I am at a similar position with a bachelors and 2 years work experience in the UK which is heading for a recession due to (the very likely no-deal) Brexit. I want to attend graduate school and I am not sure about the timing. Architecture news sites are saying recruitment is on hold in London and there are fewer vacancies advertised . 

gotta wait till '28.... give whoever comes after trump some time to fix the mess. i'd suggest grad school now, 2-3 years, then 5-6 years post grad. should give you enough time to learn AI, which will be the only technology we really need in the future... also history & theory have been debunked... stay away

You can’t predict recessions, don’t base your life decisions around potentials. They’re inevitable as part of a capitalist economy. Some are worse than others. Anything like that of 2008 is a once in a lifetime/generational phenomena. Worst case you spend a couple years after school doing something that isn’t architecture for a few years til the jobs pick back up.

2008 was a “once in a lifetime” event if you were 6 years old at the time. 

Typical cycle is about 8 years.

It depends...

In the midst of a recession and in the years immediately afterward most universities receive significantly higher numbers of applicants to their graduate and professional degree programs.  People lose their jobs or graduate into a bad time for job seekers, and figure it's as good a time as any to go back for that advanced degree or to study for a different career. So if you wait until we're deeply into a recession you may have a harder time getting into your top choice program, and competition for merit-based grants and for teaching assistant or fellowship spots may be higher, and your class may be larger. 

On the other hand, for your life-long earning potential it may be better to take advantage of the still-not-bad current job market to keep working now - especially if you can fund a 401k and otherwise save and invest - rather than hop out of these good earning potential years to go back to school now.  And part of the reason these have been good earning years is that in the wake of a recession a certain % of the early-to-mid-career architects who were displaced tend not to return to the profession, creating more room and quicker upward mobility for those who graduated into that early aftermath.  It's not always a disaster to graduate into a recession.  It may mean a rocky or delayed start at employment, but can be advantageous in the longer run.

life advice: when you feel like doing big things just do them. don't use the uncertainty of the future as an excuse to wait. the future will be just as uncertain in 5 years as it is today.

recessions are unpredictable in timing, duration and severity. just go into it knowing you might have to adjust your plans depending on economic circumstances. but that's true always anyway.

Miles, the severity was once in a lifetime. As I stated typical recessions are inevitable and part of the cycle. A complete meltdown of the economy is not typical. It is often referred to as the Great Recession because that’s what it was.

thanks everyone. I think since I'm treating grad school as an opportunity to diversify my skillset (in the sense that I'd like training at a more advanced academic level in order to teach more than simply design studio but possibly electives/seminars in more niche topics as well), it feels justifiable. right now, my only experience is architecture and design firms and a little bit of writing. grad school could give me the opportunity to pursue my writing career more seriously and possibly more teaching positions. I can imagine if you're only going to grad school to get a better job within an architecture firm, you might want to reconsider cheaper, less time-intensive alternatives.

in terms of the recession, I feel that timing could be a lot worse and for fall 2020 consideration of it feels less heavy. I have decent savings and manageable work experience so I think if it looks like 2008, I'd be a lot more cautious. but people are saying less scary things about this upcoming recession (which will still be challenging). but I have confidence in my ability to find work if I just stay connected, generous, and eager. as well as smart about finances lol (maybe the real key).

.

Seems like you are getting out the "real" profession anyways. So it doesnt matter if there is a recession or not. There are stupid students who will still go to school.