This post is a fusion of seeking advice on career path, stream of consciousness ranting/raving and critiquing the status quo of the field. I recently graduated and have gotten a job outside of architecture.
My situation: received 4-year B.S. (which to me accurately describes how this degree sounds to most hiring firms) in Architecture from Temple U. I worked briefly (4-6 months) with a sole practitioner doing basically freelance surveying and plans for egress, demo & additions; never reached CDs before studio work in my 4th year took priority (I have never touched a CD file and am aware this is a problem). I interviewed with several small firms in NYC and PHI while trying to facilitate a move to NY with my girlfriend. In the midst of that I had to re-neg on an offer from a small but albeit, boring small residential firm in PHI, while waiting to hear back from Ny interviews.
As it turned out, I ended up getting offered a "fabrication/production assistant" position in a creative merchandising agency that does custom displays, retail build outs and other marketing/advertising. I work about 45-50 hours a week on essentially project management of dozens of small projects and some industrial design 3D solidworks. The team is good and our office has a ping pong table and an arcade console and everything's pretty cool. They grew from 5 ppl to 25 in one year, which I'm well aware is not the type of growth many upstart arch offices would see.
I question the idea of straying rather far outside of a design-oriented job, but at the same time question the role of playing a cog in a bigger arch office, or risking all work/life balance in a small, many-hat role: both yielding roughly the same pay as I have now to begin with (40k, w/o health benefit, promised a raise within 2 years). I also partially feel like in this relatively small startup could have the capacity to branch into more spatial and design heavy projects. But that may not be in their interests.
My main concern : Will I be too far behind the curve to re-enter an architectural practice after 1-2 years of work outside the field? I want to get an M. Arch so I can eventually pursue licensure and start a spatial practice of my own. I just couldn't put the financial burden of grad school on my family immediately after undergrad, and I grew tired of being broke and tired while being an architecture student.
Optimistic Outlook: Maybe this agency will hire an RA and expand their works to include permittable drawings and I could log "AXP" hours. If I'm getting paid more than an intern architect while logging at least some hours, that'd be pretty engaging.
In some research for my old arch theory class, I studied premises of capitalism and the inherent exclusivity of the services of architects in the free market economy. This was part of what divorced me from the certainty of working in a traditional arch offfice, to merely serve the goals of mainly for profit institutions or wealthy individuals.
Acknowledging capitalism as something that's pretty much out of our hands, I almost feel inclined to go all out & get a dual M. Arch/M.S. Real estate degree and start a design/build company geared towards a sector I'm passionate about. I don't feel so compelled to draw CDs for meager wages for the majority of my youth (or adulthood). In the first article linked above, the term "spatial agency" is used, and that sounds appealing as an evolution of the architectural firm.
As opposed to toiling away in the patriarchy and uphill battle of typical practice, or dwindling on doing quasi-spatial, inconsequential projects where I am now, I turn to those who came before me for counsel.
That's where you folks.
What do you folks make of my thoughts on the matter?
Whats the best way around a love-hate relationship with architecture?
Any criticism, questions, feedback, comments, advice on anything I mentioned are happily taken.
Hello Archinect masses,
This post is a fusion of seeking advice on career path, stream of consciousness ranting/raving and critiquing the status quo of the field. I recently graduated and have gotten a job outside of architecture.
My situation: received 4-year B.S. (which to me accurately describes how this degree sounds to most hiring firms) in Architecture from Temple U. I worked briefly (4-6 months) with a sole practitioner doing basically freelance surveying and plans for egress, demo & additions; never reached CDs before studio work in my 4th year took priority (I have never touched a CD file and am aware this is a problem). I interviewed with several small firms in NYC and PHI while trying to facilitate a move to NY with my girlfriend. In the midst of that I had to re-neg on an offer from a small but albeit, boring small residential firm in PHI, while waiting to hear back from Ny interviews.
As it turned out, I ended up getting offered a "fabrication/production assistant" position in a creative merchandising agency that does custom displays, retail build outs and other marketing/advertising. I work about 45-50 hours a week on essentially project management of dozens of small projects and some industrial design 3D solidworks. The team is good and our office has a ping pong table and an arcade console and everything's pretty cool. They grew from 5 ppl to 25 in one year, which I'm well aware is not the type of growth many upstart arch offices would see.
I question the idea of straying rather far outside of a design-oriented job, but at the same time question the role of playing a cog in a bigger arch office, or risking all work/life balance in a small, many-hat role: both yielding roughly the same pay as I have now to begin with (40k, w/o health benefit, promised a raise within 2 years). I also partially feel like in this relatively small startup could have the capacity to branch into more spatial and design heavy projects. But that may not be in their interests.
My main concern :
Will I be too far behind the curve to re-enter an architectural practice after 1-2 years of work outside the field? I want to get an M. Arch so I can eventually pursue licensure and start a spatial practice of my own. I just couldn't put the financial burden of grad school on my family immediately after undergrad, and I grew tired of being broke and tired while being an architecture student.
Optimistic Outlook:
Maybe this agency will hire an RA and expand their works to include permittable drawings and I could log "AXP" hours. If I'm getting paid more than an intern architect while logging at least some hours, that'd be pretty engaging.
Food for thought
www.archdaily.com/118441/what-will-the-architecture-profession-look-like-in-2025.amp
https://www.architectural-review.com/rethink/viewpoints/architecture-is-now-a-tool-of-capital-complicit-in-a-purpose-antithetical-to-its-social-mission/8681564.article
In some research for my old arch theory class, I studied premises of capitalism and the inherent exclusivity of the services of architects in the free market economy. This was part of what divorced me from the certainty of working in a traditional arch offfice, to merely serve the goals of mainly for profit institutions or wealthy individuals.
Acknowledging capitalism as something that's pretty much out of our hands, I almost feel inclined to go all out & get a dual M. Arch/M.S. Real estate degree and start a design/build company geared towards a sector I'm passionate about. I don't feel so compelled to draw CDs for meager wages for the majority of my youth (or adulthood). In the first article linked above, the term "spatial agency" is used, and that sounds appealing as an evolution of the architectural firm.
As opposed to toiling away in the patriarchy and uphill battle of typical practice, or dwindling on doing quasi-spatial, inconsequential projects where I am now, I turn to those who came before me for counsel.
That's where you folks.
What do you folks make of my thoughts on the matter?
Whats the best way around a love-hate relationship with architecture?
Any criticism, questions, feedback, comments, advice on anything I mentioned are happily taken.
tl;dr
What's with the necro thread?
Sorry my bad
didn’t realize it