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College student in desperate need of advice
Whats up everyone? I came across this forum and the link has been sitting in my bookmarks for the last few weeks. I'm a new member to this place but from what I've read this is the secret portal to all things architecture.
First of all this is not a sob story and if it turns out to be sorry. I am a 23 year old college student struggling with school decisions that were at large my own fault. I got into architecture school at my community college and after two years transferred out to a university. At one point in university my dreams fell apart and I weighed a lot of my energy on having good times and not my original intentions of why I applied to university.
The school I attend has a 4 year B.S. Arch program which I am part of with only 5 or 6 more classes to finish my degree. I found out some of these classes I am able to take at my community college and so that is what I am doing this semester and probably the following one too.
Now it's been two years since I've taken a design studio and not gonna lie, my fingers are rusty when it comes to any architectural software. I have called a couple firms in my area and asked them about what they look forward to in a potential employee. General consensus has been that I need to know Revit/Bim and have great communication skills. Great I have one of the two skills here and have absolutely no Revit experience and being on a Mac makes the situation a little more difficult. My school had an open studio when it came to the programs we used. Studio professors never questioned as long as the work was produced and it looked good. I am trying to find a job in the field that will allow me to continue to grow now. But with that I have a lot of my own concerns, specifically my choice of not becoming a licensed architect. Now when it comes to dealing with employers, should I mention to them my school situation? Currently my resume mentions my degree is on hold.
Also given the economic situation, how is everyone dealing with getting jobs in the field. I am looking at how I can branch out into other fields and apply my architectural school knowledge into other fields. My interpretation of architecture has expanded from buildings to just about everything we use in out daily lives and the constructs of those everyday things.
i would focus on finishing those last couple classes and getting your degree, then worry more about finding a job.
Make a point to use/ learn the programs you think will be helpful in your job search with your studio projects. If your professors give you free reign, dont take the easy way out and just use what you already know, force yourself to learn the new stuff that will help you later on. If your production levels slip a bit at the beginning, just understand and expect it as your learning curve.
As for a job while finishing these classes, certainly keep your eyes open for any in the field, but be aware that without a degree, your options will be limited, to the point where maybe it makes sense to find a mindless side job and focus on finishing the classes.
I am not sure what others think, but I think when you are that close to finishing your degree, you might as well just get that over with as quickly as possible to then move on to building your career. A potential trap is struggling through a job in the field that, without a degree, pays very little, and then takes up a lot of your time, so your school work would then suffer. Because a lot of times, even interns get a lot of pressure to put in a lot of time. I guess the counter to that is that putting in the time as the intern will build your resume and potentially have your foot in the door for a full position there. It's a decision that is specific to where the internship is, I would guess.
Getting the degree over with and on your resume is a decent first checkmark, even if you branch out beyond traditional architectural positions.
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