I'm kind of at a loss as to how to present my portfolio. All of the projects in my portfolio are either studio projects that I redid in Revit or Revit projects that I just created on my own. Here's why.
I worked for about five years after graduating wi an M.Arch from a very good school. I had crippling depression that was under-treated and as a consequence I left each firm under poor circumstances and was not able to not able to advance as much as I wanted. I also have zero references of course. Skip to 2009 and after several years of unemployment I was able to start taking classes for Revit. I'm now working in an unrelated field and want to return to architecture.
So, I have no professional drawings to show what I worked on previously and a portfolio of only academic/"pretend" projects. How do I talk about this in the best light? Should I try to bring a set of "pretend" CDs as well?
mespellrong
May 10, 15 9:32 pm
Wow, that's a really hard experience to live through. I'm sorry you had to do that.
Architecture is a discipline that cannot deal in a professional manner with disability yet. we don't have a connection with health, so we don't have internal advocacy. I wish I could point you to some professional resources to support you, but we really aren't there yet, either.
You could try reaching out to local disability organizations. They might connect you with a local architect who has been working on disability issues for much of his career, and would give you a real hearing. If you asked very nicely, that might be moved to find someone to give you a shot.
sameolddoctor
May 10, 15 11:10 pm
First of all, sorry for your experience, I have no experience in that sphere but know people that do.
Second, why do you want to return to architecture? With you experience, you must surely realize that there is no safety net in this business. Every time you fall off the beaten path, it takes a couple of years to catch back up, and even so you will be faced with intense condescension and insult. Not to mention new software and techniques that the young guns are much better at.
That said if you really want to get back into this cesspool, there is absolutely no shame in creating a set of "pretend" drawings for a project that you might have been involved with, or get back in touch with past colleagues for drawings that you have worked on. As shitty as the biz is, some "people in the trenches" are normally helpful and could be sympathetic.
BackAgain
May 16, 15 6:00 pm
I'll never be able to wrap my head around why being away from practice, for even just a few years, is so derided in this profession. When compared to medicine, for example, the main knowledge set that we provide, construction detailing, changes very little. The content of, say, Building Construction Illustrated really has changed very little over the past twenty years. So why do we assume that if architect leaves and returns that have devolved into a complete imbecile who remembers nothing about designing a building?
I'm kind of at a loss as to how to present my portfolio. All of the projects in my portfolio are either studio projects that I redid in Revit or Revit projects that I just created on my own. Here's why.
I worked for about five years after graduating wi an M.Arch from a very good school. I had crippling depression that was under-treated and as a consequence I left each firm under poor circumstances and was not able to not able to advance as much as I wanted. I also have zero references of course. Skip to 2009 and after several years of unemployment I was able to start taking classes for Revit. I'm now working in an unrelated field and want to return to architecture.
So, I have no professional drawings to show what I worked on previously and a portfolio of only academic/"pretend" projects. How do I talk about this in the best light? Should I try to bring a set of "pretend" CDs as well?
Wow, that's a really hard experience to live through. I'm sorry you had to do that.
Architecture is a discipline that cannot deal in a professional manner with disability yet. we don't have a connection with health, so we don't have internal advocacy. I wish I could point you to some professional resources to support you, but we really aren't there yet, either.
You could try reaching out to local disability organizations. They might connect you with a local architect who has been working on disability issues for much of his career, and would give you a real hearing. If you asked very nicely, that might be moved to find someone to give you a shot.
First of all, sorry for your experience, I have no experience in that sphere but know people that do.
Second, why do you want to return to architecture? With you experience, you must surely realize that there is no safety net in this business. Every time you fall off the beaten path, it takes a couple of years to catch back up, and even so you will be faced with intense condescension and insult. Not to mention new software and techniques that the young guns are much better at.
That said if you really want to get back into this cesspool, there is absolutely no shame in creating a set of "pretend" drawings for a project that you might have been involved with, or get back in touch with past colleagues for drawings that you have worked on. As shitty as the biz is, some "people in the trenches" are normally helpful and could be sympathetic.
I'll never be able to wrap my head around why being away from practice, for even just a few years, is so derided in this profession. When compared to medicine, for example, the main knowledge set that we provide, construction detailing, changes very little. The content of, say, Building Construction Illustrated really has changed very little over the past twenty years. So why do we assume that if architect leaves and returns that have devolved into a complete imbecile who remembers nothing about designing a building?
Its because most architects are shitheads