I don't regret it at all. I can't imagine doing anything else.

why did you post this question three times?

Registered, self-employed, in practice for over 15 years. There's nothing I'd rather do when I get out of bed every morning than architecture.

That said, I never waste time wondering "What might have happened if..." because the answer is totally unknowable. If you are the kind of person who makes a decision then spends the 20 days, weeks, years wondering if it was the right decision then it doesn't really matter what choice you make. Just commit to altering your life course every few years and enjoy the changing landscape. Lots of people do lots of different things over the years; no one says you have to make a decision and stay there forever.

talkitect, i posted it three times to increase the chances of obtaining sufficient responses

liberty bell, i realize that, and i am likely to be one of those ppl who change careers every now and then due to what i call "long-term ADD". but i just want to make a good start as early as possible, when i am still young and fresh and juicy

btw, the 3 times i posted it, it was posted in different forums (academia, professional, and general). i thought these 3 forums would be the best to ask it in. in any case, the 2 copies seem to have been deleted it.

*deleted

listen to lb's words of wisdom. My career is absolutely nothing like what I though it would be, for the better. I am a business owner, co-owner of another business and love it. The rules are meant to be broken! You can shape your career, just be flexible and roll with the punches that life (and architecture) will inevitably throw at you.

I have no regrets on my choice to pursue architecture (2 degrees in arch), BUT:

- I would have gotten the MBA/MArch combo from Columbia, or at least made my own combo degree.

Business knowledge is just good to have, even just the basic basics.

jizzy - some of us view it the old fashioned way - all posts in chronological order (the link I use to get here). I never look at the categories.

i don't regret it, it's just that i was never any good at it

yes/no

there are some things i like about architecture, but then there's alot of things i hate about the field.

to each his/her own though. the process to make things happen in architecture is just tooo long for me. i'm the type to do it and get it out the door asap. the more time you spend looking at stuff, the more time you have to change things and screw everything up.

I've been doing this a really long time and have had many opportunities to ponder this question. Some days I might say "yes" - most days I wouild say "no".

Like every line of work, Architecture has its ups and downs. In the end, you have to decide what you want from your professional life.

I left the profession for abouut ten years to do real estate. That was fun for a while and I made a good living. But, even RE has its ups and downs.

I left RE during an economic downturn similar to this one - it just wasn't fun any more. Besides, I wanted to return to practice and spend my days with other designers, working on projects. I could have made a lot more money had I stayed in RE. However, I would not have been happy.

As it happened, I've still had what most of you here would consider a successful career in architecture. I'm a principal of a successful firm, I've raised and educated several children, I've prepared myself for eventual retirement and our firm does great work for some great clients.

On balance, knowing what I know today, I doubt I would change many major decisions if I had the chance to do it again. But, of course, I'll never have that chance.

If you want to be at the top of your field, no line of work is easy. What we all have to decide for ourselves is whether we have the determination, flexibility, interest and stamina to stick with it long enough to be successful. This is not a get-rich-quick line of work and there are no "easy buttons" - you have to work for and earn success.

Most here have the requisite brains to suceed as architects - the real question is whether you have the necessary determination, patience and stamina.

architecture as a profession is big enough and varied enough that if you really don't like what you're doing you can different things, somewhere else, a different way, etc and still be in architecture.

you may have to make some hard decisions about location, family, and $$$, of course...

Ya, I wish I could have been and Astronaut. You know fly around in outer space, drive fast cars, and have crazy women astronauts chasing me around. It sounds so much more fun than being an Architect. Problem is I would have never passed the vision part of the exam.

I've never heard anyone say that an initial architecture degree or career somehow restricted their future opportunties. Sometimes I fantasize about being an environmental engineer though. Just sayin'....

I only regret some things I post on archinect...