In our professional growth, learning new skills and gaining new knowledge are foundational to our progress. Mentors guide our trajectory, and our experiences sharpen our competency. However, we can't always rely on the received information presented to us by other people. Instead, in many cases, we will need to proactively put forth our own effort to gain the knowledge required to elevate ourselves to a higher level.
I remember in my second year of professional work I expressed to my project manager that I wanted to start drawing wall details. I had been picking up a lot of redlines for wall details on a project that had multiple buildings and the team was going to start on a new building. Instead of doing redlines I wanted to be a part of creating the wall details for the DD package we were working on for this new structure.
"Okay, now you're doing wall details," he told me, "but keep in mind, it's probably going to take you a lot longer than the work you've been comfortable with. Do you still want to do them?" he continued.
He wanted to make sure I was prepared to devote the time that would be required for me to work through this new responsibility and that I understood he wasn't going to hold my hand every step of the way. I had to give it my best shot first, which meant looking at past projects, thinking through how certain assemblies went together, sketching out different approaches, understanding the construction methods, getting acquainted with how to draw them in Revit, all of the things necessary to execute the new work.
It was only after I did all of that in my own time (in the office, but also at home) that I then went to my mentor for a constructive conversation on what things I needed to tweak. To clarify, I wasn't left high and dry, there was a degree of direction, but for the most part, it was on me to show that I was ready to do this thing that I really had no clue how to do. At the time, I wondered why he didn't just tell me how to do it all, but after I went through this process for a number of months, I realized I had learned exponentially more than I would have otherwise.
A desire to work on wall details is just one example. It could also be something like code analysis, or plumbing schedules, or reading electrical line diagrams, whatever. If we sit around and wait for someone to tell us it's time to move forward, we might be sitting for a while. Granted, there are settings where a firm thoughtfully tracks the progress of its staff, methodically ensuring that everyone is growing and learning in a holistic way.
But, even in such a case, developing the character to take the initiative to acquire the skills needed to progress in our careers can only reap a bountiful harvest as we continue forward in our ambitions and in our path.
nice advice for the ambitious.
My first office in Japan was run with a near flat hierarchy. I was design lead for a 10 million project in my first week (right out of uni), with proper architects working to back me up. The next project I did interior elevations for a hospital. In both cases I was pretty much clueless, but the office arrangement was sink and swim. There was no OR. The boss wanted me to learn and arranged for me to fuck up as much as I wanted, with the caveat that when I went off the rails he would have someone to push me back before it went totally wrong. As a learning experience it was amazing. The entire office was a team with leadership but without a single leader calling all the shots.
After a few years of this setup I noticed a project I was working on was not getting the attention it needed and I really wanted to work on it. Without asking I just started doing it, effectively becoming the architect in charge for a super cool building with lots of great details and structures to work out ( a 5000m2, 30 m high tent structure for the soccer world cup). The cooler thing was that my boss supported the move, and it became the first project where I was the one who absolutely needed to be on site, so I got a lot of that experience as a result. AND I was able to do it, because the whole studio was arranged as a place of constant learning.
Anyway, point is, the office needs to be ready for its staff to take as much as they can handle. Being on the other side of the employee/employer picture I actually find it pretty hard. It is still what I aspire to, even if I am shit at doing it so far...
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This, 100%. I see too many people just coasting... waiting for that big "break" where they will get to that next "level" all while doing nothing but waiting. Sorry, you don't move forward by just waiting.
I started out by introducing my office to high-quality renderings (Kertya, then Vray... like 10y ago), then took it upon myself to push into CD and high-level detailing, then came self-study and a deep dive on BIM, UL(c), contract admin, site reviews / construction management, etc... I crushed every opportunity where I put myself out there and showed I was proactive and willing to make the efforts. This is why I have little patience for those who only identify problems without first finding solutions or their first question is "where can I find/download/copy this from?".
Shit, now that we agree on something... does that mean our coffee date is cancelled?
Haha. Not at all. Disagreeing just for the sake of it is annoying. Hopefully, as two humans, we could find common ground on at least a couple of things. ;)
nice advice for the ambitious.
My first office in Japan was run with a near flat hierarchy. I was design lead for a 10 million project in my first week (right out of uni), with proper architects working to back me up. The next project I did interior elevations for a hospital. In both cases I was pretty much clueless, but the office arrangement was sink and swim. There was no OR. The boss wanted me to learn and arranged for me to fuck up as much as I wanted, with the caveat that when I went off the rails he would have someone to push me back before it went totally wrong. As a learning experience it was amazing. The entire office was a team with leadership but without a single leader calling all the shots.
After a few years of this setup I noticed a project I was working on was not getting the attention it needed and I really wanted to work on it. Without asking I just started doing it, effectively becoming the architect in charge for a super cool building with lots of great details and structures to work out ( a 5000m2, 30 m high tent structure for the soccer world cup). The cooler thing was that my boss supported the move, and it became the first project where I was the one who absolutely needed to be on site, so I got a lot of that experience as a result. AND I was able to do it, because the whole studio was arranged as a place of constant learning.
Anyway, point is, the office needs to be ready for its staff to take as much as they can handle. Being on the other side of the employee/employer picture I actually find it pretty hard. It is still what I aspire to, even if I am shit at doing it so far...
you have to make your own breaks - I always wanted to get into design, so I create my own projects and take other projects to work out design issues to demonstrate what I can do. I can see why many of the "hotshoes" have little patience with the "walkers" in the studio
Excellent advice. I really appreciate being reminded of this this morning!
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