Just wanted to ask every one of you about an idea that I have... I would like to know how feasible you guys think it is and maybe you guys can give me any tips to move forward.
I have a M. Arch and I just recently finished my AXP hours. So, I am able to begin taking the ARE to become a licensed architect, which I will do in the near future.
I have worked at several architecture firms and I realized that I am not a great employee. I can be diligent and creative when I want to but unless I have some direct interest in the project (either ownership or a close relationship to the client) I quickly become bored of the tasks I am given. Moreover, the ratio of stress to compensation while working under somebody else is usually not good enough in my opinion.
Therefore, in the past few years I have been studying computer science online and I recently obtained a B.S. in C.S. I have also been freelancing on my free time in order to build up some confidence and experience in programming. Now, that I have finished my AXP hours and also have experience programming I feel that I am ready to begin applying for entry level programming jobs.
I know that 'learn to code' has become a well known meme on the internet and that I would work under someone else anyway and that the conditions are similar... tight deadlines, sitting at a computer all day, dealing with pushy managers. However, the stress to compensation ratio seems much better than in architecture.
This brings me to the final idea I have. I would like to proceed to study for my ARE exams to obtain my license while at the same time working as a software engineer. As my software engineering salary increases I would like to use that money and architecture license to invest in my own architecture/real estate development projects and work on them on my free time. I would be willing to work with other partners as well. Hopefully one day after a lot of work the architecture/real estate venture would become profitable enough that I could jump into it full time.
I know that this idea would require years of hard work, lots of sweat and stress, and a lot of money but so could working for somebody else (client or boss) This idea seems like a better existence to me.
Please guys, give me some advice and or criticism. I am still young, and as wise as I have become I am not perfect...
Let me know what you think,
Thanks!
SneakyPete
Aug 18, 21 12:28 pm
You're going to need to have a long talk with your conscience, because tech and data driven development is, at best, morally problematic.
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 12:31 pm
Pete,
I am not 100% sure what you bean by 'tech and data driven development.'
If you meant 'tech and data driven [real estate] development, then I am not sure where you got that from. It is not my intention to create software for real estate development. My only intention is to use the high salary of a software engineer and my architecture license to invest into real estate development projects (as in constructing real life buildings)
Pardon me if I was confusing in the original post.
Chad Miller
Aug 18, 21 12:31 pm
How so Sneaky? I'm not familiar with tech and data driven development.
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 12:48 pm
Chad,
Although he misunderstood my post, what I think he meant is 'data driven decisions.' Which is an interesting topic in itself.
Since I have been studying computer science i have been presented with many cases studies wherein data was biased. Leading people and or artificial intelligence software to wrong conclusion. This may occur because our data collection tools are created by biased human beings.
cris, thanks for the clarification. You hit the high points of what I was ineloquently getting at.
atelier nobody
Aug 18, 21 1:11 pm
A dual-track career can be done, but I doubt it'll be easy (if it were easy, a lot more people would be doing it). Only you can decide if the challenges involved in this path are a better choice for you than the challenges you've discovered in a more traditional architectural career path.
I've personally thought a lot about going for a PhD in an unrelated field and ultimately splitting my career between architecture and academia, but (at least for now) determined I'm way to lazy to make this work.
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 1:19 pm
Yeah, you are definitely right. I know something like this will be difficult. Though, hipothetically the juice seems worth the squeeze. I just know I will not be able to thrive if I do not have direct interest (ownership) in my projects.
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 1:31 pm
What would you do a PhD in?
atelier nobody
Aug 18, 21 3:35 pm
I'm very interested in the intersection of philosophy and the social sciences, so if I were to go back to school it would most likely be in philosophy with lots of additional coursework in sociology, economics, and political science.
Wood Guy
Aug 19, 21 9:19 am
Atelier, that sounds pretty fascinating, and not that far removed from architecture. In fact they seem pretty closely related to me, at least on a theoretical level. That said, I just reconnected with my college girlfriend (as friends). She's a PhD philosophy major and super smart, but has not been able to find a tenured position, so she works part-time as a babysitter in the Bay area. And part-time as adjunct faculty at the local college.
randomised
Aug 18, 21 1:28 pm
seems like you have a clear plan, you must hate sleep...
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 1:38 pm
It becomes less abstract as I move forwards, and haha no I love sleeping. It's just that I am happier when I am learning and creating things with my own principles and ideas. But I do wish I got some more sleep.
Do you see any blind spots in this idea?
randomised
Aug 18, 21 2:30 pm
The only blind spot I see in your idea is life itself but that shouldn’t stop you...
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 1:38 pm
shellarchitect
Aug 18, 21 2:13 pm
It seems to me that if you try to pursue two very different professions at the same time you will probably end up being bad at both. I suspect that currently you don't know enough to realize how much there is to learn in architecture. Chose one and excel at it.
I suggest choosing software and making enough money to hire others at a later date.
crisprods
Aug 18, 21 2:28 pm
Yeah, I have a the same concern as I may be spreading myself too thin.
,,,,
Aug 18, 21 9:51 pm
I combined 3 different disciplines (art, experimental psychology and architecture). You might be able to do it in 2 weeks. It took me 30 years. If you are going to do this I would get the architecture license first. Then make a real business plan to see if what you imagine has a reality to it.
,,,,
Aug 18, 21 10:09 pm
Like everyone else has said. I don't recommend it. There is more to life.
eaglevizion
Jun 14, 23 11:21 am
I have exactly the same vision which brought me here, but I am starting my M.Arch and I am already learning to code and taking some online classes in Software engineering. Also, I already completed my AXP hours and would later start investing in real estate. I believe it is doable. Will be happy to get some insight from you. Thank you
Volunteer
Jun 21, 23 6:32 am
No, no, and no.
Several years ago the Navy took some flight surgeons who wanted to get their pilot's license. - their "Navy Wings of Gold". What they got was a group of pilots that weren't very good at flying and were not that good at being a physician either.
monosierra
Jun 21, 23 9:46 am
You could work for McNeel or a specialist contractor, especially in the building envelope sector - where in-house software development could be very useful in delivering complex projects.
x-jla
Jun 21, 23 2:31 pm
working as a licensed architect and unlicensed “software architect” has terrible consequences. The combination will cause Rick B to crash the internets with posts. The collapse of the internets will cause an economic disaster like no other…starvation…bank runs…lgangs of 80’s cannibal punks.
Chad Miller
Jun 21, 23 4:24 pm
Shhh you fool! You will awaken the verbose beast!
Richard Balkins
Jun 21, 23 7:18 pm
It is better for work-life balance to live one complete life with one profession at a time than living two incomplete half-ass life, half-assing both professions. If you can dedicate 80 to 120 hours a week to each, fine. Is it feasible? Most likely not but it can be technically doable. You'll most likely be limiting how many projects of each profession. Big point: TIME MANAGEMENT.
Succinctly said.
The way you are going about it, I'd say, is highly unlikely. If you are looking at employment in both professions, you are looking at two full-time jobs. Each, occasionally with overtime, may cause trouble for you in both jobs.
Le Courvoisier
Jun 21, 23 11:27 pm
Dammit x-jla
Although, agree with Rick. Two jobs that both tend to have overtime? That’s a no from my dawg
Richard Balkins
Jun 21, 23 11:51 pm
Just wanted to be both succinct and yet credibly thorough enough to answer the original post. I want to also be realistic. The OP should do his or her in-depth research on those two professions to understand what is involved in day-to-day life and the workload for each of those professions.
Richard Balkins
Jun 22, 23 10:20 pm
My point also stands applicable to eaglevizion's question(s) which is essentially the same. Therefore my points also apply to eaglevizion's inquiry.
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to ask every one of you about an idea that I have... I would like to know how feasible you guys think it is and maybe you guys can give me any tips to move forward.
I have a M. Arch and I just recently finished my AXP hours. So, I am able to begin taking the ARE to become a licensed architect, which I will do in the near future.
I have worked at several architecture firms and I realized that I am not a great employee. I can be diligent and creative when I want to but unless I have some direct interest in the project (either ownership or a close relationship to the client) I quickly become bored of the tasks I am given. Moreover, the ratio of stress to compensation while working under somebody else is usually not good enough in my opinion.
Therefore, in the past few years I have been studying computer science online and I recently obtained a B.S. in C.S. I have also been freelancing on my free time in order to build up some confidence and experience in programming. Now, that I have finished my AXP hours and also have experience programming I feel that I am ready to begin applying for entry level programming jobs.
I know that 'learn to code' has become a well known meme on the internet and that I would work under someone else anyway and that the conditions are similar... tight deadlines, sitting at a computer all day, dealing with pushy managers. However, the stress to compensation ratio seems much better than in architecture.
This brings me to the final idea I have. I would like to proceed to study for my ARE exams to obtain my license while at the same time working as a software engineer. As my software engineering salary increases I would like to use that money and architecture license to invest in my own architecture/real estate development projects and work on them on my free time. I would be willing to work with other partners as well. Hopefully one day after a lot of work the architecture/real estate venture would become profitable enough that I could jump into it full time.
I know that this idea would require years of hard work, lots of sweat and stress, and a lot of money but so could working for somebody else (client or boss) This idea seems like a better existence to me.
Please guys, give me some advice and or criticism. I am still young, and as wise as I have become I am not perfect...
Let me know what you think,
Thanks!
You're going to need to have a long talk with your conscience, because tech and data driven development is, at best, morally problematic.
Pete,
I am not 100% sure what you bean by 'tech and data driven development.'
If you meant 'tech and data driven [real estate] development, then I am not sure where you got that from. It is not my intention to create software for real estate development. My only intention is to use the high salary of a software engineer and my architecture license to invest into real estate development projects (as in constructing real life buildings)
Pardon me if I was confusing in the original post.
How so Sneaky? I'm not familiar with tech and data driven development.
Chad,
Although he misunderstood my post, what I think he meant is 'data driven decisions.' Which is an interesting topic in itself.
Since I have been studying computer science i have been presented with many cases studies wherein data was biased. Leading people and or artificial intelligence software to wrong conclusion. This may occur because our data collection tools are created by biased human beings.
Harvard article on biased data: https://hbr.org/2019/10/what-d...
cris, thanks for the clarification. You hit the high points of what I was ineloquently getting at.
A dual-track career can be done, but I doubt it'll be easy (if it were easy, a lot more people would be doing it). Only you can decide if the challenges involved in this path are a better choice for you than the challenges you've discovered in a more traditional architectural career path.
I've personally thought a lot about going for a PhD in an unrelated field and ultimately splitting my career between architecture and academia, but (at least for now) determined I'm way to lazy to make this work.
Yeah, you are definitely right. I know something like this will be difficult. Though, hipothetically the juice seems worth the squeeze. I just know I will not be able to thrive if I do not have direct interest (ownership) in my projects.
What would you do a PhD in?
I'm very interested in the intersection of philosophy and the social sciences, so if I were to go back to school it would most likely be in philosophy with lots of additional coursework in sociology, economics, and political science.
Atelier, that sounds pretty fascinating, and not that far removed from architecture. In fact they seem pretty closely related to me, at least on a theoretical level. That said, I just reconnected with my college girlfriend (as friends). She's a PhD philosophy major and super smart, but has not been able to find a tenured position, so she works part-time as a babysitter in the Bay area. And part-time as adjunct faculty at the local college.
seems like you have a clear plan, you must hate sleep...
It becomes less abstract as I move forwards, and haha no I love sleeping. It's just that I am happier when I am learning and creating things with my own principles and ideas. But I do wish I got some more sleep. Do you see any blind spots in this idea?
The only blind spot I see in your idea is life itself but that shouldn’t stop you...
It seems to me that if you try to pursue two very different professions at the same time you will probably end up being bad at both. I suspect that currently you don't know enough to realize how much there is to learn in architecture. Chose one and excel at it.
I suggest choosing software and making enough money to hire others at a later date.
Yeah, I have a the same concern as I may be spreading myself too thin.
I combined 3 different disciplines (art, experimental psychology and architecture). You might be able to do it in 2 weeks. It took me 30 years. If you are going to do this I would get the architecture license first. Then make a real business plan to see if what you imagine has a reality to it.
Like everyone else has said. I don't recommend it. There is more to life.
I have exactly the same vision which brought me here, but I am starting my M.Arch and I am already learning to code and taking some online classes in Software engineering. Also, I already completed my AXP hours and would later start investing in real estate. I believe it is doable. Will be happy to get some insight from you. Thank you
No, no, and no.
Several years ago the Navy took some flight surgeons who wanted to get their pilot's license. - their "Navy Wings of Gold". What they got was a group of pilots that weren't very good at flying and were not that good at being a physician either.
You could work for McNeel or a specialist contractor, especially in the building envelope sector - where in-house software development could be very useful in delivering complex projects.
working as a licensed architect and unlicensed “software architect” has terrible consequences. The combination will cause Rick B to crash the internets with posts. The collapse of the internets will cause an economic disaster like no other…starvation…bank runs…lgangs of 80’s cannibal punks.
Shhh you fool! You will awaken the verbose beast!
It is better for work-life balance to live one complete life with one profession at a time than living two incomplete half-ass life, half-assing both professions. If you can dedicate 80 to 120 hours a week to each, fine. Is it feasible? Most likely not but it can be technically doable. You'll most likely be limiting how many projects of each profession. Big point: TIME MANAGEMENT.
Succinctly said.
The way you are going about it, I'd say, is highly unlikely. If you are looking at employment in both professions, you are looking at two full-time jobs. Each, occasionally with overtime, may cause trouble for you in both jobs.
Dammit x-jla
Although, agree with Rick. Two jobs that both tend to have overtime? That’s a no from my dawg
Just wanted to be both succinct and yet credibly thorough enough to answer the original post. I want to also be realistic. The OP should do his or her in-depth research on those two professions to understand what is involved in day-to-day life and the workload for each of those professions.
My point also stands applicable to eaglevizion's question(s) which is essentially the same. Therefore my points also apply to eaglevizion's inquiry.