I think those opportunities are only ones you make for yourself. One boss had a response to that request that probably summed up most employers attitudes towards it. "When the cat is away the mice do play."

How remote are we talking?

I tried getting commissions and projects from this freelance site (Upwork) during the three months I was in South America to no avail. Either my hourly/per-project rate was too high for them / I was delusional and had no idea about what hourly rate is ideally workable, or most of the clients there were dirt cheap. Every chance you get to put yourself out there and meet prospect clients, do it. 

We will permit certain people to work remotely, mostly mid-level and upward.  They are people we know to be productive and efficient, and they are usually doing a discreet part of the project, like specifications, that lends itself to solo work outside the office and collaboration via computer.

We allowed junior people to telecommute for a while, but we had to discontinue the practice because their productivity off-site appeared to be very very low.

I have two former employees who left the office but I still employ them several times a year to prepare construction documents for my office.  They will work on sf residential or multi family projects typically.  I have also outsourced the same to more established firms who regularly offer services to large regional offices to avoid having to "staff up" to manage  the ebb and flow of production needs.  I have seen how many small offices can "punch well above their weight" and be very profitable,  with out having to deal with folks in a different time zone ... just motivated individuals who like the work. My first experience I tried it on years earlier was a total failure though and I have learned a lot about pricing / drawing expectations between you and the contracted employee and how to manage the work flow in a realistic fashion.

I am very open about it with my clients as they still deal with me but understand I am not pushing the mouse to get the work done.  I also am in touch on a daily basis to review progress and review files / details on screen etc.  It has worked out well for myself and those who I contract who do the work.

Lots of small projects I wouldn't or can't touch I often pass on to them to do on their own so it's a good source of work for them and still don't have to say no projects that I want to take on even if I know we don't have the capacity to complete the work. It's all very boiler plate type work, and I don't offer them design work as that's where things can get super complicated, I always make sure they get the work once the design is quite resolved and clearly is an expression of what the client and I have agreed on.

I’ve done quite a bit of remote working. Usually only people who already know me or direct referrals. Look for smaller firms who can use an independent to smooth out spikes in workload so they don’t have to hire and fire. Ask friends, former colleagues. This is a good way to launch your own practice by the way, sort of a mid-step.

I've done a decent amount of remote work, and it really depends on the relationship you are able to develop with the people you are working with/for.

Email tends to bring out the worst in people and often makes problems bigger then they really are. Finding time to talk over the phone or face to face is what balances things back out. 

Even when working with people I knew and liked, the relationships tend to get stressed unless you actively try to keep things on an even keel. Working remotely is tricky to do long term, but if you can set it up correctly, it's well worth it. 

Hi melissaquintero,

Yes, this is a reality.

I started my firm two years ago here in Hawaii and decided that I would stay a sole practitioner because of the difficulty of finding qualified job candidates here in the islands and keeping them. After covid, that is no longer a limitation, and I'm growing my office. 

My first hire is in Hawaii, but on a different island. My next hire will be on the mainland, where the time change works in our favor (working with remote drafters in India means you're always a day behind - this is the opposite).

Looks like you can have your cake and eat it too, and so can I     :-)

Search "architect remote revit (or rhino or whatever)" and see what comes up on google alone. It's a new world. Good luck!

I’m glad you resurrected this. I’m curious to hear other’s experiences now that the pandemic shed new light on remote architecture work.

I know for a fact my current company will never entertain it unless the masses rise up. But I do personally know people who work for partially or completely remote offices. Some that have newfound flexibility to either from home or an office, and others that have never even met their whole project team due to everyone working from a distance. I think the myth of success only resulting from in-person collaboration is quickly fading, just like 40 hour, 5 day work weeks.

I welcome the changes that are coming our way. This industry can be slower to evolve than we often like to think, so I’m anxious for us all to live our lives how we want instead of how our employers demand.

Honestly it's really an issue of having the correct tech setup.  If I had a decent sized scanner, printer, and fiber internet I could do my job completely remote with no issues.

I prefer to be in the office and have in person collaboration though.  Then again, with the addition of digital video set up to have a top down view of drawings and the right software it would still work.