Getting Fs for five years in college will not equate to doing well in a good job market. If you hate it and suck at it then it is time to try something else.

There is no sense in making a career out of something you hate to do.  Cut your losses and jump ship.  There are infinite possibilies out there and you will are guaranteed to one day find your niche.  It just may take a while to find.  Good luck.

Can you talk to a teacher or counselor that can help you sort this out?

consider structural engineering, you will work with architects, do some design, software  but concentrate more on the math and scientific aspects of construction ( if you like math that is) plus you will make more money and the world will always need engineers.

design studios often dont reflect actual work experience, so maybe it is just the design-y aspect that you hate?

if you like other parts of the field, perhaps structural engineer or the business side of architecture would be more your taste?

have you ever worked in an office?  that will give you more of an indication as to whether or not you will hate the career than a design studio will

Stop now and make room for us currently unemployed! My oh my! Job opportunities! Where on this heavenly earth are you in Asia?( I am tempted to use the C-word). Maybe I could hire you as a tour guide once I get there :)

As a previous poster mentioned, professional practice and school studio are not the same thing, not even in the same ballpark.

Maybe talk to someone who is working, or tour a few offices.  There are a lot of other options for someone with an architecture degree - graphic design, marketing, construction management etc etc.

"I hate the work with all my might"

Sounds self-explanatory to me.

As some other people have mentioned architecture in the outside world is completely different to the design studio. You may suck at design tutorials but this is not necessarily a hindrance on your future career - ie. don't assume that the work of a practising architect is the same as it is in a design studio! The two world's are completely different. I know graduates who struggled with design but thrive in business and vice versa. Just depends where your strengths lie.

also, consider the fact that architects in developing Asian countries do very well financially. At least much better than they do here in the UK.

If you hate it, than I really don't know why you're even questioning leaving. Why put yourself through 3 more years of schooling and a lifetime of misery for the sake of your parents pride? Do something you love, or at least do something you like. But don't stick with something that you hate. Besides, business is booming in Asia now, but will that be the case in 3, 5, or 10 years? Things were booming here in the US between 2001 and 2007, and now its all fallen flat on its face.

asian approach to life decisions is not so easy.  parents opinion is important (depending on where you are in asia).

architecture is not easy in any part of the world.  it is a lot of hard work for not such great pay in usa as much as in china. that said, there are many career paths you can follow after architecture school.  a lot of my former classmates went into real estate not design.  some are selling and buying.  some are doing office plans for major corporations as in-house project managers (it is amazing how often offices move or set up sub offices etc), while others became deal brokers involved with putting commercial clients in touch with the owners of office space, etc.  the archtiecture training has little to do with any of that but is a good background for the business just so they know key issues and negotiating points as well as how to negotiate and talk to architects and builders.   these jobs are not so good here in tokyo anymore but until recently i would say many of the folks doing such jobs were doing well and most likely making more than someone who took the regular path to a seat in an office doing more obviously creative work.

if you have an interest in archtiecture but don't like the design side of things some of the above may be a way forward and something to focus on if you decide to stick with it.  the creative side of things however is pretty hard to get over sometimes in architecture school and could be hard to plow through if it isn't something you enjoy or have an affinity for. 

perhaps you will get better advice not talking to other architects.  we are all mildly off kilter when it comes to our own career paths.  talk to business school students maybe?

hey yangso. 

i bailed after two years going for pharmacy because I just wasn't that interested...and wanted to do something creative.  it's hard to pull yourself away from something you've put two years of your life and money into, but it feels better doing what you want to do...

And lemme say, though all my recently graduated pharmacy friends are already buying cars and homes off their much larger earnings while I am not quite yet finished with school and am already loaded with student loans...I don't regret it....wait...maybe....i do.

Thanks, guys. I see that the larger number of you recommends sticking it out. I know that would be the easier path, financially speaking, as I've already put in so much money into it, and as someone has mentioned Architects in my country DO do well financially.

But I guess I was just looking for some reassurance that quitting is OK and does not necessarily make you a failure-something we're all afraid of. Kind of sad that those who want jobs in the field aren't able to get one and those who have the chance,don''t really want to work in it(me).

I honestly have no interest in architecture and I only went into it because I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school and my parents thought it would be a good profession to pursue. Of course it was totally foolish and dumb of me to not have looked deeper into the field and to have entered it only because 'I liked painting/sketching & was quite good at them'. Wise friends along the semesters have bailed and are now happily moving their way to graduation in their new majors. 

I've stuck with it so far even though I never enjoyed it only to keep my parents off my back (I had a go at trying to get support from parents on changing majors after semester 1 freshman year but that ended with me giving up the idea because my mother got really upset and wouldn't talk to me) and because I thought I'd grow to appreciate architecture. But I guess that was a bad idea. Now I know most will ask why I am doing something that someone else wants, but as someone above has pointed out, being in an Asian family is always more complicated when it comes to making big decisions as the whole family always wants a say in it. 

Anyway, I envy you guys who have the passion for it. I wish I did too,trust me. Life would be so much easier for me. The only thing left for me is to go back home and drop this bomb on them. Ooooo boy, can't wait!

good luck yangso. 

i know how the asian thing goes...but after the initial heartbreak, they will be ok.  I mean, it's a little bit of pain rather than the rest of your life regretting!

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

hi yangso,

i know this is 2 years old already but i'm currently in the same situation as you and i was wondering what you're doing now. we had the same reasons for joining, wanting to leave and for not leaving (plus i'm also asian with "good job opportunities back home", what a coincidence), so i was wondering how you fared and what are you doing now ?

Get out of it while you can.. two years in isn't a long time.  It doesn't get easy from here you know.  The real workplace gets worse.  Problem with people who doesn't have anything to do in this profession is that they assume architects are well off, get paid filthy good, own properties etc etc.  Little do they know what architects actually go through.  Do what is right for YOU and ignore what others think or expect of you.  Otherwise you probably wont even survive in this profession while dealing with clients, co-workers, different trades etc

Thanks for the input accesskb, it's nice to hear someone else's opinion other than my friends telling me I can do something else even with an architecture degree. Personally I don't see the point of continuing when I don't want to work in the field at all. My parents keep assuming we get paid good money even though I tell them we don't, and it's really not worth the stress. I have this love-hate relationship with archi but it's really leaning towards hate at this point. It's more of my hobby, not my passion.

I thought I should just add that in my experience some schools care a lot more about design than others, and they care about it in different ways - maybe some of the process is about finding the right setting and the right approach to architecture.