Hi I'm new here, looking for advice for college life
I am 22, studing architecture here in Brazil , second year of college, and I'm passing through very depressing/stressfull time.
I am at my limit and very disappointed with the reasons that made me begin architecture( like a lot of you I wanted help people, be creative, create, etc), but i just see myself with less and less time each semester, getting fatter and stressed, doing nothing more than sit in front of autocad all day. And I noticed that more than my love for archtecture , I love my time and how and with who I use it.
When I talk to my friends, they make me think that I am the problem, they tell to look for therapy and would be normal if I take some pills to relax OR that I need to go to my limit. But I see that they don't eat, don't sleep, they cry after classes, some had ulcer, yesterday they said they also hate everything they are doing but the important is just pass. So I doubt if I am really the problem or I see things that they don't want to see/accept.
Sometimes I think I just too nonconformist for the career of an architect
So, inside me I still like architecture, but I don't want see me falling in a vortex of acceptance, full of antidepressants and do the same of the same for the next 30-50 years, like I see some friends will, cause they are always pushing their limits
So:
1- How did dealed with time at college? Did were able to do things like sports, learn things like other languages, code, etc. Cause at my college I feel like they suck all our time and and teach us more like a process of indoctrination
2- Would be a good idea, change plans for "career" now?
3- How did you were able to deal with the "toxic"/"negative energies" from college or work where everyone looks like had mental problems caused by college.
Note 1: Sorry for the long post
Note 2: Sorry for grammar mistakes.
Note 3: Sorry if I broke any rule for posting, how I said new here
archinine
Jul 15, 17 3:28 pm
A post like this surfaces pretty frequently. Search the archives and you will find you're hardly alone. My advice is typically, if you dislike it this much at the beginning of schooling why put yourself through a lifetime of misery? School should be a more enjoyable period as you have the most freedom you'll ever have with architecture (e.g. No budget, no boss, no client).
For the record most white collar/service jobs involve sitting staring clicking at a computer - it sucks.
geezertect
Jul 16, 17 5:28 pm
Architecture is really not a "helping" profession. Your clients are the rich because they are the only ones who commission buildings to be built. And they really don't need much help. They are pretty good at helping themselves. And as for creativity, most buildings are just drab enclosures of space that will serve a purpose for a time and then be replaced due to obsolescence or a better use for the land.
Do a gut check to see if the reasons you wanted to be an architect are valid for you. If they are, then be assured most architects don't live in the kind of mental misery that you describe. It's just a job, not a religion. The profession is poorly paid, unstable, and has a somewhat cloudy future. It's not the best thing you can do with your life, but it's not the worst either. Repeat: It's just a job.
thisisnotmyname
Jul 20, 17 1:56 pm
Spend some time in the office of a practicing architect and see if architecture is something you really want to do.
I'm in the USA, so I can't speak specifically about Brazil, but school and the profession are very different.
mightyaa
Jul 20, 17 2:40 pm
Set aside time for yourself doing things you enjoy. It's something I learned in my third year. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, by blowing off studio and going out with friends / girlfriends, I found my grades shot up, my designs got better, critiques were more palatable. etc. And from that I learned not to stress as much about the program and start enjoying college/life. By my 5th year, I was working weekends at the bar, taking weekend trips with friends, etc. without that sense of dread of a approaching deadline.
geezertect
Jul 20, 17 6:05 pm
Taking time to enjoy yourself??? Outrageous. How will you prove that you love Mother Architecture with all your heart and soul?
randomised
Jul 21, 17 1:05 am
1. Spending more time on a project doesn't always make it better. Manage your time to include things not related to architecture and go exercise and sleep properly.
There's also no shame in failing a class or repeating it(20 20 hindsight)
Be more efficient, don't do CAD but BIM, so you're not redrawing all the time and have time for other things like sleep, make models, exercise or eating proper meals.
2. And do what? If you know of an alternative already, why are you still torturing yourself? "Run, Fat Boy, Run!"
3. I took my time, repeated some classes I failed or skipped to work on my design projects, I worked abroad and traveled.
Hi I'm new here, looking for advice for college life
I am 22, studing architecture here in Brazil , second year of college, and I'm passing through very depressing/stressfull time.
I am at my limit and very disappointed with the reasons that made me begin architecture( like a lot of you I wanted help people, be creative, create, etc), but i just see myself with less and less time each semester, getting fatter and stressed, doing nothing more than sit in front of autocad all day. And I noticed that more than my love for archtecture , I love my time and how and with who I use it.
When I talk to my friends, they make me think that I am the problem, they tell to look for therapy and would be normal if I take some pills to relax OR that I need to go to my limit. But I see that they don't eat, don't sleep, they cry after classes, some had ulcer, yesterday they said they also hate everything they are doing but the important is just pass. So I doubt if I am really the problem or I see things that they don't want to see/accept.
Sometimes I think I just too nonconformist for the career of an architect
So, inside me I still like architecture, but I don't want see me falling in a vortex of acceptance, full of antidepressants and do the same of the same for the next 30-50 years, like I see some friends will, cause they are always pushing their limits
So:
1- How did dealed with time at college? Did were able to do things like sports, learn things like other languages, code, etc. Cause at my college I feel like they suck all our time and and teach us more like a process of indoctrination
2- Would be a good idea, change plans for "career" now?
3- How did you were able to deal with the "toxic"/"negative energies" from college or work where everyone looks like had mental problems caused by college.
Note 1: Sorry for the long post
Note 2: Sorry for grammar mistakes.
Note 3: Sorry if I broke any rule for posting, how I said new here
A post like this surfaces pretty frequently. Search the archives and you will find you're hardly alone. My advice is typically, if you dislike it this much at the beginning of schooling why put yourself through a lifetime of misery? School should be a more enjoyable period as you have the most freedom you'll ever have with architecture (e.g. No budget, no boss, no client).
For the record most white collar/service jobs involve sitting staring clicking at a computer - it sucks.
Architecture is really not a "helping" profession. Your clients are the rich because they are the only ones who commission buildings to be built. And they really don't need much help. They are pretty good at helping themselves. And as for creativity, most buildings are just drab enclosures of space that will serve a purpose for a time and then be replaced due to obsolescence or a better use for the land.
Do a gut check to see if the reasons you wanted to be an architect are valid for you. If they are, then be assured most architects don't live in the kind of mental misery that you describe. It's just a job, not a religion. The profession is poorly paid, unstable, and has a somewhat cloudy future. It's not the best thing you can do with your life, but it's not the worst either. Repeat: It's just a job.
Spend some time in the office of a practicing architect and see if architecture is something you really want to do.
I'm in the USA, so I can't speak specifically about Brazil, but school and the profession are very different.
Set aside time for yourself doing things you enjoy. It's something I learned in my third year. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, by blowing off studio and going out with friends / girlfriends, I found my grades shot up, my designs got better, critiques were more palatable. etc. And from that I learned not to stress as much about the program and start enjoying college/life. By my 5th year, I was working weekends at the bar, taking weekend trips with friends, etc. without that sense of dread of a approaching deadline.
Taking time to enjoy yourself??? Outrageous. How will you prove that you love Mother Architecture with all your heart and soul?
1. Spending more time on a project doesn't always make it better. Manage your time to include things not related to architecture and go exercise and sleep properly.
There's also no shame in failing a class or repeating it(20 20 hindsight)
Be more efficient, don't do CAD but BIM, so you're not redrawing all the time and have time for other things like sleep, make models, exercise or eating proper meals.
2. And do what? If you know of an alternative already, why are you still torturing yourself? "Run, Fat Boy, Run!"
3. I took my time, repeated some classes I failed or skipped to work on my design projects, I worked abroad and traveled.