Do architects really retire? Most of the architects I know work well into their 70's. Does anyone here plan on retiring early? Or are you an architect to the end?
wurdan freo
Jul 30, 18 5:03 pm
I retired immediately after graduation with my MARCH... then i realized I had no income, no pension, basically no assets of any kind... except my student loan.
SneakyPete
Jul 30, 18 6:43 pm
I have known retired architects. They putter around the house or community doing design work for free.
mightyaa
Jul 30, 18 6:58 pm
My Dad (architect and structural engineer) 'officially' retired around 65. That really means he just started doing desk 'drive by's' from 65-70 and still worked probably about 40 hours a month in spurts; like a solid work week then disappear for a few weeks. Basically, he became my employee on retainer as part of the ownership transition and was allowed to pick and choose what he wanted to be involved with or not.
Even now, at 77, he takes on odd jobs for acquaintances and it seems like he's always messing around with his own house; Currently getting a new deck configuration. A few years ago, it was a small poptop for a large walk-in closet. He's also travels a ton, and we giggle since all his photos are typically of buildings and details.
So you never really retire, you just sort of cut back hours and stop getting paychecks :P
quizzical
Jul 30, 18 7:20 pm
I retired a few years back at age 64. Many of my friends and colleagues thought I was nuts to do so and they all said that I'd be terminally bored. However, I'm quite happy with my current situation and have zero regrets.
Initially, I thought I'd dabble in various professional activities off-and-on going forward, but I never really did. For the first time in my adult life I've had free time to pursue my other interests in life. I get LOTS of exercise, happily am healthy (knock wood) and travel quite a lot. I read whatever interests me and have plenty of time to do so. I have a few hobbies that receive much more time than ever was possible when I was working. I greatly enjoy the increased amounts of time I can spend with my friends and family.
I highly recommend the concept of retirement and think it's important that senior professionals get the hell out of the way of the 'young turks' that seem to populate most firms.
However, retirement doesn't 'just happen' -- it takes serious preparation and careful planning. You have to lay the economic foundation for retirement at an early age and diligently strengthen that foundation each and every year.
I'm inclined to believe that many, if not most, of those aging architects who keep working into their 70s and 80s do so not because they truly enjoy what they're doing but because they don't have the economic flexibility to do otherwise.
geezertect
Jul 31, 18 7:29 am
^ That's pretty much my story. The only thing I miss is the Dream, but it died a long, long time before I retired. And I definitely don't miss the bullshit of practice, which seems to be getting worse and worse if comments on this website are any indication. And, don't get me started on how constant software
changes suck the oxygen out of the air that should be going into - ya know- BUILDINGS.
SneakyPete
Jul 31, 18 11:56 am
geezer, I get sad every time I see someone using Revit to make life harder instead of making the tedious parts of the project easier in order to free up time for other things. I would imagine it was a similar story when CAD came around. We can do the horribly boring shit quicker? Great, now we can cut our fee AND increase our schedule...and retain the stress level as well as the same circular design arguments...
Edited to add: Sub out Revit for any software intended to increase productivity and lower errors and instead just serves to increase workload due to a lack of self control...
Non Sequitur
Jul 30, 18 7:55 pm
Does death count as retirement?
Miles Jaffe
Jul 30, 18 8:03 pm
Death is the definition of retirement.
zonker
Jul 30, 18 7:59 pm
my father, a structural engineer sort of retired at 93, still writes structural analysis software though
archanonymous
Jul 30, 18 8:34 pm
am planning on and sort of on track to retire early. If i do well, would be around 40, if things go a bit sideways I'm hoping by 55 at the latest.
BR.TN
Jul 31, 18 11:08 am
the best architects never retire. if you're creative, and you're good at what you do, in ANY industry, you should continue to create until you're no longer good at it.
my 401k and Roth IRA's are not really retirement funds for me. rather, they will be hefty sums of cash that I can pull from and reinvest into my firm at 65 years old.
sameolddoctor
Jul 31, 18 1:58 pm
Great. Reminds me of the joke:
"What did the architect do when (s)he won the lottery?
(S)he decided to keep working till all the lottery winnings were all blown up"
Moral: Dont be stupid, keep your retirement money for emergencies and to enjoy life.
Do architects really retire? Most of the architects I know work well into their 70's. Does anyone here plan on retiring early? Or are you an architect to the end?
I retired immediately after graduation with my MARCH... then i realized I had no income, no pension, basically no assets of any kind... except my student loan.
I have known retired architects. They putter around the house or community doing design work for free.
My Dad (architect and structural engineer) 'officially' retired around 65. That really means he just started doing desk 'drive by's' from 65-70 and still worked probably about 40 hours a month in spurts; like a solid work week then disappear for a few weeks. Basically, he became my employee on retainer as part of the ownership transition and was allowed to pick and choose what he wanted to be involved with or not.
Even now, at 77, he takes on odd jobs for acquaintances and it seems like he's always messing around with his own house; Currently getting a new deck configuration. A few years ago, it was a small poptop for a large walk-in closet. He's also travels a ton, and we giggle since all his photos are typically of buildings and details.
So you never really retire, you just sort of cut back hours and stop getting paychecks :P
I retired a few years back at age 64. Many of my friends and colleagues thought I was nuts to do so and they all said that I'd be terminally bored. However, I'm quite happy with my current situation and have zero regrets.
Initially, I thought I'd dabble in various professional activities off-and-on going forward, but I never really did. For the first time in my adult life I've had free time to pursue my other interests in life. I get LOTS of exercise, happily am healthy (knock wood) and travel quite a lot. I read whatever interests me and have plenty of time to do so. I have a few hobbies that receive much more time than ever was possible when I was working. I greatly enjoy the increased amounts of time I can spend with my friends and family.
I highly recommend the concept of retirement and think it's important that senior professionals get the hell out of the way of the 'young turks' that seem to populate most firms.
However, retirement doesn't 'just happen' -- it takes serious preparation and careful planning. You have to lay the economic foundation for retirement at an early age and diligently strengthen that foundation each and every year.
I'm inclined to believe that many, if not most, of those aging architects who keep working into their 70s and 80s do so not because they truly enjoy what they're doing but because they don't have the economic flexibility to do otherwise.
^ That's pretty much my story. The only thing I miss is the Dream, but it died a long, long time before I retired. And I definitely don't miss the bullshit of practice, which seems to be getting worse and worse if comments on this website are any indication. And, don't get me started on how constant software changes suck the oxygen out of the air that should be going into - ya know- BUILDINGS.
geezer, I get sad every time I see someone using Revit to make life harder instead of making the tedious parts of the project easier in order to free up time for other things. I would imagine it was a similar story when CAD came around. We can do the horribly boring shit quicker? Great, now we can cut our fee AND increase our schedule...and retain the stress level as well as the same circular design arguments...
Edited to add: Sub out Revit for any software intended to increase productivity and lower errors and instead just serves to increase workload due to a lack of self control...
Does death count as retirement?
Death is the definition of retirement.
my father, a structural engineer sort of retired at 93, still writes structural analysis software though
am planning on and sort of on track to retire early. If i do well, would be around 40, if things go a bit sideways I'm hoping by 55 at the latest.
the best architects never retire. if you're creative, and you're good at what you do, in ANY industry, you should continue to create until you're no longer good at it.
my 401k and Roth IRA's are not really retirement funds for me. rather, they will be hefty sums of cash that I can pull from and reinvest into my firm at 65 years old.
Great. Reminds me of the joke:
"What did the architect do when (s)he won the lottery?
(S)he decided to keep working till all the lottery winnings were all blown up"
Moral: Dont be stupid, keep your retirement money for emergencies and to enjoy life.