11. Bourbon at the office.

12. Lots of free time.

13. Interns will work for you for free.

1. It’s a lifestyle, not a job.  YES IT IS.

2. People respect architects.  IF YOU SAY SO.

3. Job is constantly evolving. IN REVERSE MAYBE.

4. Artistic freedom and personal expression.  AS IN BIG BOX STORES, McD's ETC.

5. You can be your own boss. UNEMPLOYMENT WILL DO THAT TO YOU.

6. There are tangible (and sometimes euphoric) results.  OK.

7. We can positively impact people’s lives.  WE CAN BUT DO WE USUALLY?

8. Experimentation is expected.  NOT IF WALMART or McD's ETC ARE YOUR CLIENTS

9. Longevity of Career.  RECESSIONS TEND TO PUSH RETIREMENTS BACKWARDS.

10. Incredible variety of options within the profession.  OK.

On reason 2: it's not that "people respect architects."  It's that people have this vague yet romantic and (slightly) awe-struck notion of what they imagine architectural practice to be. 

I admit it.  After a couple of decades, I still enjoy that "oh, an Architect" response (yes, capitalized) at parties as we introduce ourselves and occupations.  And, hey, who am I to burst their silvery bubble with mind-numbing stories of RFI responses, shop-drawing reviews, and water-proofing details.

Just a solemn, knowing nod.  "Yes.  Yes I am."  ;-)

Sounds like the job I have now, not the architect gigs I've held in the past. Sorry.

What the fuck are you talking about?

1. It’s a lifestyle, not a job. (YES, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT PAY SHIT)

2. People respect architects. (AT PARTIES, BUT NOT IN THE PROFESSIONAL CIRCLE)

3. Job is constantly evolving. (REALLY? MUST BE YOUR FIRST SUMMER INTERNSHIP)

4. Artistic freedom and personal expression. (NOT UNLESS YOU ARE A STARCHITECT)

5. You can be your own boss. (THAT IS THERE. ARCHITECTURE IS ONE OF THE ONLY PROFESSIONS WHERE YOU CAN HAVE A FIRM WITH YOURSELF AND A LAPTOP. NOT MANY OTHER PROFESSIONS ALLOW THAT)

6. There are tangible (and sometimes euphoric) results. (TANGIBLE, YES, EUPHORIC, RARELY)

7. We can positively impact people’s lives.(IF YOU SAY SO. BUT OTHER DESIGN PROFESSIONS DO IT WITH MORE EASE)

8. Experimentation is expected. (HAHAHAHA, REALLY?)

9. Longevity of Career. (IF IT MEANS YOU CANNOT RETIRE TILL 75, SURE)

10. Incredible variety of options within the profession. (MAYBE)

9. Longevity of Career. (IT MEANS YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO EVER RETIRE, IF YOU ARE A SELF EMPLOYEED ARCHITECT)

10.  Incredible variety of options within the pr0fession.  Draw Handicapped Bathroom Elevations, Draw Door Schedules, Room Finish Schedules. Pretend to be and Electrical Engineer and  do lighting and power plans.  Pretend to do Site Plans without any understanding  hydrolic calculations.  Pretend to  understand Mechanical Systems with out understanding thermodynamics.  So basicly  the figure out the most common ways to mess things up  because we think we are the master of all. Our only Options are Limited by Building Codes and Fire Safety Codes and the American Disability Act....

Transparence, I do see where you are going with this, and how all the  things you list are positives, and I do agree.  Even though I probably won't ever be able to retire, I also can't imagine ever wanting to, because despite it all I do, still, love what I do every day.

At least we have gotten past the point of  drawing half a day and erasing the other half a day.  I also don't miss making corrections on sepia paper with the little bottle of sulphur water. Oh and moving past cutting up babies and pasting them  down on clear mylar and burning composet mylars on a flat bed, then running them thru an ammonia diazo print machine.  It is kinda fun to live in the computer age.

this list again - I get that we're trying to be positive, but it sounds really naive.

my revised list:

1.  you will likely get to meet some really interesting (and/or wealthy) people who will invite you to parties and events.

2.  "architect" still holds a certain level of mystique among people who don't normally deal with architects.

3.  the work can often be challenging.

4.  we get to guide and visualize ideas.

5.  we can have autonomy in how we do our work.

6.  seeing something you worked on get built is very rewarding.

7. a happy client is also very rewarding.

8.  if we get people excited about our ideas they might actually pay us to implement them.

9.  the desire to build keeps us going far longer than we should.

10.  there are many things you can specialize in within the field.

1. You get to look important walking around with a roll of plans.

2. You get to impress everyone in the restaurant by unrolling your plans at a lunch meeting.

3. You get to use archibabble to justify design concepts to exalted for the layman to understand.

4. You get to award the project to the builder who gives you the biggest kickback.

5. You get to blame all your mistakes on the builder.

6. Interns work for free.

7. You get to treat staff like shit by demanding overtime work without overtime pay. Charette!

8. You get to take all the credit for any good work done by staff.

9. Everything you do is fashionable.

10. You get to act out your already oversized ego.

I Like the first. Yeah it's a Lifestyle, It's the thing that you want. You'll enjoying doing and becoming an Architect. Also you need to be creative and have a lots of imaginations.

HAHAHA > sameolddoctor....good stuff. Your now my new fav person.

Visit You Tube "So you want to be an Architect"...or  watch Mr. Round Glasses....for professional enlightment.

So, You Want To Be A Cabinetmaker? 

So you want to be a cabinetmaker!    Sam Maloff where are you when we need you!

I would gladly trade you one hour of Architectural design service for a cheese burger. Very funny, rural backwaters vs. Aspen and Silicon Valley....clients....

Please allow me to return to my DWELL: picture looking at happy young couples in happy homes. ( Unhappy hipsters).