my son is at the young age of 14 and is autistic, he has very high grades and top on most classes in secondary school and wants to become an architect I would like to know of it will give him a good life in the future?
my advice is too go shadow a few architecture offices for a day. Reach out to local firms and explain your sons situation and see if they are interested. That is the best way to see if your son is interested in pursuing this profession.
It will be tougher when lacking certain social skills to understand office politics for example or having to present your work during a crit or client meeting can be brutal/terrifying. Or what if there needs to be done some last minute changes to something you've been working on tirelessly for days or longer, not everyone can deal with that. But those aspects play a big part in lots of jobs, so who knows. All I'm saying is, architecture is already a tough business for people who are not (officially) diagnosed, just read some of the threads here. But I also know that if architecture is your passion and you are truly dedicated, it is an amazing field to work in.
There are a lot of different roles to be played in an office. Without knowing the specifics of your son's condition, it's hard to say which one I'd say he might fit.
I've worked with several folks who were content to sit in the office and crank out production drawings. They didn't want to interact with clients or contractors. They just wanted to generate construction documents.
Others are the social butterfly who seldom design anything, but are the point of contact for clients. They go out, get the work, and keep everyone in the office busy.
Then there are people that are mixes of the two. If your son can handle, and likes the people contact portion of things, he might find himself doing a bit of everything.
And some typical roles in the office that fall under "Architecture" that people don't always catch on to: Specification Writer, Construction Administrator, Drafting/production, Visualization (renderings, video, photography, models, etc.), contracts, QA/QC, planning/zoning coordination. Your son could find a niche as a code researcher. It's not my intent to be one, but people ask me code questions all the time. I don't have any of it memorized, but I'm capable of finding answers quickly.
TL:DR, your son could easily find his way into the industry. He may just have to find a specific role he fits. I wish you both luck, and as others have said, help him find his way into an office and see if it's an environment he likes.
Dec 18, 18 8:39 am ·
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My son want to become an architect is it worth it?
my son is at the young age of 14 and is autistic, he has very high grades and top on most classes in secondary school and wants to become an architect I would like to know of it will give him a good life in the future?
what spectrum autism does your son have?
my advice is too go shadow a few architecture offices for a day. Reach out to local firms and explain your sons situation and see if they are interested. That is the best way to see if your son is interested in pursuing this profession.
It will be tougher when lacking certain social skills to understand office politics for example or having to present your work during a crit or client meeting can be brutal/terrifying. Or what if there needs to be done some last minute changes to something you've been working on tirelessly for days or longer, not everyone can deal with that. But those aspects play a big part in lots of jobs, so who knows. All I'm saying is, architecture is already a tough business for people who are not (officially) diagnosed, just read some of the threads here. But I also know that if architecture is your passion and you are truly dedicated, it is an amazing field to work in.
we have plenty of seemingly autistic/socially awkward colleagues - it seems fine. everyone can figure out a place in a good office...
stress can be a factor though - as long as one can handle that. i have also seen several burnouts in this profession
There are a lot of different roles to be played in an office. Without knowing the specifics of your son's condition, it's hard to say which one I'd say he might fit.
I've worked with several folks who were content to sit in the office and crank out production drawings. They didn't want to interact with clients or contractors. They just wanted to generate construction documents.
Others are the social butterfly who seldom design anything, but are the point of contact for clients. They go out, get the work, and keep everyone in the office busy.
Then there are people that are mixes of the two. If your son can handle, and likes the people contact portion of things, he might find himself doing a bit of everything.
And some typical roles in the office that fall under "Architecture" that people don't always catch on to: Specification Writer, Construction Administrator, Drafting/production, Visualization (renderings, video, photography, models, etc.), contracts, QA/QC, planning/zoning coordination. Your son could find a niche as a code researcher. It's not my intent to be one, but people ask me code questions all the time. I don't have any of it memorized, but I'm capable of finding answers quickly.
TL:DR, your son could easily find his way into the industry. He may just have to find a specific role he fits. I wish you both luck, and as others have said, help him find his way into an office and see if it's an environment he likes.
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