But even they can have issues as I was told that HOK cutting a floor out of their Inland Steel address. They were combining their Interiors with Architecture on the same floor. I am sure that someone here knows more than I do. This was last summer or even before that. They do a lot of international work. It's all about specifics firms and the work they have.
i feel like i've said this three hundred times in the last year - no one right now is going to be 'safe' for the next 18 months, no matter what size they are. in spite of the bailout bill, the credit squeeze is going to be painfully severe and we're going to go through a not so pleasant recession over the next 12-24 months. we're paying for the pleasures of '02 to '05.
the firms who will do the best are those who are focused on governmental work, preferably in states who are being hit less by all this or through the feds. healthcare and university spending seems to be ok right now, but they're living on borrowed time. local, city, and county governments are going to be pounded by declining income this coming year and only the most essential maintenance is going to be prioritized. overseas work is going to be hit, outside china and the middle east. europe is definitely going to go through the same financial pain we are.
hunker down, save as much as you can, and do anything you can to go above and beyond at your office. and, if you do get laid off, don't take it personally or feel like it's going to be a black stain on your record. also, this is the time to network like hell within the profession - it may just save your bacon if something happens.
Luckily, my firm does work that covers a pretty diverse range of market sectors (everything from transit and infrastructure to K-12 to higher ed to healthcare to corporate interiors to low-income housing and nonprofit work), so I'm hoping that we'll be spared the worst of the recession. In fact, we're actually short-staffed at the moment and are hiring some new people to keep up with the workload. However, things can turn on a dime, and I'm keeping a nervous eye on the economy.
my firm does work everywhere, and across all sectors... however, layoffs are also dependent on what type of region you are in. we just had layoffs in our Miami office. my boyfriend's firm had layoffs in the Detroit office.
however i have also heard that we are hiring in our office- "looking to expand" is a common word. like LiG, i keep a nervous eye on the economy as well.
it really doesn't seem to matter if it's big, large, international, national... everything can be a factor.
i have received two resumes in my email box in the last week- one from someone i went to architecture school with and another whom i taught. :/
Less about size and more about diversity of projects. Government work, Educational projects, Civic or Institutional work generally get funds when things are slow ie people go back to school etc. But if a large firm or a small firm did nothing but spec building then they both will have issues. I suspect that being an essential part of a small, lean operation will survive, not without some slow periods but being able to keep a few small projects going for a small team and being under staffed is a way better place to be than a place with large overhead and multiple corporate layers.
I've seen it for myself and structured my office to be the same way. Even when we are busy we are under staffed and stressed to get everything done in time and done with a high level of quality. But when things area slower we are still generally busy and don't loose employees. The hard thing when times are tough is losing your key resources and people who make the office money. One can always loose dead weight but good staff people who you've trained are a huge loss, mostly for when things improve or you get a larger commission and you can't deliver effectively. That really hurts, I saw that in the early 90's when I was the only staff member and was the guy who had to do everything, trial by fire but learned a ton over a couple years. I wouldn't say that is was easy but a good life lesson for me personally.
Less about size and more about diversity of projects. Government work, Educational projects, Civic or Institutional work generally get funds when things are slow ie people go back to school etc. But if a large firm or a small firm did nothing but spec building then they both will have issues. I suspect that being an essential part of a small, lean operation will survive, not without some slow periods but being able to keep a few small projects going for a small team and being under staffed is a way better place to be than a place with large overhead and multiple corporate layers.
I've seen it for myself and structured my office to be the same way. Even when we are busy we are under staffed and stressed to get everything done in time and done with a high level of quality. But when things area slower we are still generally busy and don't loose employees. The hard thing when times are tough is losing your key resources and people who make the office money. One can always loose dead weight but good staff people who you've trained are a huge loss, mostly for when things improve or you get a larger commission and you can't deliver effectively. That really hurts, I saw that in the early 90's when I was the only staff member and was the guy who had to do everything, trial by fire but learned a ton over a couple years. I wouldn't say that is was easy but a good life lesson for me personally.
job security, big firm or small firm?
any insight of what type of firms are safer in the current economy? bigger firms or smaller ones?
and if your firm had experienced layoff recently, please post here.... thanks. I've heard Portland market is bad...
i would guess any firm doing international work
But even they can have issues as I was told that HOK cutting a floor out of their Inland Steel address. They were combining their Interiors with Architecture on the same floor. I am sure that someone here knows more than I do. This was last summer or even before that. They do a lot of international work. It's all about specifics firms and the work they have.
well.... looks like career change
i feel like i've said this three hundred times in the last year - no one right now is going to be 'safe' for the next 18 months, no matter what size they are. in spite of the bailout bill, the credit squeeze is going to be painfully severe and we're going to go through a not so pleasant recession over the next 12-24 months. we're paying for the pleasures of '02 to '05.
the firms who will do the best are those who are focused on governmental work, preferably in states who are being hit less by all this or through the feds. healthcare and university spending seems to be ok right now, but they're living on borrowed time. local, city, and county governments are going to be pounded by declining income this coming year and only the most essential maintenance is going to be prioritized. overseas work is going to be hit, outside china and the middle east. europe is definitely going to go through the same financial pain we are.
hunker down, save as much as you can, and do anything you can to go above and beyond at your office. and, if you do get laid off, don't take it personally or feel like it's going to be a black stain on your record. also, this is the time to network like hell within the profession - it may just save your bacon if something happens.
word on the street is that the u.s./mexico/canada will soon to have an amero....
move to china
we cut about 30 % of our people in a year... we do high rise residential and condos
Luckily, my firm does work that covers a pretty diverse range of market sectors (everything from transit and infrastructure to K-12 to higher ed to healthcare to corporate interiors to low-income housing and nonprofit work), so I'm hoping that we'll be spared the worst of the recession. In fact, we're actually short-staffed at the moment and are hiring some new people to keep up with the workload. However, things can turn on a dime, and I'm keeping a nervous eye on the economy.
my firm does work everywhere, and across all sectors... however, layoffs are also dependent on what type of region you are in. we just had layoffs in our Miami office. my boyfriend's firm had layoffs in the Detroit office.
however i have also heard that we are hiring in our office- "looking to expand" is a common word. like LiG, i keep a nervous eye on the economy as well.
it really doesn't seem to matter if it's big, large, international, national... everything can be a factor.
i have received two resumes in my email box in the last week- one from someone i went to architecture school with and another whom i taught. :/
Less about size and more about diversity of projects. Government work, Educational projects, Civic or Institutional work generally get funds when things are slow ie people go back to school etc. But if a large firm or a small firm did nothing but spec building then they both will have issues. I suspect that being an essential part of a small, lean operation will survive, not without some slow periods but being able to keep a few small projects going for a small team and being under staffed is a way better place to be than a place with large overhead and multiple corporate layers.
I've seen it for myself and structured my office to be the same way. Even when we are busy we are under staffed and stressed to get everything done in time and done with a high level of quality. But when things area slower we are still generally busy and don't loose employees. The hard thing when times are tough is losing your key resources and people who make the office money. One can always loose dead weight but good staff people who you've trained are a huge loss, mostly for when things improve or you get a larger commission and you can't deliver effectively. That really hurts, I saw that in the early 90's when I was the only staff member and was the guy who had to do everything, trial by fire but learned a ton over a couple years. I wouldn't say that is was easy but a good life lesson for me personally.
Less about size and more about diversity of projects. Government work, Educational projects, Civic or Institutional work generally get funds when things are slow ie people go back to school etc. But if a large firm or a small firm did nothing but spec building then they both will have issues. I suspect that being an essential part of a small, lean operation will survive, not without some slow periods but being able to keep a few small projects going for a small team and being under staffed is a way better place to be than a place with large overhead and multiple corporate layers.
I've seen it for myself and structured my office to be the same way. Even when we are busy we are under staffed and stressed to get everything done in time and done with a high level of quality. But when things area slower we are still generally busy and don't loose employees. The hard thing when times are tough is losing your key resources and people who make the office money. One can always loose dead weight but good staff people who you've trained are a huge loss, mostly for when things improve or you get a larger commission and you can't deliver effectively. That really hurts, I saw that in the early 90's when I was the only staff member and was the guy who had to do everything, trial by fire but learned a ton over a couple years. I wouldn't say that is was easy but a good life lesson for me personally.
This is insane.
I'm beginning to posts like these everyday.
good luck & long good-buy
how can you best exploit yourself? or be exploited?
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