Less depressing than construction, not nearly as happy-making as arts, design, entertainment, sports and media: according to the CDC, architects are the fifth most likely to commit suicide in comparison with members of other professions, especially if you're a male architect (data for female architects was unavailable).
The study chose to focus on 12,312 suicides that took place in 17 U.S. states in 2012. According to the CDC report, "Occupational groups were stratified by sex, and rates of suicide were calculated for each group using denominators derived from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey March Supplement (5), which includes a question about the person’s primary occupation during the previous calendar year."
For more on mental health in architecture:
17 Comments
All the exams and crap to make no money and die soon. Wow!
lol
Indeed!
after or before archinect?
Note the inclusive category.
By one counting, there are 105,847 architects and 1,530,110 engineers in the US. So keep those razor blades and Vicodin bottles away from your civil, structural and MEP consultants... at least until after they've finished their drawings and calcs.
Ladies, note: we're not included in the chart shown above. Our suicide rates in those fields are too small to count.
I also find it interesting that two of the groups with higher rates than us, Construction and Maintenance, are workers directly involved on a daily basis with buildings that *we* design. Maybe we need to design them so those guys don't feel driven to kill themselves?
Oh, also, this is only for 17 states - less than half. No general conclusions can be drawn from this study.
And, one more plug for the website cataloging architect deaths - Mason, please please please bring it back!!
^ death website was made by Bryan Boyer
That's an interesting observation Donna. Speaking in broad generalities, a male's work is more tied up in their self worth than a female, plus male society makes it more difficult to seek out the emotional sustenance necessary to mitigate the desperation which leads some to consider suicide.
Here's hoping that we get female leaders in both England and the United States. Along with Angela Merkel, it would be a boon not only for little girls who dream big, but for a world in desperate need of humane behavior.
At least we don't work in "production" whatever the hell that is.
you do not kill me, i kill me - says architect.
I already did...
Someone necro'd this thread to make an MRA statement. I nuked it.
But! coincidentally, we will be discussing architects' mental health in an upcoming podcast episode!
i'm dead inside. does that count?
Someday, we'll be number 1!
Maybe if enough male architects kill themselves, we'll finally achieve equality in the profession!
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