Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
I regret ignoring my first two years in architecture school
I am an interior architect student, and I will graduate soon. I regret that I did not focus on my first and second years of school because I didn't like my major at that time. I entered that major without even researching what it is about and what i am going to study in it. I thought that it was only about construction and mathematics only so i didn't even look it up because of my bad mental health that time and the pressure of my family to enter a major that they see a future of it. I was thinking of entering another major ( graphic design), but my family said there is no future for it. I was young at that time and i was afraid of even switching to another major because no one supported me at my decision at that time from my family so i thought they are right and they know better. i spent my first two years in interior architecture major hating it and only doing the assignments to finish. I got bad grades, a bad GPA, and a lot of negative comments from the professors because of my bad projects. After these two years, my mental health got better, and I started focusing because i lost the chance of going to another major due to my university rules. I found that I love this major. It suited me in different ways from creativity, art, science, and a lot of other things, but I regret that I didn't study, research, and work very hard. This resulted in missing a lot of things from fundamentals and many things that I won't find in the future, either from professors who are teaching me or the experience and the knowledge itself. Because I am close to my graduation, I started a bad habit of comparing myself to a lot of students who are better than me in different aspects of their projects and their knowledge. This is making me feel that I don't know a lot of things in the major and it's giving me the feelings that I will never evolve or get better because I lost this chance in my first years. We know that the teachers at school will always help, but now I haven't gotten the full chance of that. I want advice about my way of thinking and if there is a way to fill the gap of the lack of knowledge that happened because of my circumstances in the past.
First. Learn to use paragraphs :)
Second, if your work is subpar, and you don’t stack up well against other graduates, you’re going to need to put in some work now to bring the quality up in your portfolio so that you can get a job.
But as a matter of motivation, let me tell you something important. The gap between work and school is huge. There are translatable skills, but much of what you do on the job (especially depending on the firm) are things you will learn on the job, not in school. So get a job, and as long as you can learn there you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Even if you did not pay attention on the first years in school, there is lots of literature or even online content that can you help you revise the basics and catch up with your colleagues. Keep in mind that there is a lot of self-teaching in university and it's not professor's job to make sure you know everything; they are there to deliver the curriculum for the course.
Also do not always rely on grades that much, as it won't be that important when you'll be looking for a job. I'd advise you create a good portfolio after graduation, put on the works that represent your skillset the most. You do not have to be the best of the best, just be willing to learn, self-motivated, helpful and patient and there's always places for beginners, even if the pay's low. Everyone has to begin from somewhere and if you became that intrigued with this field it won't be a problem for you gain experience.
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