I sit at my comp at 6am mountain time taking a break from building a residentail foam core model. This is side work which will in 5days pay me 2 mons of my intern net salary, I'm trying to decide whether to declare the income or not. I was unfortunate to graduate from an east coast school in the spring of 01 right before things tanked. I've averaged 1yr each between 4 firms and moving cross country. One year of house painting, setting tile for a flooring sub, and being the only mortgage broker not to make any money during the re-fi boom. I've finally pulled myself up to a dull, safe firm in a city I can't stand. I still need to gather past IDP hours from previous employers, and finishing licensure is so far away it seems almost hopeless. My ultimate goal would be to work at or have my own small architect led design-build firm. I love architecture and had no illusions of $$ or fame coming out of school. At this point I'm seriously considering leaving arch and go into construction, or get an MBA and get paid. Apologize for the rant, post your bitching below.
enjoy your project and push through it to make something of it....soon you'll find that word of mouth will take care of you if you do a good job and build a strong relationship with the client. it sounds like you're close, stay focused and happy.
i could bitch/rant - but we've all heard it before...my advice, stay in arch. and push more.
this is such a popular theme here -- it's getting a little tedious -- my perspective
architects don't make a great living because we don't expect to make a geat living -- we buy into this "I love architecture and had no illusions of $$ or fame coming out of school" crap and then spend the rest of our careers viewing ourselves as victims and hoping somebody else will bail us out
oh please !
when we start consistently delivering good value to our clients, charging fair fees, walking away from work that isn't properly priced, doing our work efficiently and conducting our affairs as a business first and an art second, THEN we will make a decent living
if we prefer to approach our world as "starving artists" that's okay too ... but geez ... could we just accept our decision and stop complaining ...
i don't believe we can have it both ways, especially when our profession spends so much time and effort encouraging more and more young people to enter architecture ... the forces of supply-and-demand clearly have an impact here
I'm going to agree with rayray and say stay in arch and keep working. Word of mouth from freelance jobs is what led my now-partner to strike out on his own from and intern position. He has after 8 years never had to market himself because he keeps making people happy and they keep telling their friends.
It is worth it to get the license, even if it takes 10 years. Or more. Try not to look at licensure as a huge hurdle and think of it instead as a long slow slope. Tackle it in small bits while you keep yourself interested with side jobs.
Good luck. And if you do decide to go get the MBA just try to educate your fellow MBA'ers on the importance of a good built environment.
Stick with it, I didn't! Actually changed majors to Planning from Arch back in school and sort of wished I hadn't. If you don't have the personality to make bucks during the re-fi boom as a broker, what makes you think you will do better with an MBA? If you just want $$ then I guess anyone is capable of anything. If you are in SLC or Boise (Mountain time) then get the bleep out and license in another state.
i used to be lonely
til i learned about livin alone
i found other things to keep my mind on
and now im gettin to know myself just a little bit better
whoa, i keep pushin
keep pushin on
goin thru all the changes
i made so many mistakes yes i did
tryin to leave behind the heartaches
and sometimes i was a little bit crazy oh yeah
whoa i keep pushin keep pushin on
keep pushin keep pushin on
well its comin together
and now i feel like a man
oh yes i do
i never thought that i'd be where i am
oh, but everyday i wake up a little bit higher
and i keep pushin
keep pushin on...
It's not really true that architects don't make great money..But that doesn't happen till you're in your 40's or 50's. There are just so many people in the field who are your age..
What city are you in that you hate. If you hate a city, you're not meeting enough people who actually live there lives there..Any city is hateable when you don't know anyone there and have no commitment to it...
i agree with both babs and liberty bell ... i love being an architect and i absolutely refuse to be a victim in my chosen profession ... i'm going to continue being an architect because i can't imaging doing anything else ... but i am simply not going to be a 'starving artist' ... you have to arrange your own life and your own career so you can earn a decent living and do work that you enjoy and find rewarding ... keep looking and keep trying ... you'll find a strategy that works for you, if you don't give up.
Our chosen profession.
I sit at my comp at 6am mountain time taking a break from building a residentail foam core model. This is side work which will in 5days pay me 2 mons of my intern net salary, I'm trying to decide whether to declare the income or not. I was unfortunate to graduate from an east coast school in the spring of 01 right before things tanked. I've averaged 1yr each between 4 firms and moving cross country. One year of house painting, setting tile for a flooring sub, and being the only mortgage broker not to make any money during the re-fi boom. I've finally pulled myself up to a dull, safe firm in a city I can't stand. I still need to gather past IDP hours from previous employers, and finishing licensure is so far away it seems almost hopeless. My ultimate goal would be to work at or have my own small architect led design-build firm. I love architecture and had no illusions of $$ or fame coming out of school. At this point I'm seriously considering leaving arch and go into construction, or get an MBA and get paid. Apologize for the rant, post your bitching below.
enjoy your project and push through it to make something of it....soon you'll find that word of mouth will take care of you if you do a good job and build a strong relationship with the client. it sounds like you're close, stay focused and happy.
i could bitch/rant - but we've all heard it before...my advice, stay in arch. and push more.
~Moving on, is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard.â€~
--Dave Mustaine ( lead Vocalist-Megadeth)
btw-welcome to the site!
get the MBA
this is such a popular theme here -- it's getting a little tedious -- my perspective
architects don't make a great living because we don't expect to make a geat living -- we buy into this "I love architecture and had no illusions of $$ or fame coming out of school" crap and then spend the rest of our careers viewing ourselves as victims and hoping somebody else will bail us out
oh please !
when we start consistently delivering good value to our clients, charging fair fees, walking away from work that isn't properly priced, doing our work efficiently and conducting our affairs as a business first and an art second, THEN we will make a decent living
if we prefer to approach our world as "starving artists" that's okay too ... but geez ... could we just accept our decision and stop complaining ...
i don't believe we can have it both ways, especially when our profession spends so much time and effort encouraging more and more young people to enter architecture ... the forces of supply-and-demand clearly have an impact here
I'm going to agree with rayray and say stay in arch and keep working. Word of mouth from freelance jobs is what led my now-partner to strike out on his own from and intern position. He has after 8 years never had to market himself because he keeps making people happy and they keep telling their friends.
It is worth it to get the license, even if it takes 10 years. Or more. Try not to look at licensure as a huge hurdle and think of it instead as a long slow slope. Tackle it in small bits while you keep yourself interested with side jobs.
Good luck. And if you do decide to go get the MBA just try to educate your fellow MBA'ers on the importance of a good built environment.
LB ... you are such a continual source of quiet reason ... thank you !
Stick with it, I didn't! Actually changed majors to Planning from Arch back in school and sort of wished I hadn't. If you don't have the personality to make bucks during the re-fi boom as a broker, what makes you think you will do better with an MBA? If you just want $$ then I guess anyone is capable of anything. If you are in SLC or Boise (Mountain time) then get the bleep out and license in another state.
the grass is always greener on the other side.
That said, if you think you are not meant to be an architect, then quit already - it will just make you more and more miserable as time goes on.
i used to be lonely
til i learned about livin alone
i found other things to keep my mind on
and now im gettin to know myself just a little bit better
whoa, i keep pushin
keep pushin on
goin thru all the changes
i made so many mistakes yes i did
tryin to leave behind the heartaches
and sometimes i was a little bit crazy oh yeah
whoa i keep pushin keep pushin on
keep pushin keep pushin on
well its comin together
and now i feel like a man
oh yes i do
i never thought that i'd be where i am
oh, but everyday i wake up a little bit higher
and i keep pushin
keep pushin on...
words of wisdom from reo speedwagon
It's not really true that architects don't make great money..But that doesn't happen till you're in your 40's or 50's. There are just so many people in the field who are your age..
What city are you in that you hate. If you hate a city, you're not meeting enough people who actually live there lives there..Any city is hateable when you don't know anyone there and have no commitment to it...
I didn't really choose Architecture. I figured that I'd better join before they drafted me.
i agree with both babs and liberty bell ... i love being an architect and i absolutely refuse to be a victim in my chosen profession ... i'm going to continue being an architect because i can't imaging doing anything else ... but i am simply not going to be a 'starving artist' ... you have to arrange your own life and your own career so you can earn a decent living and do work that you enjoy and find rewarding ... keep looking and keep trying ... you'll find a strategy that works for you, if you don't give up.
Kickass, MysteryMan!!! For me it's more like a psycho-stalker ex-girlfriend. One day I finally said 'aw fine, screw it, let's get married.'
It's working out great, except sometimes she bites.
lb i saw your partner today at the 49th and penn hubbards and craven...i told him that west clay is your guys future...
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