The more time I spend working in architects' offices the more I realize that professional practice is not for me. Although I'd like to stick with it long enough to get licensed, I believe I'd ultimately be happier in an environment where the objective is not necessarily to produce buildings, but rather to produce and explore ideas.
My situation in more detail is this:
I am a recent graduate intern with a few years office experience. I have a strong design portfolio but after an fairly extensive search was only able to land a job in a corporate firm where I am now doing some planning and detailing for banal industrial buildings.
I am bored out of my mind and feel like I've landed on the wrong career track. My talents are decidedly more in the creative/analytical realm. Conceptual design, research, writing, critiquing, experimentation, and teaching are all things I can get excited about, but there are not necessarily clear career paths to succeed at such things in the architecture world. There are not, for example, entry level positions for architectural theoreticians.
Am I wise to keep trudging through IDP with this firm and then to more on? Would I be better off working for a big-name designer? Should I go back for a PhD? Even if I stay where I am for now, what can I do now to improve my chances of landing a job outside the mainstream (such as in teaching or writing)?
I think you'd be happier in a small design oriented firm. It would be a much different environment than the Corporate firm. Also there are firms out there such as Foda that just do graphic and 3D work for architecture firms. They are much more theoretical. Or you could teach or even try to get your foot in the door of an arch. magazine.
I think many of us have struggled with the same issues, and at times, it can be very difficult to keep your sanity when you are not doing anything creative or inspiring.
I have become increasingly aware that creative types tend to be affected by corporate culture and the lack of job fulfillment than the average Joe, but there are ways around it.
Just because you have a boring architecture job, does not mean architecture is boring. As stated by others, there are a lot more creative opportunities in architecture. That said, you are at least learning something, and you have brought up a very important point about licensure and IDP.
Someone posted a discussion about how to improve our professions image, and I think licensure is a very important part of that, as licenced professionals can only use the Title of “Architectâ€. Like or not, that is the hoop we have to jump through, and I think we need to start using it to our advantage.
It is so often the case that talented designers, artists, writers, and craftsman have attended architecture school, and have even practiced before jumping careers into something more personally fulfilling. While it is great that an artist’s “architectural†background might be recognized, it is much more significant in the publics eye if that person was truly an Architect, that was working as an artist.
What I’m getting at, is that the lemmings of our profession tend to get licensed and those that are truly talented tend not to, which does not promote a healthy and accurate image.
As designers we sometimes fail to recognize the importance of seemingly superfluous and meaningless formalities of business and public image. We tend to think we rise above that, but in the end, it’s public perception that really makes a difference.
I would say you are way to close to getting your license to stop short…Why not take advantage of the opportunity and give yourself the freedom to explore a much broader set of options in the future? It will never be easier to get your license than now.
After I graduated I spent exactly nine hours at a corporate style office. I quit the next day took a job with a three person office for a little less pay and had fun. Always worked in a small office, spent a little time in a big-name architect office 20+ staff and hated it. Stayed with the small office thing and learned more, did more, and love what I do.
I suggest that you just become nihilistic/nonplussed and try to up your salary. Just be talented and ignore it..that way it is a Romeo and Juliet case. It would have been so much more unspecial had they had noisy veronese children. Why would you want to own another telltale talent...Let frustration wash over you in the dawn, and go to bed knowing that you're not living up to your potential.
Keep your talent well-hidden and only disclose it only under anynomity (like, bravo, you have done here).
I recommend applying for fellowships, grants, travel grants.... look around, there is tons of money put aside. It could give you the chance to write something or produce something out of the workplace.
If you do decide to go through IDP, stick it out... I worked in a big firm (100+ architects) and a small (4 architects) for 3+ years and I found both experiences played well into different traits i wanted to improve. The big firm early on helped with my abilities in building technology, detailing, and project coordination while the small heped with visualization, materiality, and total responsibility. I am taking the exams now.
respectfully....don't teach. Not yet. Way too many teachers now who have either never practiced, or practiced only as a sideline to teaching, and therefore have no real clue what running an office entails. Either stick it out and get licensed and see where you can go, or, as the current land rover commercial suggests....try ceramics. Or anything else: poetry, real estate development, construction, cooking, painting (houses or canvases)...anything...but don't go back into teaching without some better idea of what it really takes to get a building from concept to key in the door. My two cents.....
I'm with John on this one...check out competitions...keep busy at work...and if you're young and in a corporate environment on salary....you probably are or will be very busy...
If you only have a year or two to complete your IDP and CAN get registered...do yourself a favor and do so. in ten years when you have a project from a client you'd really like to work with...and you can't due to lacking the stamp, you'll kick yourself...if nothing else, its extra income along the way to support your theory habit.
if you stay busy at work, learn what you can from everyone around you...we've all been where you are...even the engineer three seats over...or the project manager you thing gets too much enjoyment from the banale...hell, no matter how long you've been at it, we all have those days.
competitions, however, can be your salvation...they allow you to sketch (remember that?) and design to your heart's content. While i doubt you'll ever find a firm deeply routed in 'theory' per se, i think you might find the creative outlet you crave in competitions. Check out international competitions too. At any given time, you could be involved in two or three competitions and really stay busy. With this whole fancy www thing, you can even team up with friends from school who aren't even in your locale...and that reinforces the team design skills you need to keep the drudgery at work from making your head explode.
aim at getting registered as an architect and certified in Construction Science in areas like material research or methods of construction, then land a job as a Builder (like ArchAngel posted earlier in this thread) or at a R&D establishment...you could then after some experience use your seal to actually build something and earn non-mainstream credibility.
I am in the exact position as you are. However, I'm glad I did my Bachelors in Graphic Design instead of jumping straight into Architecture which I'm now pursuing, although there's nothing wrong with starting out the other way around.
But yes, sometimes it can be boring, however, I'm working in a small firm, so sometimes there's fun involve.
As, some have advised, look up some competition, set-up creative jobs with friends or families, painting, drawing...etc those can keep your creative juice flowing. And teach, if you're interested. That's where I'm leaning towards.
i say teach and do your own thing on the side. like development, competitions, private projects, etc. (all those stated above)
let's face it, unless we are running owr own firm and determining the total picture we aren't really happy.
I echo others, especially JAG - stick it out long enough to get the damn license, as it is such a significant and important acievement. Especially if your corporate firm offers reimbursement for the exams. Once you are a capital-A Architect you can follow wherever your impulse leads you. Arzo's suggestion to buy a building and "develop" it on your own is a great one. Here's a link http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/article.asp?ArtID=2800
to some guys in Philly who did just that. But try to get the license - once you get it, it's yours forever, and it is really something to be proud of. And remember that architect's career paths are long, it is true that the majority of architects don't really hit their design stride until into their 40's - so you do have time.
Don't let a job-- be it in architecture or any other field-- consume your entire life.
Find joy in other areas of your life such as friends, family, or hobbies. Architecture, and most professions these days, tend to overwhelm one's life and become the sole reason for being. It shouldn't (and doesn't have to) be that way. Read, write, explore, love, and enjoy things outside your chosen profession.
if your theoretical ideas are worth anything, maybe you could try to "self publish". where i am in seattle, the creative rage at the moment is people becoming their own publishers and getting their ideas out by hitting the pavement. it might work in architecture al well.
also, i agree with many of the postings about teaching, as well as the unfortunate happenstance of absolutely having to get your idp taken care of.. get the license and get as far away from the aia as you humanly can.
BTW - Do any architects doing experimental and theoretical work really have anything to do with the AIA?? For some reason, i can't see Lebbeus Woods going to a seminar about professional responsibilites.
I wouldn't worry about licensure if you don't want to follow a more traditional path. You don't need a license to do any of the things you are interested in. If it's only a few tests away and won't take too much time, go for it, but I'd figure out what you want before dedicating a year to taking/studying for the exams.
Find a teaching job, and look at other creative fields, too. Don't get too sucked into architecture if you don't find it rewarding, for whatever reason. If I were you, I'd find some job teaching anything from computers (maybe highschool, even) to art to design, and then enter competitions with your free time.
Good luck, you are in the majority by the way, you just lasted longer than most.
Why do corporate firms get a bad rap?.......I sincerely do not believe that a firm due to its size is inherently bad news. Would OMA/AMO be considered a "corporate" firm and a bad one at that? I think it is the attitude that one brings to the table that matters. I'd rather work for a large firm that explores and tackles some of our societal issues, like housing etc than a "boutique" firm that caters to a select clientele with a lot of mullah to throw around. I say you should form a consortium where you are, in the "corportate" place you are,and try to influence the existing culture. Dare I say....Rock the boat!...in a polite manner of course and do things like teach and enter competitions to keep your design juices flowing..
You and many of us are going through the same deal...
hang in there, and oh yea....stay with the "corporate" firm long enough for them to pay for your ARE exams. Once you have your licence, even in 10 years and you do decide to build something, after your "theoretical" side gets burned out, you will appreciate it.
the reason corporate firms get a bad rap is because as the firm gets bigger, your duties become narrower. in a 250+ firm it might be your job for the next project which could be in the office for 4-5+ years to only do door/window schedules....for example
in smaller firms you have to where many hats, and usually projects are much smaller in size so things don't go too stagnant around you.
bryan4arch,
just get your licensure done if you're nearly there. it's not like it'll be a X next to your name when you choose to take a more creative path.
I have heard that such is the culture in "some" corporate firm. I suppose the correct term should be "Assembly-line" firms. I do and have worked at a large, although I hate to use the word "Corporate" firm for the last six years. The partners understand the burnout rate that afflicts young architects and an intern is introduced into a project as part of a team. The team collaborate on the concepts for the project in sessions that they then carry through onto schematic, DD and CD phases. An intern gets to, hopefully if the project is within the United States, get to experience all phases. The intern is actually expected to play a proactive role in shaping his career path. So they should scream like a banshee if they are doing door schedules for a long time....
But you are right...Bryan4arch should get his license and then find his creative path.
Jul 6, 04 2:34 pm ·
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unhappy intern seeks suggestions for alternative career path
The more time I spend working in architects' offices the more I realize that professional practice is not for me. Although I'd like to stick with it long enough to get licensed, I believe I'd ultimately be happier in an environment where the objective is not necessarily to produce buildings, but rather to produce and explore ideas.
My situation in more detail is this:
I am a recent graduate intern with a few years office experience. I have a strong design portfolio but after an fairly extensive search was only able to land a job in a corporate firm where I am now doing some planning and detailing for banal industrial buildings.
I am bored out of my mind and feel like I've landed on the wrong career track. My talents are decidedly more in the creative/analytical realm. Conceptual design, research, writing, critiquing, experimentation, and teaching are all things I can get excited about, but there are not necessarily clear career paths to succeed at such things in the architecture world. There are not, for example, entry level positions for architectural theoreticians.
Am I wise to keep trudging through IDP with this firm and then to more on? Would I be better off working for a big-name designer? Should I go back for a PhD? Even if I stay where I am for now, what can I do now to improve my chances of landing a job outside the mainstream (such as in teaching or writing)?
Become an architecture professor.
Become an Architect/Builder and make real money. We need more formally trained developers.
I think you'd be happier in a small design oriented firm. It would be a much different environment than the Corporate firm. Also there are firms out there such as Foda that just do graphic and 3D work for architecture firms. They are much more theoretical. Or you could teach or even try to get your foot in the door of an arch. magazine.
I think many of us have struggled with the same issues, and at times, it can be very difficult to keep your sanity when you are not doing anything creative or inspiring.
I have become increasingly aware that creative types tend to be affected by corporate culture and the lack of job fulfillment than the average Joe, but there are ways around it.
Just because you have a boring architecture job, does not mean architecture is boring. As stated by others, there are a lot more creative opportunities in architecture. That said, you are at least learning something, and you have brought up a very important point about licensure and IDP.
Someone posted a discussion about how to improve our professions image, and I think licensure is a very important part of that, as licenced professionals can only use the Title of “Architectâ€. Like or not, that is the hoop we have to jump through, and I think we need to start using it to our advantage.
It is so often the case that talented designers, artists, writers, and craftsman have attended architecture school, and have even practiced before jumping careers into something more personally fulfilling. While it is great that an artist’s “architectural†background might be recognized, it is much more significant in the publics eye if that person was truly an Architect, that was working as an artist.
What I’m getting at, is that the lemmings of our profession tend to get licensed and those that are truly talented tend not to, which does not promote a healthy and accurate image.
As designers we sometimes fail to recognize the importance of seemingly superfluous and meaningless formalities of business and public image. We tend to think we rise above that, but in the end, it’s public perception that really makes a difference.
I would say you are way to close to getting your license to stop short…Why not take advantage of the opportunity and give yourself the freedom to explore a much broader set of options in the future? It will never be easier to get your license than now.
After I graduated I spent exactly nine hours at a corporate style office. I quit the next day took a job with a three person office for a little less pay and had fun. Always worked in a small office, spent a little time in a big-name architect office 20+ staff and hated it. Stayed with the small office thing and learned more, did more, and love what I do.
I suggest that you just become nihilistic/nonplussed and try to up your salary. Just be talented and ignore it..that way it is a Romeo and Juliet case. It would have been so much more unspecial had they had noisy veronese children. Why would you want to own another telltale talent...Let frustration wash over you in the dawn, and go to bed knowing that you're not living up to your potential.
Keep your talent well-hidden and only disclose it only under anynomity (like, bravo, you have done here).
furniture design, man. have you seen how much money people will pay for some funky new 'lifestyle' junk?
i'm opening a furniture design studio this year...
I recommend applying for fellowships, grants, travel grants.... look around, there is tons of money put aside. It could give you the chance to write something or produce something out of the workplace.
If you do decide to go through IDP, stick it out... I worked in a big firm (100+ architects) and a small (4 architects) for 3+ years and I found both experiences played well into different traits i wanted to improve. The big firm early on helped with my abilities in building technology, detailing, and project coordination while the small heped with visualization, materiality, and total responsibility. I am taking the exams now.
I suggest competitions and get involved with other subjects and activities. Put yourself out there and things can happen.
Maybe you could add some night classes in photography, painting, drawing, etc? Just give yourself a creative outlet.
teach
but then again....if you havent been part of http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=2926_0_22_0_C
perhaps you should consider walmart because your just not good enough,......
respectfully....don't teach. Not yet. Way too many teachers now who have either never practiced, or practiced only as a sideline to teaching, and therefore have no real clue what running an office entails. Either stick it out and get licensed and see where you can go, or, as the current land rover commercial suggests....try ceramics. Or anything else: poetry, real estate development, construction, cooking, painting (houses or canvases)...anything...but don't go back into teaching without some better idea of what it really takes to get a building from concept to key in the door. My two cents.....
I'm with John on this one...check out competitions...keep busy at work...and if you're young and in a corporate environment on salary....you probably are or will be very busy...
If you only have a year or two to complete your IDP and CAN get registered...do yourself a favor and do so. in ten years when you have a project from a client you'd really like to work with...and you can't due to lacking the stamp, you'll kick yourself...if nothing else, its extra income along the way to support your theory habit.
if you stay busy at work, learn what you can from everyone around you...we've all been where you are...even the engineer three seats over...or the project manager you thing gets too much enjoyment from the banale...hell, no matter how long you've been at it, we all have those days.
competitions, however, can be your salvation...they allow you to sketch (remember that?) and design to your heart's content. While i doubt you'll ever find a firm deeply routed in 'theory' per se, i think you might find the creative outlet you crave in competitions. Check out international competitions too. At any given time, you could be involved in two or three competitions and really stay busy. With this whole fancy www thing, you can even team up with friends from school who aren't even in your locale...and that reinforces the team design skills you need to keep the drudgery at work from making your head explode.
aim at getting registered as an architect and certified in Construction Science in areas like material research or methods of construction, then land a job as a Builder (like ArchAngel posted earlier in this thread) or at a R&D establishment...you could then after some experience use your seal to actually build something and earn non-mainstream credibility.
screw that get out while you can and get into archi-porn we need good photographers
go to a bank, take out a loan, buy some rundown building, design the hell out of it, sell all but one unit, live and enjoy
estate development and competitions untill you hit the big time and get a prinzikker price.
I am in the exact position as you are. However, I'm glad I did my Bachelors in Graphic Design instead of jumping straight into Architecture which I'm now pursuing, although there's nothing wrong with starting out the other way around.
But yes, sometimes it can be boring, however, I'm working in a small firm, so sometimes there's fun involve.
As, some have advised, look up some competition, set-up creative jobs with friends or families, painting, drawing...etc those can keep your creative juice flowing. And teach, if you're interested. That's where I'm leaning towards.
i say teach and do your own thing on the side. like development, competitions, private projects, etc. (all those stated above)
let's face it, unless we are running owr own firm and determining the total picture we aren't really happy.
I echo others, especially JAG - stick it out long enough to get the damn license, as it is such a significant and important acievement. Especially if your corporate firm offers reimbursement for the exams. Once you are a capital-A Architect you can follow wherever your impulse leads you. Arzo's suggestion to buy a building and "develop" it on your own is a great one. Here's a link http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/article.asp?ArtID=2800
to some guys in Philly who did just that. But try to get the license - once you get it, it's yours forever, and it is really something to be proud of. And remember that architect's career paths are long, it is true that the majority of architects don't really hit their design stride until into their 40's - so you do have time.
Don't let a job-- be it in architecture or any other field-- consume your entire life.
Find joy in other areas of your life such as friends, family, or hobbies. Architecture, and most professions these days, tend to overwhelm one's life and become the sole reason for being. It shouldn't (and doesn't have to) be that way. Read, write, explore, love, and enjoy things outside your chosen profession.
gizz mopper
if your theoretical ideas are worth anything, maybe you could try to "self publish". where i am in seattle, the creative rage at the moment is people becoming their own publishers and getting their ideas out by hitting the pavement. it might work in architecture al well.
also, i agree with many of the postings about teaching, as well as the unfortunate happenstance of absolutely having to get your idp taken care of.. get the license and get as far away from the aia as you humanly can.
BTW - Do any architects doing experimental and theoretical work really have anything to do with the AIA?? For some reason, i can't see Lebbeus Woods going to a seminar about professional responsibilites.
I wouldn't worry about licensure if you don't want to follow a more traditional path. You don't need a license to do any of the things you are interested in. If it's only a few tests away and won't take too much time, go for it, but I'd figure out what you want before dedicating a year to taking/studying for the exams.
Find a teaching job, and look at other creative fields, too. Don't get too sucked into architecture if you don't find it rewarding, for whatever reason. If I were you, I'd find some job teaching anything from computers (maybe highschool, even) to art to design, and then enter competitions with your free time.
Good luck, you are in the majority by the way, you just lasted longer than most.
Why do corporate firms get a bad rap?.......I sincerely do not believe that a firm due to its size is inherently bad news. Would OMA/AMO be considered a "corporate" firm and a bad one at that? I think it is the attitude that one brings to the table that matters. I'd rather work for a large firm that explores and tackles some of our societal issues, like housing etc than a "boutique" firm that caters to a select clientele with a lot of mullah to throw around. I say you should form a consortium where you are, in the "corportate" place you are,and try to influence the existing culture. Dare I say....Rock the boat!...in a polite manner of course and do things like teach and enter competitions to keep your design juices flowing..
You and many of us are going through the same deal...
hang in there, and oh yea....stay with the "corporate" firm long enough for them to pay for your ARE exams. Once you have your licence, even in 10 years and you do decide to build something, after your "theoretical" side gets burned out, you will appreciate it.
Drunkmuse,
the reason corporate firms get a bad rap is because as the firm gets bigger, your duties become narrower. in a 250+ firm it might be your job for the next project which could be in the office for 4-5+ years to only do door/window schedules....for example
in smaller firms you have to where many hats, and usually projects are much smaller in size so things don't go too stagnant around you.
bryan4arch,
just get your licensure done if you're nearly there. it's not like it'll be a X next to your name when you choose to take a more creative path.
Formanaught,
I have heard that such is the culture in "some" corporate firm. I suppose the correct term should be "Assembly-line" firms. I do and have worked at a large, although I hate to use the word "Corporate" firm for the last six years. The partners understand the burnout rate that afflicts young architects and an intern is introduced into a project as part of a team. The team collaborate on the concepts for the project in sessions that they then carry through onto schematic, DD and CD phases. An intern gets to, hopefully if the project is within the United States, get to experience all phases. The intern is actually expected to play a proactive role in shaping his career path. So they should scream like a banshee if they are doing door schedules for a long time....
But you are right...Bryan4arch should get his license and then find his creative path.
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