to do the extra few hours a week to finish off stuff cause I spent ages on the shitter..

Can you work 40hrs a week at a bank w/ an arch. degree?

Hey,

thanks for your answers !

For info, I'm still just a student and have only had one experience as an intern in a very small firm where there wasn't any overtime but I wasn't paid.

This is a question that's been going into my head for a long time now, because the idea I got out of word of mouth is that the profession is a workaholic one, also a few friends of mine have graduated recently and are working into offices where the workload is pretty high (as far as hours are concerned).

I like working but I also value and cherish my free time (a few side projects that are important to me - scrap that, actually just one) and was wondering what kind of offices I should be looking for when I graduate, also if other (related) fields with less exacting schedules and deadlines are open to architects.

A few options I've been considering :

(I understand these might sound ridiculous because they are probably even more out of reach than an architecture career. However consider in this evaluation that money isn't important, time is.)

1) Exhibit design - less complicated than architecture, but probably also less jobs.

2) PhD in Arch / Environmental Psychology (NY or Surrey) - I'm sure this isn't a walk in the park but might be less hours than an office in charrette, also with the satisfaction of a bit more independence. However I seem to understand there's little jobs after the degree, I don't know what people do if they don't become teachers...

3) Stage design (doing a Master) - this is actually a leap of faith, since it's the theatre world, and I don't know either what graduates do if they don't find work after their arts education.

4) Going back to a more science based job, such as engineering or a computer science related one, in the field of architecture - in my naive view this is a surer bet because being scientific I would think there's more demand and thus maybe less pressure and less hours. Also this is the one thing (maths & science) that's always been easiest for me in my studies.

5) Find the right arch firm, which is what your answers seem to be pointing to.

I feel good just laying this out there, cause I've been in some amount of turmoil for quite some time because of these questions. Too much fear to carry around before it can totally paralyze you.

Your advice is very appreciated, thanks a lot to all !   :)

Number 5.

You're over thinking/worrying too much.  There are plenty of employers out there who don't overwork their people. 

I work 40 hours per week.  Granted, I drive an hour each way, so I have a bit more time dedicated to work. I seldom ever have overtime. 

I worked at an exhibit design house for a bit... ok pay, very interesting work, super high stress.

As mentioned above, most firms are alright, after you've been around a bit you'll learn which ones have a reputation for burning people out.

I like to come in early and leave at 4:30, just before someone invents an "emergency" that will requiring working late into the night

Only garbage firms will force you into regular 40+ weeks. Avoid them. Avoid starchitects. Research places on Glassdoor before you apply - workload is almost always noted if they have a profile on there at all. If not, google everything you can to ascertain this info. Check linked in, are there a slew of people who were there less than a year? Where do they work now?

FYI firms that do exhibit design and other fluffy 'cultural' type stuff are usually the places where those charettes and long nights happen. Same goes for set/stage design - which does not require a masters - you need contacts/networks/amazing portfolio. If you value your free time don't go into the hard sciences/a PhD as those school years will be a lot of 40+ weeks even if you manage a normal schedule once you're out.

Also, never ever work for free ever again. Just don't. Tell your friends and classmates not to. End this cycle and stop demeaning yourself/the profession. It isn't necessary for your career do not let anyone convince you otherwise. It's on all of us to pay our young staff and our young staff to demand to be paid.