i graduated in 2010 and, after being unemployed for an extended period of time, got a job working at a large corporate firm. i'm not terribly happy here and don't like swimming in the bureaucracy and paperwork and politics. i don't want to be specific, but the firm is along the lines of an SOM, Gensler, KPF, etc.
if i look for another job, will i be judged or tainted in any way for working for this enormous and uncreative/not design-oriented firm? my ideal firm would be smaller and more imaginative, but were i to see someone work at this kind of firm for 2 years, i'd probably draw conclusions about their philosophy on everything, including design.
Plus, working at some creative boutique firms doesn't automatically make you a creative person. It might help you to become a creative one by working at a dull company, since you will channel that frustration to enter some competitions and do YOUR own stuff.
Hey, SOM and KPF are not bad at all, especially if you look at their custom wall systems and such.
Nah, not at all. As a past employee a of a huge firm my only regret was not having diversity of design task and being segmented in a department that only handle specific design responsibility. Just stay fluid, also I believe your idea on seeking smaller firms is spot on especially if you are planning to strike out on your own. The compensation and benefits are not as good as with your larger firms and the projects are not as prestigious but your exposure to the whole design process is greatly expanded and the challenges greater and thus the personal rewards. Good Luck!
I would say, "Slightly." Once you get out of the boutique/starchitect world, it gets tougher to get back in, but I think once you leave your priorities will change. After a few years at a Gensler, KPF or NBBJ, your outlook will become a little less design-oriented, a little more service-oriented; neither of which is a bad thing, but your experience without question shapes the architect you will become.
boomboom - all i can offer is (as a "smaller and imaginative" firm just finishing making a hire): there are plenty - PLENTY - of incredibly talented people willing to take your place should you tire of the tedium a paying job provides. and i say this as constructive criticism: quit whining and get to the business of learning what you can.
tainted - ain't no way - I use to work at AECOM and SOM and now work at 6 person office
My problem is the direct opposite of yours now - I would like to work at a big office again -
Really - I and 299 others would be more than happy to trade places with you
I think you are in for a rude awakening when you finally do end up working for that dream boutique. - This is so true and why I want to get back to the big offices -wanna trade?
the advice for you and I is to be happy with we got and make it work. - the grass ain't greener on that other hill - at least it won't be when we get there - and nothing is ever what it seems either.
boomboom, why would you judge people about their philosophy 'on everything, including design', merely for working at a corporate firm? there's nothing intrinsically 'filthy' about corporations, or their employees.
i graduated in 2010 and, after being unemployed for an extended period of time, got a job working at a large corporate firm.
Say what? most large firms refuse to hire people who have been unemployed for an extended period of time - they assume the long term unemployed have performance issues - it took me 15 months to get back in the game "if I told ya all that went down, it'd burn off both of yer ears"
Aug 28, 12 8:20 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
am i "tainted" to future employers after working for a large corporate firm?
i graduated in 2010 and, after being unemployed for an extended period of time, got a job working at a large corporate firm. i'm not terribly happy here and don't like swimming in the bureaucracy and paperwork and politics. i don't want to be specific, but the firm is along the lines of an SOM, Gensler, KPF, etc.
if i look for another job, will i be judged or tainted in any way for working for this enormous and uncreative/not design-oriented firm? my ideal firm would be smaller and more imaginative, but were i to see someone work at this kind of firm for 2 years, i'd probably draw conclusions about their philosophy on everything, including design.
tainted love
not at all, btw
Size won't limit you as much as niches may from other niches.
Size matters.
Tainted? For working at a "large corporate firm"? You shittin' me? If there's anything "tainting" you, it's your lack of perspective.
Un-fuckin-believable, yo!
not at all, boomboom.
Plus, working at some creative boutique firms doesn't automatically make you a creative person. It might help you to become a creative one by working at a dull company, since you will channel that frustration to enter some competitions and do YOUR own stuff.
Hey, SOM and KPF are not bad at all, especially if you look at their custom wall systems and such.
Nah, not at all. As a past employee a of a huge firm my only regret was not having diversity of design task and being segmented in a department that only handle specific design responsibility. Just stay fluid, also I believe your idea on seeking smaller firms is spot on especially if you are planning to strike out on your own. The compensation and benefits are not as good as with your larger firms and the projects are not as prestigious but your exposure to the whole design process is greatly expanded and the challenges greater and thus the personal rewards. Good Luck!
"along the lines of an SOM, Gensler, KPF, etc."
"this enormous and uncreative/not design-oriented firm?"
I think you are in for a rude awakening when you finally do end up working for that dream boutique.
I would say, "Slightly." Once you get out of the boutique/starchitect world, it gets tougher to get back in, but I think once you leave your priorities will change. After a few years at a Gensler, KPF or NBBJ, your outlook will become a little less design-oriented, a little more service-oriented; neither of which is a bad thing, but your experience without question shapes the architect you will become.
boomboom - all i can offer is (as a "smaller and imaginative" firm just finishing making a hire): there are plenty - PLENTY - of incredibly talented people willing to take your place should you tire of the tedium a paying job provides. and i say this as constructive criticism: quit whining and get to the business of learning what you can.
tainted - ain't no way - I use to work at AECOM and SOM and now work at 6 person office
My problem is the direct opposite of yours now - I would like to work at a big office again -
Really - I and 299 others would be more than happy to trade places with you
I think you are in for a rude awakening when you finally do end up working for that dream boutique. - This is so true and why I want to get back to the big offices -wanna trade?
the advice for you and I is to be happy with we got and make it work. - the grass ain't greener on that other hill - at least it won't be when we get there - and nothing is ever what it seems either.
First world problems...
boomboom, why would you judge people about their philosophy 'on everything, including design', merely for working at a corporate firm? there's nothing intrinsically 'filthy' about corporations, or their employees.
i graduated in 2010 and, after being unemployed for an extended period of time, got a job working at a large corporate firm.
Say what? most large firms refuse to hire people who have been unemployed for an extended period of time - they assume the long term unemployed have performance issues - it took me 15 months to get back in the game "if I told ya all that went down, it'd burn off both of yer ears"
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.