having worked in 1 corporate, 1 boutique and 1 regional/psuedo academic, i think i'd stick with the boutique. i found the work more stimulating. did lots of interesting houses, public projects and competitions. way out-there projects were readily chased, and we were more interested in building cool sh*t than anything else. 55+ hour weeks weren't unheard of, and was worth it. pay was looooow. also burned out from a crappy boss, only thing that kept me going were co-workers.

The corporate was really difficult for me. i don't deal with with discussions of prada v. gucci bags, corporate profits and xmas bonuses. i just want to work on strong projects that i won't be embarrased about working on down the road. hardly ever worked 40 hours max, pay wasn't that much more than i expected. the work was insanely dull. i was most impressed at the equipment and potential, but alas there was little talent and people dropped like flies.

ideally, what it comes down to is i don't know shit about architecture, i needed to find a place that would be able to lead me in the right direction, hence the regional/psuedo academic i'm presently working with.

if i could find a forward-thinking, sustainable, regional/academic boutique here in seattle, i think i'd never leave.

I currently work in IT (prospect M.Arch), and I've worked for three kinds of employers: boutique, family-run international business, and corporate. I know this isn't specifically architecture, but the type of environments can be generalized across most, if not all, industrties.

I currently work in corporate and yes, the compenstation is good; and the job is stable and very lax compared to my other jobs, plus no OT. However, I'm pigeon-holed into one specific role, there's no flexibility and I hate it. I used to have my hands in every aspect of IT and even though it came with a lot more pressure I learned a lot more a lot quicker and the personal satisfaction was much greater.

It really comes down to what kind of person you are, and what kind of environment you want/like. Do you want to wear all kinds of hats at the work-place? Do you want greater opportunity for customer/vendor facing tasks? Do you need strict guidelines and defined responsibilites? Do you have problems with putting in OT? Do you believe in the company's work? The last question would probably apply more to your field.

My stint in the small firm was less than pleasurable. Some funky little projects but no job stability thanks to no "bread and butter" work. Too cyclical for someone with real bills to pay on a monthly basis. Also like having an assistant to take mtg minutes, etc. Found I didn't spend all that much time doing "architecture." Pay surprisingly was better than the corporate job I took to replace it.

That corporate job was one of those specalized firms that stays pretty close to proven types and older production methods. They loved the brick cavity wall, which is great, but they lost a ton of buiz because they were unwilling to go with cheaper alternatives. Watch out for that kind of close mindedness. Learned a heck of a lot though from old timers and worked my ass off....50 hrs + common.

Now I work for a more diverse corporate firm. Not what you describe as the mega, but younger and more forward thinking than the previous place. Much much more generous in terms of pay/benefits. Can weather ups and downs with different project types. Hours are never insane with 40 bare min and 50 a pretty uncommon high. Work is stimulating enough with LEED projects and occasionally published project.

I worked at a boutique firm before. It was kind of boring. The work was very average and I practically worked with a bunch of neanderthals who shunned any form of fundamentally cursory technology available to the world of architecture. These type of firms are hit or miss.

I work in a corporate office now. It's actually pretty great. The work is good, I am satisfied with my role, I'm learning a LOT, the pay is very decent for someone of my age and experience, and there is a vast amount of resources available. But as with boutique firms, they too are hit or miss. I'm also heard horror stories about these as well.

Good Luck deciding.

Thanks for the input.. sounds like some of the same issues, regardless of the type of firm.

Urbanist -

You are lucky to have a such options (assuming you have interviews or job offers from these firms, and are not asking advice on who to send resumes to).

I would advise the young urban designer to consider their first 5 years of employment as post-graduate education. Work for the firm that offers exposure to the widest range of projects, places, consultants, and issues.

With that in mind, two things I would consider:

1) The location of the offices' commissions. There is probably much to be said for working on megaprojects in China or Dubai, in strange settings with weird programs, and unlimited ambitions. But how likely are you ever to see the sites themselves, much less the built results? On the other hand, if do more local work, not only might you have an opportunity to see the results of your efforts, but you should get a good education in the local issues, politics, players, etc. The flip side is you have to deal with local issues, politics, players, etc and all the limited and constrained points of view they bring. But perhaps you live in a dynamic metropolis like LA, New York, or Chicago, where all the issues that brought you to urban design are operative and you see your home town as a laboratory.

and

2) The consultants these different firms work with. Since urban design is largely about corrdinating various disciplines, you can potentially learn as much from the consultants as from your employer. Which firm partners with the most progressive transportation, economic, ecological, landscape firms?

Thanks. Right now I have in hand or am expecting over the next few days offers from all the categories above except for the boutique which said "sure.. come join us.. can you start next week?" without bothering to get into any of the practicalities, apart from saying that "the pay packet is low but we make up for it with our enthusiam".. I thought it was pretty funny. I think I interviewed at too many firms, but I also get the sense that the job market is very strong now (which begs the question, will all these people be laying people off in a few months time given the problems in the credit markets?)..

I get a sense that most of the firms on my list collaborate quite a bit with an ecosystem of consultants.. some internal, some external.