I'm considering leaving the design side of practice and going in to BIM coordination and I would love to hear people's thoughts on BIM as a career path. Is it a weird move to go from architecture to BIM? Are there opportunities for career advancement or is it kind of a single level job?
I won't get into the details because it's a long story, but the reason I'm considering BIM is because I don't like working as an architect anymore, and my favorite part of my work is making revit families and optimizing the model. My friend thinks it's weird that I'm considering BIM because he sees it as a step down from my current work.
SneakyPete
Sep 28, 21 11:52 am
If you enjoy it then there do it. Having a BIM coordinator / manager that has Architectural training is valuable. Don't let other people sway you without good reasons. Devaluing someone else's career path isn't a good reason.
gibbost
Sep 28, 21 12:15 pm
I think it's great. In fact, I wish there was a more defined path for folks to do just this. Study architecture in school and then move on to drawing and model management. We would hire you immediately. Having a team member that understands how architects think while simultaneously being able to unleash the full capacity of the software would be refreshing. For years, our office has had a handful of project architects that also double as BIM support. As you might imagine, BIM support always takes a backseat to actual projects. Therefore, the entire organization suffers as we limp along with few standards for family creation, detail development, dynamo integration, sheet set-up, etc. Good luck!
toosaturated
Sep 28, 21 12:43 pm
There's plenty of jobs for BIM managers or VDC managers.
calico
Sep 28, 21 1:04 pm
Thank you for your comments everyone. I think my friend is concerned because he thinks I'm a good architect and doesn't want to see me leave that, but it's just not really my passion anymore.
randomised
Sep 28, 21 1:14 pm
who wouldn’t want to get paid for making families? godspeed!
Chad Miller
Sep 28, 21 1:22 pm
Depends on who the parents are . . .
b3tadine[sutures]
Sep 28, 21 6:35 pm
Every family is sacred. Question is however, when does it have a heartbeat?
natematt
Sep 29, 21 2:29 am
I think part of the crux is that this isn't really what most of the people specializing in bim do.... it would probably benefit a lot of firms if they had someone to d
o this, but it would be more akin to a drafting job.
calico
Sep 28, 21 2:02 pm
haha well I like making them and I'm a freak who gets a weird joy out of finding the right formula to filter schedules
calico
Sep 28, 21 2:03 pm
This was supposed to be a reply to randomised
betonbrut
Sep 28, 21 2:45 pm
Go work for a general contractor. They pay very well for BIM coordinators/VDC Managers.
zonker
Sep 28, 21 5:12 pm
I go back and forth between designer and BIM specialist, been doing so for 14 years. At this remove, I'd say go for it.
midlander
Sep 28, 21 8:55 pm
easy answer: yes - you should stop doing what you don't enjoy to take a job doing something you do enjoy. and this is easy, because what you do enjoy is a useful, in-demand specialty.
are you worried once you leave design you won't be able to get back in? that isn't actually true, though it's uncommon, maybe because most people who find other roles in the profession end up liking them.
sameolddoctor
Sep 28, 21 9:23 pm
If that's what floats your boat, go for it. However, you gotta keep up with all the updates and changes to the software, so you are not phased out in a few years. Also, it may be good to catch up on aspects of other softwares like licensing, networking etc. which you can do when the BIM work is low.
axonapoplectic
Sep 29, 21 11:08 am
I really wish arch firms saw the value in dedicated BIM managers. I see far too many job postings where they want the project architect to play the role of BIM manager in addition to project coordination and production. None of the engineering consultants are also the BIM manager for their discipline - they have dedicated staff for that. Meanwhile GCs are snatching up anyone with any skill with BIM.
calico
Sep 29, 21 12:32 pm
Yes, whenever a job is meant to be 50% architecture 50% BIM, it ends up being 100% architecture but then an extra 50% BIM.
maykelsafwat
Jul 16, 23 6:43 am
I'm graduated form a university architecture department from 2 years in Egypt. I want to complete me work and career in BIM modeling what are the certificates or level that i should go through . where i should start ?
I'm considering leaving the design side of practice and going in to BIM coordination and I would love to hear people's thoughts on BIM as a career path. Is it a weird move to go from architecture to BIM? Are there opportunities for career advancement or is it kind of a single level job?
I won't get into the details because it's a long story, but the reason I'm considering BIM is because I don't like working as an architect anymore, and my favorite part of my work is making revit families and optimizing the model. My friend thinks it's weird that I'm considering BIM because he sees it as a step down from my current work.
If you enjoy it then there do it. Having a BIM coordinator / manager that has Architectural training is valuable. Don't let other people sway you without good reasons. Devaluing someone else's career path isn't a good reason.
I think it's great. In fact, I wish there was a more defined path for folks to do just this. Study architecture in school and then move on to drawing and model management. We would hire you immediately. Having a team member that understands how architects think while simultaneously being able to unleash the full capacity of the software would be refreshing. For years, our office has had a handful of project architects that also double as BIM support. As you might imagine, BIM support always takes a backseat to actual projects. Therefore, the entire organization suffers as we limp along with few standards for family creation, detail development, dynamo integration, sheet set-up, etc. Good luck!
There's plenty of jobs for BIM managers or VDC managers.
Thank you for your comments everyone. I think my friend is concerned because he thinks I'm a good architect and doesn't want to see me leave that, but it's just not really my passion anymore.
who wouldn’t want to get paid for making families? godspeed!
Depends on who the parents are . . .
Every family is sacred. Question is however, when does it have a heartbeat?
I think part of the crux is that this isn't really what most of the people specializing in bim do.... it would probably benefit a lot of firms if they had someone to d o this, but it would be more akin to a drafting job.
haha well I like making them and I'm a freak who gets a weird joy out of finding the right formula to filter schedules
This was supposed to be a reply to randomised
Go work for a general contractor. They pay very well for BIM coordinators/VDC Managers.
I go back and forth between designer and BIM specialist, been doing so for 14 years. At this remove, I'd say go for it.
easy answer: yes - you should stop doing what you don't enjoy to take a job doing something you do enjoy. and this is easy, because what you do enjoy is a useful, in-demand specialty.
are you worried once you leave design you won't be able to get back in? that isn't actually true, though it's uncommon, maybe because most people who find other roles in the profession end up liking them.
If that's what floats your boat, go for it. However, you gotta keep up with all the updates and changes to the software, so you are not phased out in a few years. Also, it may be good to catch up on aspects of other softwares like licensing, networking etc. which you can do when the BIM work is low.
I really wish arch firms saw the value in dedicated BIM managers. I see far too many job postings where they want the project architect to play the role of BIM manager in addition to project coordination and production. None of the engineering consultants are also the BIM manager for their discipline - they have dedicated staff for that. Meanwhile GCs are snatching up anyone with any skill with BIM.
Yes, whenever a job is meant to be 50% architecture 50% BIM, it ends up being 100% architecture but then an extra 50% BIM.
I'm graduated form a university architecture department from 2 years in Egypt. I want to complete me work and career in BIM modeling what are the certificates or level that i should go through . where i should start ?
i 'm very confused