I am an accountant who is currently applying to grad school for architecture and was curious if anyone out there is in the same boat as me. I would be interested in talking with you about your experience with the transition.
liberty bell
Dec 13, 05 8:50 am
This is of no help to your question, but have you thought about staying in accounting and specializing in working with architecture firms? God knows my firm needs a really, really good accountant and fast!
No advice on the transition but you are potentially making yourself a very desireable employee for a firm in the future - good luck with it.
ichweiB
Dec 13, 05 9:49 am
there is a girl in my studio from Russia who studied accounting in undergrad. she is doing fine. Obviously, she applied for Level I for having no previous experience in Architecture. I would not hesitate to continue pursuing a graduate degree in Architecture. Remember, when it comes to Level I, the program does not and should not expect you to have it all figured out yet-I doubt any of us ever will. So long as you provide convincing evidence through your applications process that you have the potential and dedication to be molded into a fine architect. Good luck!
DoYouWantCoffee
Dec 13, 05 11:50 am
There were two economics majors in my class, who enjoyed different levels of success and felt underprepared for grad school. They both admitted to me that they wished they got more comfortable with drafting and modeling programs first, so that they could have put their full attention towards "studio, " and not waste time also learning the software that illustrated their ideas.
skeerd
Dec 13, 05 12:53 pm
i've had my fair share of architecture firms in my role as an accountant. a couple of my clients were architecture firms and that experience was actually a deterrent. i took the ucla jumpstart program this past summer and it really beefed up my application. it also gave me an opportunity to learn rhino, photoshop and illustrator which really helped my portfolio. more importantly, it solidified my decision to apply to m arch 1 programs.
hopefully the shock of school won't be so great since i had some exposure to it.
did the econ majors go straight to grad school or did they work for a while? if so, do you know what field they were in?
le bossman
Dec 13, 05 1:22 pm
liberty bell
there is a large accounting firm in grand rapids which deals a lot with contractors and architects. i have gotten several jobs through them actually.
skeerd ... i hold a b.arch and an mba ... my mba concentrated on general management and marketing ... i found the transition to be rather seamless ... but, there are several important points you may want to consider:
1. management (as a discipline) and architecture have a lot in common, in that there are an infinite array of possible acceptable solutions to any problem ... in the end, it is judgment and creativity that determine how successful you can be
2. on the other hand, many of the people i know who were trained in accounting tend to have a somewhat rigid, "this is right - that is wrong" approach to problems ... i suppose this comes from the necessary rules of accounting and all that FASB stuff
3. for the most part, architecture is not about rules (some would say it's all about breaking the rules) ... architecture's a good deal more about creativity and personal expression than would ever be the case in accounting (excepting, of course, the arthur anderson boys assigned to enron)
4. i can't tell from your posts the degree to which you would align yourself with the "rule followers" vs the "rule breakers" ... if the former, you might want to consider one of the related engineering discipines ... if the latter, then welcome aboard ... your business skills would be welcome in this industry ... at last, an architect who's not intimidated by a budget.
vado retro
Dec 13, 05 1:56 pm
life is all about debits and credits
skeerd
Dec 13, 05 2:14 pm
thanks for the imput, quzzical. i'm definitely a rule breaker, which actually helped me in the accounting field, believe it or not. i have my cpa and graduated with a business/economics degree with a minor in accounting. my ability to, i hate to use the phrase, "think outside the box" got me far. i enjoyed my experience and couldn't agree with you more regarding the easy transition -- aside from the visual and conceptual aspect of architecture, the two are not as different as one may think -- but i think architecture provides a balance of the two halves of the brain that attracts me.
le bossman
Dec 13, 05 6:53 pm
this is true, it is all about debits and credits. its really just a matrix of basic additions and subtractions actually.
skeerd
Dec 13, 05 7:14 pm
imput? i'm retarded
Soleil Vasquez
Dec 14, 20 2:58 pm
Hi, I might go through the same situation as you and I want to know how did it go?
Architecture has always been my dream, design has always been my passion, and I feel happiness everytime I get to create my own mini structure models everytime I have nothing to do. I also took STEM specializing in Engineering for my Senior High School (I have read that architect students also study engineering maths) where I learned how to use AutoCAD and creating plates.
But due to some unexpected issues, I have to take Accountancy program for college instead since it is shorter and less expensive compared to a 5-7 years of architecture plus the expensive tuition. Now I am planning to finish Accountancy and work as an accountant til I get a stable job before I take M.Arch, that way I would be able to support myself financially.
Do you think it would be possible?
apscoradiales
Dec 14, 20 8:16 pm
Oh Lord...!
asamoahrichard
Oct 24, 22 7:11 am
hi there, I am in the situation as you were, I had passion for architecture but I have a degree and msc in accounting and finance. However, I still want to go into architecture which has been my childhood dream. Any help and advise?
James Steadman
Oct 24, 22 10:44 pm
Do it? If that's what you want to do, make it happen. I'm back at uni now studying architecture. I have an economics and commerce degree, ran my own consultancy for 12 years, began further studies into sustainability and decided architecture was what I was going to move into next. Sold my business and going all in now.
There's a concept in economics called sunk costs; don't consider past expenses if you can't recoup them in your next decision. So... who cares what you've done before if what you want now is going to leave you better off?
whistler
Oct 25, 22 2:41 pm
Sounds like a great background for the development world. I mean that in a good way. Having good taste, strong respect for design and solid background in finance and better than average management skills is a great asset ... I wish more of my developer clients had the same background. Most of our developer clients eventually come around to understanding the value of design but the newbies don't get it.
Strange Cascades
Oct 26, 22 11:21 pm
you might find the transition into architecture school challenging as the studio briefs are very open ended and geared towards self-directed creative exploration. That said, an accounting background would translate very well into professional practice, as most of the work that goes into being the architect of record on large commercial and residential ground up projects isn't creative at all, but is simply documenting compliance with code, zoning, and any number of other applicable regulatory frameworks. All those area charts, zoning deductions, occupancy load calcs, egress width and travel distance calcs arent that different from a P&L statement.
I am an accountant who is currently applying to grad school for architecture and was curious if anyone out there is in the same boat as me. I would be interested in talking with you about your experience with the transition.
This is of no help to your question, but have you thought about staying in accounting and specializing in working with architecture firms? God knows my firm needs a really, really good accountant and fast!
No advice on the transition but you are potentially making yourself a very desireable employee for a firm in the future - good luck with it.
there is a girl in my studio from Russia who studied accounting in undergrad. she is doing fine. Obviously, she applied for Level I for having no previous experience in Architecture. I would not hesitate to continue pursuing a graduate degree in Architecture. Remember, when it comes to Level I, the program does not and should not expect you to have it all figured out yet-I doubt any of us ever will. So long as you provide convincing evidence through your applications process that you have the potential and dedication to be molded into a fine architect. Good luck!
There were two economics majors in my class, who enjoyed different levels of success and felt underprepared for grad school. They both admitted to me that they wished they got more comfortable with drafting and modeling programs first, so that they could have put their full attention towards "studio, " and not waste time also learning the software that illustrated their ideas.
i've had my fair share of architecture firms in my role as an accountant. a couple of my clients were architecture firms and that experience was actually a deterrent. i took the ucla jumpstart program this past summer and it really beefed up my application. it also gave me an opportunity to learn rhino, photoshop and illustrator which really helped my portfolio. more importantly, it solidified my decision to apply to m arch 1 programs.
hopefully the shock of school won't be so great since i had some exposure to it.
did the econ majors go straight to grad school or did they work for a while? if so, do you know what field they were in?
liberty bell
there is a large accounting firm in grand rapids which deals a lot with contractors and architects. i have gotten several jobs through them actually.
http://www.hanc.com/
skeerd ... i hold a b.arch and an mba ... my mba concentrated on general management and marketing ... i found the transition to be rather seamless ... but, there are several important points you may want to consider:
1. management (as a discipline) and architecture have a lot in common, in that there are an infinite array of possible acceptable solutions to any problem ... in the end, it is judgment and creativity that determine how successful you can be
2. on the other hand, many of the people i know who were trained in accounting tend to have a somewhat rigid, "this is right - that is wrong" approach to problems ... i suppose this comes from the necessary rules of accounting and all that FASB stuff
3. for the most part, architecture is not about rules (some would say it's all about breaking the rules) ... architecture's a good deal more about creativity and personal expression than would ever be the case in accounting (excepting, of course, the arthur anderson boys assigned to enron)
4. i can't tell from your posts the degree to which you would align yourself with the "rule followers" vs the "rule breakers" ... if the former, you might want to consider one of the related engineering discipines ... if the latter, then welcome aboard ... your business skills would be welcome in this industry ... at last, an architect who's not intimidated by a budget.
life is all about debits and credits
thanks for the imput, quzzical. i'm definitely a rule breaker, which actually helped me in the accounting field, believe it or not. i have my cpa and graduated with a business/economics degree with a minor in accounting. my ability to, i hate to use the phrase, "think outside the box" got me far. i enjoyed my experience and couldn't agree with you more regarding the easy transition -- aside from the visual and conceptual aspect of architecture, the two are not as different as one may think -- but i think architecture provides a balance of the two halves of the brain that attracts me.
this is true, it is all about debits and credits. its really just a matrix of basic additions and subtractions actually.
imput? i'm retarded
Hi, I might go through the same situation as you and I want to know how did it go?
Architecture has always been my dream, design has always been my passion, and I feel happiness everytime I get to create my own mini structure models everytime I have nothing to do. I also took STEM specializing in Engineering for my Senior High School (I have read that architect students also study engineering maths) where I learned how to use AutoCAD and creating plates.
But due to some unexpected issues, I have to take Accountancy program for college instead since it is shorter and less expensive compared to a 5-7 years of architecture plus the expensive tuition. Now I am planning to finish Accountancy and work as an accountant til I get a stable job before I take M.Arch, that way I would be able to support myself financially.
Do you think it would be possible?
Oh Lord...!
hi there, I am in the situation as you were, I had passion for architecture but I have a degree and msc in accounting and finance. However, I still want to go into architecture which has been my childhood dream. Any help and advise?
Do it? If that's what you want to do, make it happen. I'm back at uni now studying architecture. I have an economics and commerce degree, ran my own consultancy for 12 years, began further studies into sustainability and decided architecture was what I was going to move into next. Sold my business and going all in now.
There's a concept in economics called sunk costs; don't consider past expenses if you can't recoup them in your next decision. So... who cares what you've done before if what you want now is going to leave you better off?
Sounds like a great background for the development world. I mean that in a good way. Having good taste, strong respect for design and solid background in finance and better than average management skills is a great asset ... I wish more of my developer clients had the same background. Most of our developer clients eventually come around to understanding the value of design but the newbies don't get it.
you might find the transition into architecture school challenging as the studio briefs are very open ended and geared towards self-directed creative exploration. That said, an accounting background would translate very well into professional practice, as most of the work that goes into being the architect of record on large commercial and residential ground up projects isn't creative at all, but is simply documenting compliance with code, zoning, and any number of other applicable regulatory frameworks. All those area charts, zoning deductions, occupancy load calcs, egress width and travel distance calcs arent that different from a P&L statement.