Pros: Most of the time you can listen to music at work, you get paid to create and solve problems, you develop a skill set that can enact social change, competitions.

Cons: Long hrs. at times, generally low pay vs. the education/ formal training required, clients can suck hard, the market can have a deliterious effect on your job.

read this book:



architect? a candid guide to the profession

I had the opportunity in High school to shadow an architect for a day. If you're writing about it because you're interested, this would be a good way to go.

yeah, i did that too. i recommend doing it as well.

to find local architects interested in meeting students, contact your local AIA (american institute of architects) chapter. You can find them at AIA.org (and there is stuff about becoming an architect there too).


pros: you can help prevent climate change by creating sustainable buildings. you can improve social justice and serve disadvantaged folks around the world by creating housing and neighborhoods.
there are a wide range of specialties and variations of being an architect/firm types - so you can always find somewhere that you fit in. you get a fast computer in the office with lots of software. You can travel around the world for projects or stay in your neighborhood.

cons: you sit in front of a computer all day. there is lots of bureaucracy and red tape that you must cut through to become a licensed architect and that takes an average of 7 years following graduating college. you may have to create stripmalls, fast food restaurants, and other boring buildings. wearing an AIA lapel pin isn't cool.


(make sure you properly cite this discussion thread in your references/bibliography)

good luck!

I'm really intreasted in becoming an architect. And thanks everyone for all the help I really appreciate it.

what kind of architect?

i hear information architects get paid better than the other kinds.

although actually, the architects of the iraq war have gotten paid pretty handsomely.

you know, just saying.

I walked into a meeting this morning with some IT guys. They were talking about their company and how many systems architects they had. I wanted to throttle them.

shadow some starchitect for a day. you'll get some kicks out of it. no seriously

one pro is that no one can ignore my TeChNo!

pro - archinect

con - archinect

vado is the biggest con of them all

I'd agree, go job shadowing. I actually built connections that day that got me my first job.

A caveat: Don't let anyone discourage you. Lots of architects are incredibly cynical and have a tendency to whine about their jobs and tell you not to give it a shot. This and the salary deterred me as a freshman in high school and I started on a track toward medical school. Then when I realized I was retarded during sophomore year of college and switched back to architecture I was stuck in a school with a pretty sad undergraduate degree, and I've had to kick my own ass every day to make it worth it.

but as for being an architect: if you feel like you enjoy a little bit of everything, and have any inclination for drawing/representing ideas graphically, you will probably love architecture

cons: the rest of the world doesn't think you're nearly as important as you really are, and if they all just listened to you implicitly everyone would be happy and lead better lives and there'd be no climate change and there'd be no fucking contractors and...

anyways, good luck on your paper, and go buy some black tshirts if you're serious about this.

rawdawg:

It is great to see your interest in the profession. If you are writing a report because you yourself are thinking about becoming an architect you should spend most of your time researching the different things architects do. When you go to architecture school you learn a broad set of skills which will equip you for a variety of tasks. Many architects still practice in a traditional office, designing buildings for clients, collaborating with other building professionals.

But that is not all architects do. Some architects get involved in urban planning and design, helping shape cities, some become specialists on certain aspects of building design, some are innovators and like to think about how society works, and others specialize in coordinating and managing large building projects. These are just some examples. Explore and you will find this is a very big profession with lots of task you may or may not enjoy.

some design the Matrix

Why settle on just one building when you could be designing whole cities? Have you concidered urban planning?

yeah, isn't an architect just an art school dropout with a tilty desk, and a big ruler?