I currently work in a government agency, assisting with project management in large infrastructure projects. I accepted this position during the COVID recession with the assumption that I would be doing more technical design work. But to my surprise, the actual work was not exactly what was advertised (I assume it was a way to draw people in). So I decided to take advantage of the relatively competitive salary, increase work-life balance, and extended downtime to complete my architecture registration exams while turning down a lot of positions. Unfortunately, while doing this, I was suffering from a manager that seemed to be intimidated by my abilities that he did everything to hinder my career here. He displayed the classic signs of being intimidated by doing, such things as not clearly explaining what he wanted while getting upset that I didn't do it to his specific liking, excluding me from meetings and important information, and even stealing my ideas and reporting as his to his direct supervisor. I'm also very bored and hate the work. Now that I have completed my exams, I am at a crossroads. I feel that this position can assist in springboarding my practice while providing job and financial security. But, on the other hand, I feel I should depart because of the reasons above.
I have heard many opinions from family and friends that I should leave and not put up with it, especially since I am licensed. So I now my ask you guys on your opinions.
Would you leave knowing that it's always greener on the other side or stay with some conditions?
proto
Mar 30, 22 12:54 pm
you've already left in your mind
allow your body to follow
SneakyPete
Mar 30, 22 1:22 pm
Go hang your shingle. The longer you wait the more you'll find out what you don't know, and ignorance of the risk makes it easier. You'll figure it out, but waiting will cause inertia.
Jacq Arch
Mar 30, 22 2:11 pm
Thanks for your advice I believe you are definitely correct. Do you suggest I blindly leave my current job to pursue this goal?
Required Licenses (architecture and state business)
Jacq Arch
Mar 30, 22 3:20 pm
Money
SneakyPete
Mar 30, 22 3:22 pm
You're speaking like someone who knows enough to know what they don't know. I assumed (which is totally on me) that they were licensed due to having completed the exams. Other than that, the rest is all down to one's threshold for pain. They used to do architecture with a pen and paper, and unless you promise someone scaled drawings from CAD or whatever, you can start a business with much less than what you list.
Chad Miller
Mar 30, 22 3:45 pm
Well you should NEVER allow your drawings to be scaled for construction.
Also you can start a business with much less than I listed. Except for the required licenses. It's not advised though. Really you should also have a business plan . . :)
SneakyPete
Mar 30, 22 4:33 pm
Should, sure. Should is why I'm still chronically unhappy and chained to a desk.
Chad Miller
Mar 30, 22 4:47 pm
Don't blame it on should.
You should have moved on to something else if you're unhappy.
You've chosen to stay at your desk. With some obvious expectations, If you really didn't want to be there you'd be somewhere else.
SneakyPete
Mar 30, 22 4:55 pm
You sound suspiciously like a certain sci arc professor there, dude. Might want to go back and listen to the link E_A posted.
reallynotmyname
Mar 30, 22 6:26 pm
It's a good move to start a new firm with, among other things, a) 2-3 legit committed clients and b) enough cash in the bank to cover 3-6 months of all business and personal expenses. If the OP needs to remain in their current well-paying and not-too-demanding job for as long as it takes to get their clients and savings lined up, then I recommend they do that.
Chad Miller
Mar 30, 22 6:37 pm
Sneaky - you're blaming SHOULD. That's some grade A nonsense boarding on arch-speak. I think you need to listen to the disrobe in that SCI ARCH post. :P
Why haven't you unchained yourself from your desk? There can be a lot of reasons beyond a persons control. Let's hear how "should" has held you back.
SneakyPete
Mar 30, 22 10:43 pm
I should be able to go out on my own I cant afford to. I should find a new job, but I want to borrow money from my 401k to put down on a house, so I can't afford to. There's two for ya. But the ones that really grind my gears are the ones like this: I SHOULD be putting in more hours. I SHOULD be taking on more responsibility. I SHOULD be a project manager if I want to advance in the firm. I SHOULD attend off-hours functions because they're good for office culture. I SHOULD join the AIA. I SHOULD pay NCARB every year lest I be unable to move to another state without paying back fees and penalties.
SneakyPete
Mar 30, 22 10:43 pm
Shall I go on?
Chad Miller
Mar 31, 22 9:58 am
I think you mean SHOULD you go on.
Chad Miller
Mar 31, 22 10:11 am
Sneaky -
My point is that there can be circumstances beyond someone's control that hinder someone's ability to start their own firm.
It seems that many of the posters here are not recognizing that. Obviously people make choices that will either help or hinder them in starting their own firm. The majority of your 'should' list is all on you. Housing and working more hours though - that's not something you can control. You have no impact on the housing market and you need to spend time with your family.
I really to wish people would recognize the combination of hindrances people can experience when looking to move firms and / or starting their own firm.
reallynotmyname
Mar 31, 22 10:46 am
I totally do. Our fabulous American system of health insurance tied to one's employment would be at the top of my list of things that hold people back.
Chad Miller
Mar 31, 22 10:49 am
I didn't list health insurance because it wasn't in Sneaky's post.
For me though it's the single biggest thing that 'holds me back'.
I'm a Type 1 Diabetic. Without health insurance it would cost me around $45,000 just to manage my diabetes. I'm lucky that my wife has great health insurance through her work. The firms I selected before getting married were based on the health insurance they provided. That's not how it should be.
SneakyPete
Mar 31, 22 11:40 am
My original point was that the ignorance of youth combined with the gumption make that period in life uniquely suited for entrepreneurial leaps. The more experienced we get the more reasons we discover to avoid it, and rightly so. The young people I know who have done it, however, generally make it work somehow when I doubt I could because of all the information I have that would keep me up at night. Regarding to how many of the "shoulds" are on me? Not a debate I feel like having.
Chad Miller
Apr 1, 22 10:57 am
I don't know Sneaky. Around 90% of new architectural firms fail. It's jus that when you're young you have a longer period of time to recover from the failure. For me the only thing keeping me from starting my own firm is healthcare. With my experience I'd say I'd have a 50% chance of making a firm work.
SneakyPete
Apr 1, 22 1:30 pm
I think we agree more than we disagree on this topic.
archanonymous
Mar 30, 22 3:00 pm
No time like the present.
atelier nobody
Mar 31, 22 5:53 pm
It sounds like you have exactly the same job and manager(s) I did a few years ago. Get out before it kills you. Seriously.
Hello Everyone,
I currently work in a government agency, assisting with project management in large infrastructure projects. I accepted this position during the COVID recession with the assumption that I would be doing more technical design work. But to my surprise, the actual work was not exactly what was advertised (I assume it was a way to draw people in). So I decided to take advantage of the relatively competitive salary, increase work-life balance, and extended downtime to complete my architecture registration exams while turning down a lot of positions. Unfortunately, while doing this, I was suffering from a manager that seemed to be intimidated by my abilities that he did everything to hinder my career here. He displayed the classic signs of being intimidated by doing, such things as not clearly explaining what he wanted while getting upset that I didn't do it to his specific liking, excluding me from meetings and important information, and even stealing my ideas and reporting as his to his direct supervisor. I'm also very bored and hate the work.
Now that I have completed my exams, I am at a crossroads. I feel that this position can assist in springboarding my practice while providing job and financial security. But, on the other hand, I feel I should depart because of the reasons above.
I have heard many opinions from family and friends that I should leave and not put up with it, especially since I am licensed. So I now my ask you guys on your opinions.
Would you leave knowing that it's always greener on the other side or stay with some conditions?
you've already left in your mind
allow your body to follow
Go hang your shingle. The longer you wait the more you'll find out what you don't know, and ignorance of the risk makes it easier. You'll figure it out, but waiting will cause inertia.
Thanks for your advice I believe you are definitely correct. Do you suggest I blindly leave my current job to pursue this goal?
I don't understand what you mean by "blindly."
OP probably means before they have:
Clients
Operating resources (computer, programs, drawing templates, ect)
An office space (or a place to hold meetings)
Required Insurance
Required Licenses (architecture and state business)
Money
You're speaking like someone who knows enough to know what they don't know. I assumed (which is totally on me) that they were licensed due to having completed the exams. Other than that, the rest is all down to one's threshold for pain. They used to do architecture with a pen and paper, and unless you promise someone scaled drawings from CAD or whatever, you can start a business with much less than what you list.
Well you should NEVER allow your drawings to be scaled for construction.
Also you can start a business with much less than I listed. Except for the required licenses. It's not advised though. Really you should also have a business plan . . :)
Should, sure. Should is why I'm still chronically unhappy and chained to a desk.
Don't blame it on should.
You should have moved on to something else if you're unhappy.
You've chosen to stay at your desk. With some obvious expectations, If you really didn't want to be there you'd be somewhere else.
You sound suspiciously like a certain sci arc professor there, dude. Might want to go back and listen to the link E_A posted.
It's a good move to start a new firm with, among other things, a) 2-3 legit committed clients and b) enough cash in the bank to cover 3-6 months of all business and personal expenses. If the OP needs to remain in their current well-paying and not-too-demanding job for as long as it takes to get their clients and savings lined up, then I recommend they do that.
Sneaky - you're blaming SHOULD. That's some grade A nonsense boarding on arch-speak. I think you need to listen to the disrobe in that SCI ARCH post. :P
Why haven't you unchained yourself from your desk? There can be a lot of reasons beyond a persons control. Let's hear how "should" has held you back.
I should be able to go out on my own I cant afford to. I should find a new job, but I want to borrow money from my 401k to put down on a house, so I can't afford to. There's two for ya. But the ones that really grind my gears are the ones like this: I SHOULD be putting in more hours. I SHOULD be taking on more responsibility. I SHOULD be a project manager if I want to advance in the firm. I SHOULD attend off-hours functions because they're good for office culture. I SHOULD join the AIA. I SHOULD pay NCARB every year lest I be unable to move to another state without paying back fees and penalties.
Shall I go on?
I think you mean SHOULD you go on.
Sneaky -
My point is that there can be circumstances beyond someone's control that hinder someone's ability to start their own firm.
It seems that many of the posters here are not recognizing that. Obviously people make choices that will either help or hinder them in starting their own firm. The majority of your 'should' list is all on you. Housing and working more hours though - that's not something you can control. You have no impact on the housing market and you need to spend time with your family.
I really to wish people would recognize the combination of hindrances people can experience when looking to move firms and / or starting their own firm.
I totally do. Our fabulous American system of health insurance tied to one's employment would be at the top of my list of things that hold people back.
I didn't list health insurance because it wasn't in Sneaky's post.
For me though it's the single biggest thing that 'holds me back'.
I'm a Type 1 Diabetic. Without health insurance it would cost me around $45,000 just to manage my diabetes. I'm lucky that my wife has great health insurance through her work. The firms I selected before getting married were based on the health insurance they provided. That's not how it should be.
My original point was that the ignorance of youth combined with the gumption make that period in life uniquely suited for entrepreneurial leaps. The more experienced we get the more reasons we discover to avoid it, and rightly so. The young people I know who have done it, however, generally make it work somehow when I doubt I could because of all the information I have that would keep me up at night. Regarding to how many of the "shoulds" are on me? Not a debate I feel like having.
I don't know Sneaky. Around 90% of new architectural firms fail. It's jus that when you're young you have a longer period of time to recover from the failure. For me the only thing keeping me from starting my own firm is healthcare. With my experience I'd say I'd have a 50% chance of making a firm work.
I think we agree more than we disagree on this topic.
No time like the present.
It sounds like you have exactly the same job and manager(s) I did a few years ago. Get out before it kills you. Seriously.