Hello! I’m an architecture student in my final year (took a break this semester). Right now, I’m freelancing by helping other architecture students with their projects, and while the income is quite good (much better to what an intern does), I feel stuck because I should be progressing professionally.
I’ve been using Revit for four years and have developed some solid skills in architectural modeling. I also been focusing on Dynamo lately, and it’s becoming a bit of a specialization for me. This is why I’ve started looking for entry-level jobs, particularly with companies that work remotely and use Revit, as I feel that’s where I have the best chance of getting hired.
I’m looking for opportunities internationally because the job market in my country is very informal and the pay is LOW (worked on a building management company for a some months and oof). Additionally, I have a parent who'll need an expensive medical treatment in a few months, which has motivated me to explore jobs in countries with higher wages. I really that by finding a remote job abroad, I can support my family and grow as a professional but a part of me feels like my goal is unrealistic and that these emails or job applications might never even get read, or that my nationality will be an issue, but I figured it’s worth a shot. What do you think? Am I being dumb?
smaarch
Oct 16, 24 6:35 pm
The higher wages will be sucked up by the local economy. That's way economies work. I wish you and your family well.
OddArchitect
Oct 16, 24 7:14 pm
You make more helping students with their projects than being a first year intern? The average starting pay for an intern is around $42k in the US. This varies depending on where you are.
Working remotely can be difficult for those with less experience. It can work if the firm is set up to handle remote work / offices. In the beginning of your career you're going to be asking a lot of questions. You'll be learning through both direct mentoring and via osmosis. AKA: learning by overhearing others in your office discuss things.
I would recommend living and working in the same country, preferably the same city. That way you can have a split working situation if needed.
I'm not sure where you are located. No need to say. According to my collogues in Europe it's common for out of country remote workers to be paid the according to where they are located. IE, if your area pays less than where the firm is located you'll be paid the lesser amount.
sameolddoctor
Oct 16, 24 7:52 pm
You can always try, but the BIM outsourcing market has been sucked up by firms in even cheaper countries, like India. If you can get a remote job paying even 70% of the US it should be worth it. Good luck!
Alexandra Gil
Oct 16, 24 8:46 pm
"You make more helping students with their projects than being a first year intern? " yes lol, like twice compared to what I would make in a firm as an intern and I'm only working like 25 hs a week for now. My only job experience was fully remote and I honestly learned a lot but there were definitely times where I thought that if I was present on the office, I would have learned even more.
Thanks a lot for your answer!
OddArchitect
Oct 17, 24 10:22 am
Dang. Either your students are wealthy or your area's firms pay horribly.
Alexandra Gil
Oct 29, 24 2:43 am
"your area's firms pay horribly." I would honestly be ok with the horrible pay if they would at least respect the amount of hours I work but not even that.
Non Sequitur
Oct 17, 24 7:01 am
you make more helping lazy rich students cheat their way through arch school than working a junior role? No wonder junior roles get low pay if the graduating cohort can’t do their own school work.
will galloway
Oct 17, 24 10:22 am
We do a lot of work remotely since covid. It is not entirely good for us or for our staff in all honesty. I'm coming to the conclusion that in-person at least a few days a week is essential to team building and is more efficient in the long run.
One of the chief ways we have adjusted our work flow is to work with very experienced people that we have a history with. Lately we are doing a lot of work with Revit, something that Japanese graduates and offices have very little experience with, and perhaps that is an opportunity for you if you speak Japanese.
For ourselves we find that remote work with people we don't know well is not workable in practice. It is probably different for a larger more professional office. But for us we are mostly hiring former students in Canada to help out with Revit and other jobs as needed. We mostly have stopped hiring interns and new graduates.
If you want to work outside of your country you probably can, but maybe instead of aiming for low pay try to aim for high expertise. Whatever that may be.
sameolddoctor
Oct 17, 24 7:15 pm
Yes, we are fully online but we like our employees to be in the same city or be able to come in for client meetings etc. And yes, it is very hard to train and retain people we dont know well. Its a whopping 50% failure rate (where either the employees bailed or we had to sadly let them go)
OddArchitect
Oct 17, 24 7:16 pm
sameold -
Do you think it would work for more experience new hires?
sameolddoctor
Oct 18, 24 4:55 pm
Yes, folk with more experience definitely work better, but it is still very hard to get people used to the "culture" (or lack thereof) of the office, especially in terms of expectations during deadlines etc. That said, personally I am very happy with the WFH situation - no commute, no spending $ at lunch spots and 20 min naps once in a while when things are slow!
Alexandra Gil
Oct 29, 24 2:52 am
Thanks a lot for your answer!
przemula
Oct 18, 24 3:56 pm
To those who are surprised that OP is making a good money from helping other students, let me share an anecdote from the time when I was a student, about a decade ago in Eastern Europe. Literally at the end of my college experience I found out that a lot of my friends 'bought' their projects. If you were willing to spend money, there were teams of young professionals, 2-3 years out of school who on the top of their full-time jobs were making projects for students. I've never done this because not only I didn't know about it, but I also wouldn't be able to afford it either. But for some reason our faculty was full of kids of rich parents, so this was very popular. Professor weren't interested whether you or someone else did the renderings and plans for you, they were just reviewing the content. Interestingly, these people later had an easier path to employment as well, since mommy and daddy usually had an architect friend or two, and it's not like these students weren't doing anything and were completely clueless - they were basically outsourcing drafters and cg artists for their school projects.
Non Sequitur
Oct 18, 24 5:13 pm
Then those rich kids wonder why they can’t keep up in the real world. Lazy and unskilled students are not worth our time.
sameolddoctor
Oct 18, 24 5:54 pm
These lazy rich kids then end up being our clients or client reps ... sucks.
rsrs
Oct 21, 24 3:52 am
They could end up being your employers.
Almosthip
Oct 21, 24 12:09 pm
cheaters
Alexandra Gil
Oct 29, 24 2:40 am
Yes, a mix of lazy students, students with no time and students who simply lack some skills/knowledge. And half of them have parents with money. Me, broke person who was too embarrased to ask parents for money to make models, cannot relate to that
Hello! I’m an architecture student in my final year (took a break this semester). Right now, I’m freelancing by helping other architecture students with their projects, and while the income is quite good (much better to what an intern does), I feel stuck because I should be progressing professionally.
I’ve been using Revit for four years and have developed some solid skills in architectural modeling. I also been focusing on Dynamo lately, and it’s becoming a bit of a specialization for me. This is why I’ve started looking for entry-level jobs, particularly with companies that work remotely and use Revit, as I feel that’s where I have the best chance of getting hired.
I’m looking for opportunities internationally because the job market in my country is very informal and the pay is LOW (worked on a building management company for a some months and oof). Additionally, I have a parent who'll need an expensive medical treatment in a few months, which has motivated me to explore jobs in countries with higher wages. I really that by finding a remote job abroad, I can support my family and grow as a professional but a part of me feels like my goal is unrealistic and that these emails or job applications might never even get read, or that my nationality will be an issue, but I figured it’s worth a shot. What do you think? Am I being dumb?
The higher wages will be sucked up by the local economy. That's way economies work.
I wish you and your family well.
You make more helping students with their projects than being a first year intern? The average starting pay for an intern is around $42k in the US. This varies depending on where you are.
Working remotely can be difficult for those with less experience. It can work if the firm is set up to handle remote work / offices. In the beginning of your career you're going to be asking a lot of questions. You'll be learning through both direct mentoring and via osmosis. AKA: learning by overhearing others in your office discuss things.
I would recommend living and working in the same country, preferably the same city. That way you can have a split working situation if needed.
I'm not sure where you are located. No need to say. According to my collogues in Europe it's common for out of country remote workers to be paid the according to where they are located. IE, if your area pays less than where the firm is located you'll be paid the lesser amount.
You can always try, but the BIM outsourcing market has been sucked up by firms in even cheaper countries, like India. If you can get a remote job paying even 70% of the US it should be worth it. Good luck!
"You make more helping students with their projects than being a first year intern? " yes lol, like twice compared to what I would make in a firm as an intern and I'm only working like 25 hs a week for now. My only job experience was fully remote and I honestly learned a lot but there were definitely times where I thought that if I was present on the office, I would have learned even more.
Thanks a lot for your answer!
Dang. Either your students are wealthy or your area's firms pay horribly.
"your area's firms pay horribly." I would honestly be ok with the horrible pay if they would at least respect the amount of hours I work but not even that.
you make more helping lazy rich students cheat their way through arch school than working a junior role? No wonder junior roles get low pay if the graduating cohort can’t do their own school work.
We do a lot of work remotely since covid. It is not entirely good for us or for our staff in all honesty. I'm coming to the conclusion that in-person at least a few days a week is essential to team building and is more efficient in the long run.
One of the chief ways we have adjusted our work flow is to work with very experienced people that we have a history with. Lately we are doing a lot of work with Revit, something that Japanese graduates and offices have very little experience with, and perhaps that is an opportunity for you if you speak Japanese.
For ourselves we find that remote work with people we don't know well is not workable in practice. It is probably different for a larger more professional office. But for us we are mostly hiring former students in Canada to help out with Revit and other jobs as needed. We mostly have stopped hiring interns and new graduates.
If you want to work outside of your country you probably can, but maybe instead of aiming for low pay try to aim for high expertise. Whatever that may be.
Yes, we are fully online but we like our employees to be in the same city or be able to come in for client meetings etc. And yes, it is very hard to train and retain people we dont know well. Its a whopping 50% failure rate (where either the employees bailed or we had to sadly let them go)
sameold - Do you think it would work for more experience new hires?
Yes, folk with more experience definitely work better, but it is still very hard to get people used to the "culture" (or lack thereof) of the office, especially in terms of expectations during deadlines etc. That said, personally I am very happy with the WFH situation - no commute, no spending $ at lunch spots and 20 min naps once in a while when things are slow!
Thanks a lot for your answer!
To those who are surprised that OP is making a good money from helping other students, let me share an anecdote from the time when I was a student, about a decade ago in Eastern Europe. Literally at the end of my college experience I found out that a lot of my friends 'bought' their projects. If you were willing to spend money, there were teams of young professionals, 2-3 years out of school who on the top of their full-time jobs were making projects for students. I've never done this because not only I didn't know about it, but I also wouldn't be able to afford it either. But for some reason our faculty was full of kids of rich parents, so this was very popular. Professor weren't interested whether you or someone else did the renderings and plans for you, they were just reviewing the content. Interestingly, these people later had an easier path to employment as well, since mommy and daddy usually had an architect friend or two, and it's not like these students weren't doing anything and were completely clueless - they were basically outsourcing drafters and cg artists for their school projects.
Then those rich kids wonder why they can’t keep up in the real world. Lazy and unskilled students are not worth our time.
These lazy rich kids then end up being our clients or client reps ... sucks.
They could end up being your employers.
cheaters
Yes, a mix of lazy students, students with no time and students who simply lack some skills/knowledge. And half of them have parents with money. Me, broke person who was too embarrased to ask parents for money to make models, cannot relate to that