hey guys. i'm a senior in high school and i'm thinking of doing architecture. the first think any arch student tells me is that you've got to have the passion and the money isn't great. so my question is am i getting into something where the setbacks are going to defeat the all mighty passion. will i work my butt off and feel unsatisfied cause i dont get rewarded?
every profession has its own peculiar mix of economic and psychological rewards (and drawbacks)
architecture doesn't have the reputation as a place where most can "have it all" - as Stephen notes, the rewards of architecture are mostly psychological -
for some that's plenty - but, if you hang around archinect for a while, you'll learn that it's not enough for many.
Our architectural educations prepared us for being not only architects, but it also made us capable of doing related jobs. Thus, it would be relatively easy for us to transition away from traditional architectural practice (management, art, creative services, graphic design, etc.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of us is trapped in what we do. We are relatively free to walk away from the profession, yet we don't.
architecture is a competitive profession and that had it's advantages and disadvantages. on the other hand, you're still in high school so the question that i would be asking myself if i was your age would be more like, "do i want to enjoy my college years?" architecture is a great subject and it's very much worth studying...but arch students tend to be some of the most isolated on campus due to the intensive nature of studio. in retrospect, i would have chosen a different undergrad major. probably something "easy" that interests me, used free time to develop more outside interests (volunteer, sports, music, etc.) taken a drawing or painting class or two (for the portfolio), partied alot and then if i was still thinking about being an architect, i would have headed to graduate school.
in other words, i guess i'm telling you that you have plenty of time yet to determine whether or not you want to be an architect and that you literally have years to evaluate questions like the work/reward ratio.
he means get an undergrad in something else (easy), then a graduate degree in architecture. But i would disagree. That will rack up more debt than needed and will delay your eventually becoming a licensed architect.
to succeed in architecture you must approach it with the same kind of zeal that john brown took to harper's ferry. you must put on the blinders and forge ahead. you must knock down any thing that stands in your way. you must not doubt your decisions you must not think about money you must not think about marriage and family these are all impediments you must have passion above all and an unwavering commitment. its not a 9 to 5 profession. its a life. that said, john brown was hanged for treason.
Architecture school is definitely not for those people who "don't know what they want to do with their life" and are just biding time until they figure it out.
It really really really all depends on where you go. Some places you will be doing arch from day one till the day you graduate. Some places you will do more of a mix of an architecture curriculum and the typical studio stuff. Some schools even offer more than one version of under graduate architecture degrees( ex. BS, BA, BArch etc)! I wouldn't say go for an "easy" major persay because you might just find yourself bored and wondering, "why didn't I just pursue architecture"
Go see an academic adviser in the ARCHITECTURE dept. Especially if you are in one of those schools where you have to transfer into architecture later on and they stick you with an adviser in liberal arts or whatever you get into as a freshman. They can give you a realistic view of what you can expect and maybe hook you up with some faculty to talk to.
One way to figure out if arch is for you is to play the field. Take a variety of course work - try to find an arch class that is open to non-majors and take some classes in whatever else you are interested in. Finish your gen-eds right away and you'll figure out pretty quickly what interests you more. Say you are torn between Architecture and Pre-Med. You'll be deciding between taking four years of hard core labs and science versus four years of hardcore studio and arch electives. If chemistry makes your heart sing and architectural drawing makes you want to cut your hand off, well you've eliminated architecture. Honestly, this is long, but go see/e-mail an adviser at your school and talk it out. Hope this helps and good luck!
yikes...that's EXACTLY what i did, come to school not knowing whether i wanted to be an architect or a doctor...now, after three years, i still don't know if i will be an "architect" in the traditional sense, but i do believe that an architectural education is one of the best you can get, even if you are unsure, like me. it made me realize that there's a whole way to see the world, and that is something i would not have gotten had i been stuck in lab the entire time. and you certainly don't have the one-on-one teaching that goes on in studio when you are in a 300 person lecture hall.
so i wouldn't look at it as if you can get a cool major OR an architecture major. Just try to find programs that are flexible enough to let you change if you want to, but don't limit yourself to delaying finding out about architecture if that's what you want to do. and just because you have an undergrad degree in architecture, doesn't mean you have to be an architect. it just means you will have gotten a unique education that you can apply to many different things.
how bad is bad
hey guys. i'm a senior in high school and i'm thinking of doing architecture. the first think any arch student tells me is that you've got to have the passion and the money isn't great. so my question is am i getting into something where the setbacks are going to defeat the all mighty passion. will i work my butt off and feel unsatisfied cause i dont get rewarded?
you will work your butt off and feel unsatisfied cause you dont get rewarded but your mighty passion will be even greater. seriously.
define "rewarded" and "satisfied"
every profession has its own peculiar mix of economic and psychological rewards (and drawbacks)
architecture doesn't have the reputation as a place where most can "have it all" - as Stephen notes, the rewards of architecture are mostly psychological -
for some that's plenty - but, if you hang around archinect for a while, you'll learn that it's not enough for many.
Our architectural educations prepared us for being not only architects, but it also made us capable of doing related jobs. Thus, it would be relatively easy for us to transition away from traditional architectural practice (management, art, creative services, graphic design, etc.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of us is trapped in what we do. We are relatively free to walk away from the profession, yet we don't.
architecture is a competitive profession and that had it's advantages and disadvantages. on the other hand, you're still in high school so the question that i would be asking myself if i was your age would be more like, "do i want to enjoy my college years?" architecture is a great subject and it's very much worth studying...but arch students tend to be some of the most isolated on campus due to the intensive nature of studio. in retrospect, i would have chosen a different undergrad major. probably something "easy" that interests me, used free time to develop more outside interests (volunteer, sports, music, etc.) taken a drawing or painting class or two (for the portfolio), partied alot and then if i was still thinking about being an architect, i would have headed to graduate school.
in other words, i guess i'm telling you that you have plenty of time yet to determine whether or not you want to be an architect and that you literally have years to evaluate questions like the work/reward ratio.
Do you have an enormous ego and despise all other architects, posses these two simple qualities and you can easily be an architect!
True, but there is plenty of time for partying after you graduate. It's just a mature type of partying.
I don't know, we were also quite social too.
Where are you at? Would you be interested in shadowing an architect for a day?
exactly DCA, after undergrad, you can actually afford some nice liqour, not the cheap undergrad $12.99 30-pack...
but isnt architecture very course specific? so how does chosing an easy major work?
he means get an undergrad in something else (easy), then a graduate degree in architecture. But i would disagree. That will rack up more debt than needed and will delay your eventually becoming a licensed architect.
to succeed in architecture you must approach it with the same kind of zeal that john brown took to harper's ferry. you must put on the blinders and forge ahead. you must knock down any thing that stands in your way. you must not doubt your decisions you must not think about money you must not think about marriage and family these are all impediments you must have passion above all and an unwavering commitment. its not a 9 to 5 profession. its a life. that said, john brown was hanged for treason.
Architecture school is definitely not for those people who "don't know what they want to do with their life" and are just biding time until they figure it out.
DCA - amen, brother
It really really really all depends on where you go. Some places you will be doing arch from day one till the day you graduate. Some places you will do more of a mix of an architecture curriculum and the typical studio stuff. Some schools even offer more than one version of under graduate architecture degrees( ex. BS, BA, BArch etc)! I wouldn't say go for an "easy" major persay because you might just find yourself bored and wondering, "why didn't I just pursue architecture"
Go see an academic adviser in the ARCHITECTURE dept. Especially if you are in one of those schools where you have to transfer into architecture later on and they stick you with an adviser in liberal arts or whatever you get into as a freshman. They can give you a realistic view of what you can expect and maybe hook you up with some faculty to talk to.
One way to figure out if arch is for you is to play the field. Take a variety of course work - try to find an arch class that is open to non-majors and take some classes in whatever else you are interested in. Finish your gen-eds right away and you'll figure out pretty quickly what interests you more. Say you are torn between Architecture and Pre-Med. You'll be deciding between taking four years of hard core labs and science versus four years of hardcore studio and arch electives. If chemistry makes your heart sing and architectural drawing makes you want to cut your hand off, well you've eliminated architecture. Honestly, this is long, but go see/e-mail an adviser at your school and talk it out. Hope this helps and good luck!
yikes...that's EXACTLY what i did, come to school not knowing whether i wanted to be an architect or a doctor...now, after three years, i still don't know if i will be an "architect" in the traditional sense, but i do believe that an architectural education is one of the best you can get, even if you are unsure, like me. it made me realize that there's a whole way to see the world, and that is something i would not have gotten had i been stuck in lab the entire time. and you certainly don't have the one-on-one teaching that goes on in studio when you are in a 300 person lecture hall.
so i wouldn't look at it as if you can get a cool major OR an architecture major. Just try to find programs that are flexible enough to let you change if you want to, but don't limit yourself to delaying finding out about architecture if that's what you want to do. and just because you have an undergrad degree in architecture, doesn't mean you have to be an architect. it just means you will have gotten a unique education that you can apply to many different things.
True, but there is plenty of time for partying after you graduate. It's just a mature type of partying.
I must strongly disagree. Sure we ARE always trapped in studio, but when we do party we do it hard. I loooove post final review binges. :)
: You may find this thread interesting: College Involvement
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