that's funny, 2 seconds ago i was just thinking about mentors.....

i'd be really interested in finding someone to mentor me, simply in that i'd like to have more viewpoints on architecture as a whole and what paths are open to us.

but it's not necessary for the mentor to necessarily be in the same city. so, anyone know of how to find mentoring programs? anyone here want to be my mentor? ;)

let it be known, i am now pinstripeprincess' mentor.

now go get me some coffee.

gives ether coffee, you will be my mentor!

i've had a few good mentors so far.

first one was while i was in school, and he ended up advising me on my thesis. through him, i started to get into actually making things, and that was a point at which my work started to change for the better. he helped me appreciate the more traditional tectonic side of things, where as before i was swallowed up in the drawing itself as a final act. now i can't get enough of making things (i have a shop programmed into my house in the future, no matter what.)

out of school, i am enjoying getting to work on some projects with a studio here in ATL that hasn't let me forget what i learned in school. they've helped me to stay dedicated to the profession as a whole, and not get out and become a cad jock. working with them has given me a realistic look at how hard it is to realize your vision, while at the same time teaching me how to fight for it. things are not easy to get through to clients, and how you do so is so important. god i hope i can make it in this field the way i want to.

momentum, care to share what studio in ATL you work at?

lets just say i have a day job that pays the bills, and a night job that fulfills my interests.

I've lucked out that my mentor is great. I originally had him as a professor in my 2nd year of my BArch, and we share similar/compatible views on design, architecture, etc. As a professor he really opened my eyes to what design really is, and as a mentore he give me honest advice on the profession and professional development, and doesn't candy-coat anything. Like momentum, I've started making things because of him, and am currently working on a furniture project with him. Because of this my perspective on process has changed dramatically.

Oh yeah, he also introduced me to Archinect back in the v1.0 days, and is known to still read through the threads. So if you're reading this John, thanks.

I fired my mentor because he only bragged about his multi-million dollar condo projects. We were pretty uncompatible although I found him through a mentor finder and we were selected out of thousands as a match. I think I asked too many questions about his firm; about how interns were utilized and how they learn in his office. Whatever he wrote was definetly candy coated and egocentric, then eventually he never wrote me back. So I guess I didn't fire him, it was mutual.

How does one find a mentor, as I don't have one now? What can one do for you? Obviously in PH's case, a lot, but that sounds rare.

As for my old office, the people I got "mentoring" from were either my own age or just slightly older. The older crowd was so disconnected, they were just going thru the motions of their job and holding their breath for retirement. Once I tried to connect with one of them, and starting talking about my career goals, my strategy for the ARE and he interrupted with, "if I could do it all over again I'd never be an architect." Kinda like, OH NO NOT THIS AGAIN.

I had a GREAT mentor for a while, my summer job while in school, a 70 year old civil and structural engineer still running his own practice, but he is not an architect and doesn't know anything about IDP.

I would say I've had poor luck with mentors. It doesn't help that I think IDP is a joke (not to be confused with taking the ARE, that's OK!) and mentoring should occur between any two people, when one has insight. But that's not how it works in a competitve field.

No offense guys...but I would not seek a Mentor.

Find where your passion is and pursue it.
The Mentor will appear along the way.

I agree Landman, but you HAVE to have one for IDP. Otherwise I wouldn't care so much and just carry on how I am. Archinect is my mentor, but it can't sign off on my 'points'. IDP is so KINDERGARTEN!

I agree it is very hard to find a mentor, not mention a good one. I remeber at AWA group they once try to do a mentorship program, but so many people wanted to be mentored, very few mentors signed up. I tried for years, didn't find a good one myself.
Then I realized, the young people who wants to grow and improve looking for advices from older architects. But, I saw quite many older guys feel threatened by the younger ones, their experiences are their only value, how would they want to give it up easily. I saw quite a few older architects lost their jobs to younger, quicker and cheaper architects or interns. If they don't feel secure themselves, they won't have mood to mentor anyone else. They try to figure out their own way to survive. They can't compare with younger ones on new technology, the old tricks are all they have. I guess in this kind of environment, the mentorship program will never really work.

I guess to support what Reason just brought up, my mentor is young (early 30s) and is very savvy in terms of design and technology. Perhaps that is why I've been able to get so much out of his mentorship...

And in response to Landman, I can say that its nice to have someone that has similar goals as you but is further along in terms of acheiving them to discuss what you should be doing to help you along the way. Having this kind of resource is extremely valuable.

Strawbeary, pixelwhore,
Don't get me wrong. I had a wonderful mentor for 4.5 years who basically had a major impact on my career.
But I found him, while exploring specific ideas that interested me.

It is not as if we have/had similar goals....he is 78 years old today, but his insights helped me reflect on areas I was exploring and me focus my areas of interest.
My point was not to degrade the idea of a mentor but to clarify that the mentor is (an important) part of the journey not the goal/destination.

I am MENTOR (sound of thunder in bacground), the mythological figure with telepathic knowledge of past eons and future prophets. Let me show you the way, I only ask one thing of you in return - to live in a state of eternal poverty.

I agree with landman - don't seek out a mentor. You will find them along the way. I had one from the day I started my architecture career in Chicago. I never asked him to be or anything - he was the project manager on the first project I worked on, around 30, still used the drawing board and I learned a lot from him. He probably never knew how highly I though of him until he got a call from my now current boss asking for a reference. My next job, I had another great one, around 30, who was really the only other person in the office other than our boss. I guess now it's time for me.

As far as IDP goes, the mentor thing is such a joke - I just always got whoever was around in the office that was licensed (I don't even know if this is a requirement) to sign my forms.

Really funny, nathaniel!!!!!!!!! I always pleasantly surprised by the humors of people on this site.

my mentor rocks soooo hard.

well... to be honest while i'd like to have a mentor relationship i'm not truely seeking out a mentor because it's like any other relationship. you simply cannot be set-up and expected to succeed together. these things just sort of.... happen.

but i do feel that i'm at a stage in my life that i'd appreciate someone with the type of experience i want to have to give me the straight up truth about my own work and to help me become aware of architecture in ways that i hadn't considered before.

it also doesn't help that i'm surrounded by people who are devoid of design and architectural intellect.

can we still be friends?

only if you buy the first coffee

Landman I'm with you, dont go looking for one. One will appear out of the shadows. I have had a few over the years from when i was in school to after. I actually lost one of my longest standing mentors to cancer last year - turned out she'd been a mentor to so many others like me.

In return I've mentored a few others, in fact I've gone searching for them. Some now lounge around my office hoping to pick scraps of knowledge off the floor. And yup they're always there to pick up.

momentum, i'm coming to the ATL next month. Anything you recommend seeing, architecture or experience wise.