I have been trying to search info the past two weeks but with little/no success.
I have recently graduated from B.Arch(3.5yrs). I have been working freelance on several projects both design and technical for half a year now.
So i have a gap year ahead. I still need to do masters(dont know where) but before i decided to work r do some related volunteer work.
In this forum i didnt come with anything util. Has any of u guys done volunteering related to architecture/construction, maybe participated in some workshop in Africa or places where undergrads can have some hands on experience. I wouldn't mind also sitting in an office and doing technical drawings, but i think this break is a good chance to travel a bit and have a different experience. The programs i have discovered so far are asking ridiculously high participation fees, that i cannot afford right now.
Next year will have to start giving back also the loan and money would be useful.
Maybe I am walking a little in the clouds. but my dream to travel and understand the word we live in is so big that i would be ready to take the risk.
Is here any crazy like-minded person around that could suggest me something or on the contrary make me accept the sad realty of never-eding slavery in architecture office.
What would be more appreciated in the office/future school.
Thank you, Krisitne.
kickrocks
Jun 24, 15 3:06 pm
It's a job. You will be stuck in the same situation anywhere. Adulthood is all about accepting it or taking the risk to be your own boss but even then, it's not much different except for perhaps the ability to arrive late with impunity. You don't sound like a trust fund kid so a desk job will be most of your life until something drastic happens.
If you want to travel, go on your own. There's a lot of cheap ways to end up in places and it's not like you need to stay in nice hotels to understand culture. You're better off wandering around instead of bemoaning the lost opportunity. Plenty of places in your own country that need helping hands, don't perpetuate the savior complex.
midlander
Jun 24, 15 9:46 pm
you seem totally disoriented. why do you need to get an m.arch? why do you want to if you dread the thought of 'never-ending slavery in an architecture office'? and why are you talking about volunteering if you need money?
the world is too big to understand and too problematic to be fixed by one person. find something you like doing or want to be good at and just do that, see where it leads you.
Bench
Jun 24, 15 10:15 pm
Its a bot post for the loan thing. Let it die.
kristinelv
Jun 25, 15 6:44 am
@milander when u put it like that it seems ridiculous. I don't even know if i want to do m.arch yet. I like many things except architecture and i thought if i tired smth different maybe i would get my answers.
geezertect
Jun 25, 15 7:54 am
^ Don't go into debt and waste two years just because you "want to try something different".
kristinelv
Jun 25, 15 8:16 am
I am only 22 yrs old. Dont i have a whole life to do ordinary things??
midlander
Jun 25, 15 10:10 am
that's young enough then that you can be expected not to realize that ordinary things are actually the best part of life ;)
i'm quite entirely sincere in saying that.
maybe you would benefit from an extended trip abroad. as it seems english isnt your first language, not sure where you are so cant recommend where to go. volunteering is fine, but anything that gets you out of your habits and comfort will give you a chance to see life with some perspective. set yourself a time limit though and plan to return home when you're done. that will force you to have some focus and make a plan that helps you move forward with life.
kristinelv
Jun 25, 15 10:28 am
@midlander Currently i am in latvia. In two weeks i am going to portugal/spain. I am gonna spend there a month. I was thinking to look for job there but it seems waste of time knowing that there is a big unemployment. I am looking for a place to move for life(maybe not life but some years). And being around there i was thinking to find some workshops or volunteering to extend my staying. I dont want to stay in latvia. English is not a probelm for me, neither spanish :) i need to decide where to go, where is bigger possibility to find a job with the languages i know and little experience i have.
kickrocks
Jun 25, 15 2:32 pm
You should travel. And see people living ordinary lives perfectly content with their situation.
Don't make any big decisions yet, you will certainly regret it. Wait a few years until that last part of your brain fully matures and things start clicking. If you want to escape home, go somewhere and find some basic work. Volunteering won't last long and you'll need money. Unless a 2-month summer trip is what you intended.
A lot of people have an internal conflict with their homeland. I only hope that you find that whatever you're feeling right now is misguided and a product of the current times.
kristinelv
Jun 25, 15 3:00 pm
Last two years i have travelled a lot, spent a year in spain. I know that what disturbs me is latvia. It is a nice country to see but the economics and people are quite negative. When i came back now 9 months here i find myself only between foreigners. I simply need that multicultural environment. Latvians are closed-mined society and i dont feel like one of them, i don't fit here, also the job is underpaid although i earn double of minimum by doing nothing basically. For now two months i think is max i can afford.
Which countries could be good to search for job? should i apply for internships or junior architect or technician position?
Basic job u mean what @kickrocks?
kickrocks
Jun 25, 15 3:20 pm
That's the thing I was talking about, judging your homeland based on current times. You're free to hold a grudge against it (I hold one against my birth country) but it's a youthful rebellion and lack of understanding kind. What I hope is that in time, you'll come to at least accept the country and be less critical of the people and seemingly slower backwards ways of life. It takes time to truly understand culture and its residents. Just because a cosmopolitan city feels vibrant and diverse doesn't mean its native ideas share the same progressive outlook.
Basic job is like anything you can do without a degree. Jobs to get by, enough to pay rent and food and allow you to continue to be away.
kristinelv
Jun 25, 15 4:37 pm
I dont hold a grudge. It is just boring for me. I am just that kind of person.. maybe a week or two dould be nice around latvians but more makes me extremely bored. I know everything here. There is nothing new. The only people that appropriate what we have here are foreigners and even they say it is a weird country with old thinking and traditions.Where are u staying by the way? @kickrocks? South on contrary s very interesting and has a climate that is perfect for me. If i do basic job, it doesn't improve my portfolio in any way!
I have been trying to search info the past two weeks but with little/no success.
I have recently graduated from B.Arch(3.5yrs). I have been working freelance on several projects both design and technical for half a year now.
So i have a gap year ahead. I still need to do masters(dont know where) but before i decided to work r do some related volunteer work.
In this forum i didnt come with anything util. Has any of u guys done volunteering related to architecture/construction, maybe participated in some workshop in Africa or places where undergrads can have some hands on experience. I wouldn't mind also sitting in an office and doing technical drawings, but i think this break is a good chance to travel a bit and have a different experience. The programs i have discovered so far are asking ridiculously high participation fees, that i cannot afford right now.
Next year will have to start giving back also the loan and money
would be useful.
Maybe I am walking a little in the clouds. but my dream to travel and understand the word we live in is so big that i would be ready to take the risk.
Is here any crazy like-minded person around that could suggest me something or on the contrary make me accept the sad realty of never-eding slavery in architecture office.
What would be more appreciated in the office/future school.
Thank you, Krisitne.
It's a job. You will be stuck in the same situation anywhere. Adulthood is all about accepting it or taking the risk to be your own boss but even then, it's not much different except for perhaps the ability to arrive late with impunity. You don't sound like a trust fund kid so a desk job will be most of your life until something drastic happens.
If you want to travel, go on your own. There's a lot of cheap ways to end up in places and it's not like you need to stay in nice hotels to understand culture. You're better off wandering around instead of bemoaning the lost opportunity. Plenty of places in your own country that need helping hands, don't perpetuate the savior complex.
you seem totally disoriented. why do you need to get an m.arch? why do you want to if you dread the thought of 'never-ending slavery in an architecture office'? and why are you talking about volunteering if you need money?
the world is too big to understand and too problematic to be fixed by one person. find something you like doing or want to be good at and just do that, see where it leads you.
Its a bot post for the loan thing. Let it die.
@milander when u put it like that it seems ridiculous. I don't even know if i want to do m.arch yet. I like many things except architecture and i thought if i tired smth different maybe i would get my answers.
^ Don't go into debt and waste two years just because you "want to try something different".
I am only 22 yrs old. Dont i have a whole life to do ordinary things??
that's young enough then that you can be expected not to realize that ordinary things are actually the best part of life ;)
i'm quite entirely sincere in saying that.
maybe you would benefit from an extended trip abroad. as it seems english isnt your first language, not sure where you are so cant recommend where to go. volunteering is fine, but anything that gets you out of your habits and comfort will give you a chance to see life with some perspective. set yourself a time limit though and plan to return home when you're done. that will force you to have some focus and make a plan that helps you move forward with life.
@midlander Currently i am in latvia. In two weeks i am going to portugal/spain. I am gonna spend there a month. I was thinking to look for job there but it seems waste of time knowing that there is a big unemployment. I am looking for a place to move for life(maybe not life but some years). And being around there i was thinking to find some workshops or volunteering to extend my staying. I dont want to stay in latvia. English is not a probelm for me, neither spanish :) i need to decide where to go, where is bigger possibility to find a job with the languages i know and little experience i have.
You should travel. And see people living ordinary lives perfectly content with their situation.
Don't make any big decisions yet, you will certainly regret it. Wait a few years until that last part of your brain fully matures and things start clicking. If you want to escape home, go somewhere and find some basic work. Volunteering won't last long and you'll need money. Unless a 2-month summer trip is what you intended.
A lot of people have an internal conflict with their homeland. I only hope that you find that whatever you're feeling right now is misguided and a product of the current times.
Last two years i have travelled a lot, spent a year in spain. I know that what disturbs me is latvia. It is a nice country to see but the economics and people are quite negative. When i came back now 9 months here i find myself only between foreigners. I simply need that multicultural environment. Latvians are closed-mined society and i dont feel like one of them, i don't fit here, also the job is underpaid although i earn double of minimum by doing nothing basically. For now two months i think is max i can afford.
Which countries could be good to search for job? should i apply for internships or junior architect or technician position?
Basic job u mean what @kickrocks?
That's the thing I was talking about, judging your homeland based on current times. You're free to hold a grudge against it (I hold one against my birth country) but it's a youthful rebellion and lack of understanding kind. What I hope is that in time, you'll come to at least accept the country and be less critical of the people and seemingly slower backwards ways of life. It takes time to truly understand culture and its residents. Just because a cosmopolitan city feels vibrant and diverse doesn't mean its native ideas share the same progressive outlook.
Basic job is like anything you can do without a degree. Jobs to get by, enough to pay rent and food and allow you to continue to be away.
I dont hold a grudge. It is just boring for me. I am just that kind of person.. maybe a week or two dould be nice around latvians but more makes me extremely bored. I know everything here. There is nothing new. The only people that appropriate what we have here are foreigners and even they say it is a weird country with old thinking and traditions.Where are u staying by the way? @kickrocks? South on contrary s very interesting and has a climate that is perfect for me. If i do basic job, it doesn't improve my portfolio in any way!