It's easy to judge firms by the quality of their work... But, it's more difficult to get straight answers out of people about their opnions of the firms they've worked at. I'm hoping to actually enjoy my next job and to have a decent work/life balance, and I'm hoping that some people could fill me in about wonderful places in Chicago they've worked for in the past (or currently work for, if they feel comfortable providing that information). Since this is a semi-anonymous forum, hopefully people will be able to be more honest and open... Do any of you Chicagoans (or former Chicagoans) know of great firms to work for in the city?
I'm a little curious about this myself, as my main project for the summer will be to escape the soul-destroying hellhole I'm in now and find greener pastures for employment.
I've been there about 10 months. I was hoping to stick it out until I begin grad school in (hopefully) fall of 2007, but now it's looking like that might not be an option.
Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Bus Co. is looking for people to drive and be tour guides - architects are great for the archi-tours. The pay is um, happily surprising from what I've been told reletive to cad-jockey.
don't fergit the boat cruises...we had an intern at skidmore who worked part-time as one of those architecture boat cruise operators. she made like four times her intern's salary.
well, i'm leaving my job at robie house in a few weeks. if you're looking for a job that you _think_ you'll love (and might, for about a week), that is a pain in the ass to get to, and doesn't quite pay your rent _and_ feed you, i can put you in touch...
the only two things my friends over 45 at SOM, Perkins and Will, DeStefano and OWP/P, do are look as thier 401ks sink and count the days when they can quit as they hate their jobs.
i heard helmut jahn doesn't allow his receptionist to address him directly, but that might be an urban legend
what i do know is that on sept. 11, 2001, everyone cleared out of murphy/jahn except mr jahn, who wrote a blistering e-mail that afternoon saying that "i know terrible tragedies have occured but we have important projects to do so please return to work"
had a co-worker whose wife was there, apparently this is a true story
honestly i don't know that many people who are happy in chicago. i have one friend who works for a starchitecture firm there that likes it, and everyone else does the rtkl/gensler/perkins and will think and hates it. they don't even get paid that much.
So, no one is happy in their architecture job in Chicago??? How depressing... What the hell are we doing? Does anyone work for Studio Gang, Brininstool/Lynch, Krueck/Sexton, Dirk Dennison, or the like? If so, do you need to be a martyr to handle the hours? Not that it could get much worse than it already is for me...
From reliable sources I've heard that Helmut Jahn is impossible to work for and he constantly screams (yes actually screams) at his employees, who have more than once quit en masse. Also, the designers who have done a lot of his better recent projects have left... Or so I hear...
my guess is that gang, b/l, krueck dennison et al have very small staffs that actually know about how to make a building and a few students/interns to fill out the need for copy making and coffee brewing. well i guess you dont wanna work for helmut so why bother bringing it up except as an architectural anecdote. or you could get a job there get yelled at and then quit and post about it with authority.
I think there are a lot of interesting places to work in Chicago... There are many architects in Chicago who do work that is as interesting or more so than the ones you listed. They just don't have the PR that the firms you name have...
Jim Goetsch? RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! ;-) He used to work for Jahn and had a great knack for keeping his people at the office on Saturday night while he redesigned his kitschy whatever.
Many architecture firms like Goetsch, Lohan Associates, Jahn, etc. emphasize a heavy top-down "Herr Professor" hierarchy. There is little interaction between the partners and the foot soldiers. You don't even say hello to them in the hallway. Luckily, these folks are getting older and new people who eschew these medieval customs are coming into their own.
I would look around and see what is happening. Talk to people away from Archinect. Archinect has a rather small view of the universe. Go beyond it and you may find what you are looking for!
Dirk and Jim were once sitting in a tree, but they are no longer K-I-S-S-I-N-G or even together for that matter. Dirk left with his trusty ass-kisser Fred Anderson and Joseph Caprile, the third partner of Lohan Caprile Goetsch, has disappeared off the face of the earth... This happened at least a year ago.
But the real shame about Lohan's office is that he receives the opportunities and the crap that comes out of them is really disappointing. His grandfather rolls over in his grave.
But you could say that about all of the major corporate offices in Chicago or most anywhere in the US. But the question is where to work? I would start talking to people and more importantly finish school and get licensed! Then you can be the Architect of your own destiny! Scary but VERY EXCITING!
Perkins and Will and to some extent Murphy Jahn are the two exceptions but I don't know what it is like to work at P & W. Enough has been said about the latter.
I was a student intern at P&W for about three years from 1995-1999, and actually found it to be a very cool place to work. While not without its issues, it was a fairly casual atmosphere, employees were treated reasonably, and the vibe was generally good. That said, I have no idea what the climate is like now, but I'm sure it's a far cry better than SOM, Lohan, or Destafano.
there are TONS of great firms in chicago...like mA said, this prolly ain't the place if you're looking for validation or a new job. actually, the biggest places like skidmore and perkins can be great places to work if you find the right people within to work for. i have very little negativity to report in terms of my experiences with my specific supervisors at SOM.
just don't get mad about putting on a tie or leaving your flip-flops at home.
I stumbled back on this thread after a bit of dormancy, and I'm still a bit surprised that no one can say "'Blank' is a wonderful place to work... I really loved my time there!" (other than the IIT job, of course). My dreams of job Eutopia in the Windy City are fading fast! Help!
I stumbled back on this thread after a bit of dormancy, and I'm still a bit surprised that no one can say "'Blank' is a wonderful place to work... I really loved my time there!" (other than the IIT job, of course). My dreams of job Eutopia in the Windy City are fading fast! Help!
I had a great time working at Perkins + Will in the late 1990's, but I have no idea what the culture there is like today.
Last week I met some Gensler people at a NeoCon party, and they all had good things to say about working there.
As for smaller/boutique firms, I have no idea. Most of the ones I end up at seem to be hellholes of varying degrees of dysfunctionality, run by people who could never hack it in a corporate setting due to their lack of competence and/or management skills. But I'm not bitter.
I would'nt classify Chicago as being a bad place to work because of lack of positive response. I'm sure Chicago's job climate is relatively in step with the rest of America's. As for design, you might have some better luck at working on more exciting designs once in a while due to the size of the market. Dont forget this has been a difficult time for architecture firms. The volitilty is imense, layoffs, then hire sprees, then layoffs....so firm cultures are being shed. Prob the same in frisco, LA, NYC, Atlanta, etc....
I currently am working at DeStefano + Partners. I would say that some people are happy here, but that's pretty rare. Most people get kind of used and abused. It's not necessarily a bad firm, but it is very political and heirarchical. There are some really good projects going on, but your level of involvement and enjoyment on a project depends upon the partner you're working with.
I am not one of the fortunate few happy shiny people here at D+P. I am also looking for greener pastures. On Monday I interviewed with Valerio DeWalt Train, and they seemed like a really great place. They definitely have the right attitude. I've got a friend that has been working there for about a month and really likes it.
I'm interviewing with Gensler and Perkins & Will soon. I've heard good things about both firms, but nothing specific.
SOM and Lucien LaGrange are also hiring right now, but I haven't heard anything good about either of those firms.
It really comes down to what gets you going... You wanna be a designer? You wanna do green architecture? You wanna learn construction detailing? You wanna do project management? I'm sure there's something for everyone... And if not, then we just have to bear it until we know enough to run the show ourselves.
from someone who lives in chicago, whats the perception of some of the smaller firms there? studio gang, ronan, garofalo, etc? im really interested in working there once i graduate from ucla in a couple of years.... as nice as the weather is here, i miss the midwest too much.
as a student i worked with ronan and visited his office several times--it left a good impression on me. he works at a desk with everyone else, and as a professor he was sincerely interested in students. though intense about the art, he's very non-confrontational (no evidence of the endemic starchict fits...); in speech sometimes cryptic--but always thoughtful.
I also worked at DeStefano for a little under a year. I would put myself in the same category as xofloat in that I was not one of the happy people there. I was tagged as "3d modeler" early on and I didn't ever get the opportunity to learn anything new or have any real variance in the work that I was doing. It was worth working there for the experience of being at a bigger corporatecture firm, but really only to understand that it wasn't where I wanted to be.
you know i think its tough to determine how much you'll like a firm by how much other people like it. i work at lagrange and i really like my job. it gets bad mouthed a lot but honestly it could be a lot worse. and i think in lots of bigger firms it really depends on which partner / designer / manager youre working for. i get to do some rendering, some design work, and some good old fashioned problem solving on big budget large scale work and most of the people i work with are smart so im happy. plus i almost never work overtime.
Anyone in Chicago love their job?
It's easy to judge firms by the quality of their work... But, it's more difficult to get straight answers out of people about their opnions of the firms they've worked at. I'm hoping to actually enjoy my next job and to have a decent work/life balance, and I'm hoping that some people could fill me in about wonderful places in Chicago they've worked for in the past (or currently work for, if they feel comfortable providing that information). Since this is a semi-anonymous forum, hopefully people will be able to be more honest and open... Do any of you Chicagoans (or former Chicagoans) know of great firms to work for in the city?
I'm a little curious about this myself, as my main project for the summer will be to escape the soul-destroying hellhole I'm in now and find greener pastures for employment.
gin-didnt you recently start at afforementioned hell hole? Thought I remember your searching in previous posts.
Good luck on greener pastures. If your not a recent grad or over 45 it can seem a little bleak.
I've been there about 10 months. I was hoping to stick it out until I begin grad school in (hopefully) fall of 2007, but now it's looking like that might not be an option.
stay on module
My bosses wouldn't know what a module is if it fell on them.
Since we're discussing job hunting in Chicago, anybody know of any firms that are on big hiring sprees at the moment?
I hear that SOM, Perkins and Will, DeStefano, OWP/P, and many others are hiring right now... I dont' know about any of the smaller firms, however.
Gin -
Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Bus Co. is looking for people to drive and be tour guides - architects are great for the archi-tours. The pay is um, happily surprising from what I've been told reletive to cad-jockey.
don't fergit the boat cruises...we had an intern at skidmore who worked part-time as one of those architecture boat cruise operators. she made like four times her intern's salary.
well, i'm leaving my job at robie house in a few weeks. if you're looking for a job that you _think_ you'll love (and might, for about a week), that is a pain in the ass to get to, and doesn't quite pay your rent _and_ feed you, i can put you in touch...
i dont know if they're hiring, but they sure need help.
the only two things my friends over 45 at SOM, Perkins and Will, DeStefano and OWP/P, do are look as thier 401ks sink and count the days when they can quit as they hate their jobs.
i'm coming home
via chicago
What about Murphy/Jahn and VOA, SCB?
i heard helmut jahn doesn't allow his receptionist to address him directly, but that might be an urban legend
what i do know is that on sept. 11, 2001, everyone cleared out of murphy/jahn except mr jahn, who wrote a blistering e-mail that afternoon saying that "i know terrible tragedies have occured but we have important projects to do so please return to work"
had a co-worker whose wife was there, apparently this is a true story
i was at an award dinner where jahn was getting his first after a 10 year cold spell and the guy was so platered and wore gloves to hid his age.
voa/sbc booooooooooring -- is that architecture?
honestly i don't know that many people who are happy in chicago. i have one friend who works for a starchitecture firm there that likes it, and everyone else does the rtkl/gensler/perkins and will think and hates it. they don't even get paid that much.
i know of someone in chicago who loves his job
Ted: I think SCB is not as bad as VOA after I met some guys from both frims, they are either my colleagues or friends.
I was told Gensler is paying good.
Curiously: How many designers in Murphy/Jahn? I mean design architect not detail design architect or Project architect.
dreamt about killing you again last night
and it felt alright to me...
What's the word on Goettsch Partners?
Dying on the banks of Embarcadero skies
I sat and watched you bleed
Yes, Wilco. We get it.
So, no one is happy in their architecture job in Chicago??? How depressing... What the hell are we doing? Does anyone work for Studio Gang, Brininstool/Lynch, Krueck/Sexton, Dirk Dennison, or the like? If so, do you need to be a martyr to handle the hours? Not that it could get much worse than it already is for me...
From reliable sources I've heard that Helmut Jahn is impossible to work for and he constantly screams (yes actually screams) at his employees, who have more than once quit en masse. Also, the designers who have done a lot of his better recent projects have left... Or so I hear...
Is it true that Gensler flies people in from other cities to help employees avoid overtime? That sounds kind of nice...
my guess is that gang, b/l, krueck dennison et al have very small staffs that actually know about how to make a building and a few students/interns to fill out the need for copy making and coffee brewing. well i guess you dont wanna work for helmut so why bother bringing it up except as an architectural anecdote. or you could get a job there get yelled at and then quit and post about it with authority.
I think there are a lot of interesting places to work in Chicago... There are many architects in Chicago who do work that is as interesting or more so than the ones you listed. They just don't have the PR that the firms you name have...
Jim Goetsch? RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! ;-) He used to work for Jahn and had a great knack for keeping his people at the office on Saturday night while he redesigned his kitschy whatever.
Many architecture firms like Goetsch, Lohan Associates, Jahn, etc. emphasize a heavy top-down "Herr Professor" hierarchy. There is little interaction between the partners and the foot soldiers. You don't even say hello to them in the hallway. Luckily, these folks are getting older and new people who eschew these medieval customs are coming into their own.
I would look around and see what is happening. Talk to people away from Archinect. Archinect has a rather small view of the universe. Go beyond it and you may find what you are looking for!
MARK PRIOR SLEEPS IN AN ADULT SIZED CRIB.
lohan is now goetsch...fyi
Vado,
Dirk and Jim were once sitting in a tree, but they are no longer K-I-S-S-I-N-G or even together for that matter. Dirk left with his trusty ass-kisser Fred Anderson and Joseph Caprile, the third partner of Lohan Caprile Goetsch, has disappeared off the face of the earth... This happened at least a year ago.
What about starting your own firm?
But the real shame about Lohan's office is that he receives the opportunities and the crap that comes out of them is really disappointing. His grandfather rolls over in his grave.
But you could say that about all of the major corporate offices in Chicago or most anywhere in the US. But the question is where to work? I would start talking to people and more importantly finish school and get licensed! Then you can be the Architect of your own destiny! Scary but VERY EXCITING!
Perkins and Will and to some extent Murphy Jahn are the two exceptions but I don't know what it is like to work at P & W. Enough has been said about the latter.
I was a student intern at P&W for about three years from 1995-1999, and actually found it to be a very cool place to work. While not without its issues, it was a fairly casual atmosphere, employees were treated reasonably, and the vibe was generally good. That said, I have no idea what the climate is like now, but I'm sure it's a far cry better than SOM, Lohan, or Destafano.
there are TONS of great firms in chicago...like mA said, this prolly ain't the place if you're looking for validation or a new job. actually, the biggest places like skidmore and perkins can be great places to work if you find the right people within to work for. i have very little negativity to report in terms of my experiences with my specific supervisors at SOM.
just don't get mad about putting on a tie or leaving your flip-flops at home.
when i mean "this" i mean "archinect" not chicago
I stumbled back on this thread after a bit of dormancy, and I'm still a bit surprised that no one can say "'Blank' is a wonderful place to work... I really loved my time there!" (other than the IIT job, of course). My dreams of job Eutopia in the Windy City are fading fast! Help!
I stumbled back on this thread after a bit of dormancy, and I'm still a bit surprised that no one can say "'Blank' is a wonderful place to work... I really loved my time there!" (other than the IIT job, of course). My dreams of job Eutopia in the Windy City are fading fast! Help!
people usually don't name names on this site...
I had a great time working at Perkins + Will in the late 1990's, but I have no idea what the culture there is like today.
Last week I met some Gensler people at a NeoCon party, and they all had good things to say about working there.
As for smaller/boutique firms, I have no idea. Most of the ones I end up at seem to be hellholes of varying degrees of dysfunctionality, run by people who could never hack it in a corporate setting due to their lack of competence and/or management skills. But I'm not bitter.
I would'nt classify Chicago as being a bad place to work because of lack of positive response. I'm sure Chicago's job climate is relatively in step with the rest of America's. As for design, you might have some better luck at working on more exciting designs once in a while due to the size of the market. Dont forget this has been a difficult time for architecture firms. The volitilty is imense, layoffs, then hire sprees, then layoffs....so firm cultures are being shed. Prob the same in frisco, LA, NYC, Atlanta, etc....
Why not look into going downstate. Places like Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria, etc. I hear you can actually afford to buy real estate in those towns.
Oh...wait...outside of Chicago Illinois is no different from Kansas.
Sorry, disregard.
I currently am working at DeStefano + Partners. I would say that some people are happy here, but that's pretty rare. Most people get kind of used and abused. It's not necessarily a bad firm, but it is very political and heirarchical. There are some really good projects going on, but your level of involvement and enjoyment on a project depends upon the partner you're working with.
I am not one of the fortunate few happy shiny people here at D+P. I am also looking for greener pastures. On Monday I interviewed with Valerio DeWalt Train, and they seemed like a really great place. They definitely have the right attitude. I've got a friend that has been working there for about a month and really likes it.
I'm interviewing with Gensler and Perkins & Will soon. I've heard good things about both firms, but nothing specific.
SOM and Lucien LaGrange are also hiring right now, but I haven't heard anything good about either of those firms.
It really comes down to what gets you going... You wanna be a designer? You wanna do green architecture? You wanna learn construction detailing? You wanna do project management? I'm sure there's something for everyone... And if not, then we just have to bear it until we know enough to run the show ourselves.
I've got a buddy who just got a job as an intern at Krueck and Sexton and he seems to enjoy it so far...hasn't been there long though.
from someone who lives in chicago, whats the perception of some of the smaller firms there? studio gang, ronan, garofalo, etc? im really interested in working there once i graduate from ucla in a couple of years.... as nice as the weather is here, i miss the midwest too much.
as a student i worked with ronan and visited his office several times--it left a good impression on me. he works at a desk with everyone else, and as a professor he was sincerely interested in students. though intense about the art, he's very non-confrontational (no evidence of the endemic starchict fits...); in speech sometimes cryptic--but always thoughtful.
I also worked at DeStefano for a little under a year. I would put myself in the same category as xofloat in that I was not one of the happy people there. I was tagged as "3d modeler" early on and I didn't ever get the opportunity to learn anything new or have any real variance in the work that I was doing. It was worth working there for the experience of being at a bigger corporatecture firm, but really only to understand that it wasn't where I wanted to be.
When we played Murphy/Jahn in softball, some guy hit the ball and ran to third.
no one on this thread works for gang, garafolo, or ronan?
Considering all three firms combined employ 10-15 people, it's unlikely you'll hook one here - besides, they're all too busy working.
Gang is getting bigger now. She have around 15 persons now.
you know i think its tough to determine how much you'll like a firm by how much other people like it. i work at lagrange and i really like my job. it gets bad mouthed a lot but honestly it could be a lot worse. and i think in lots of bigger firms it really depends on which partner / designer / manager youre working for. i get to do some rendering, some design work, and some good old fashioned problem solving on big budget large scale work and most of the people i work with are smart so im happy. plus i almost never work overtime.
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