[QUOTE]Originally posted by BlindBoy921
I'm heavily considering majoring in Architecture.... any first hand insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

heheheh That was the most accurate description of an Architect I have ever seen.. seriously.

 

You might send a PM to MyBad...he's an award-winning architect and an awesome member of the Carolinas forum.

 

Wow....

thank you for the detailed response...

...and for subsequently de-railing my architectural-based dreams.

No honestly, thanks for the insight. From what you've described and what many others have told me, I think I'll steer clear of architecture. Still not sure what the hell I'm going to major in then.

 

If you like to draw, perhaps take a look at mechanical engineering?

 

My grandfather was a structural engineer (I believe)...

He was the head engineer for the Walt Disney corp. when they were first getting off the ground... good friends with Walt and Roy.... anyways, he designed all of the major parks, with the exception of Euro Disney, as well as designing many signiture rides, like Pirates of the Carribian and the Materhorn.

He REALLY wants me to do something with architecture/engineering... but I'm not sure I want to. I'm just really frusterated at this point in my life, and have been for awhile. Seems like I can't think of something to try to do professionally. I love computers but dislike math, so that rules out Computer Science (one of my other choices)... I like writing but I'm not too sure about most of the Journalism job opportunities.... I dunno what would happen if I majored in Buisness....

It's all just kinda mind-knumbingly frusterating. Oh well.

 

Don't force it, you can't be happy with that much pressure.. when the time is right, you'll find what you were meant to do

 

Again, thanks for the advice.

I know that I need to have a much more calm mindset, and that eventually I'll find something I love doing and it'll work out.

I just stress myself out with overthinking.

I have a beautiful, wonderful women in my life (I'm 19, but who says we can't atleast have part of our life put together at that point ), and we both know we're eventually going to get married. It's the most sure I've ever been of anything in my life.

She's got her heart set on being a teacher, and I want to do something that I can enjoy, but at the same time support us and (hopefully) give us a nice life. I'm not saying I'm expecting to be a millionare, but I am practical, and realise that in today's economy, 50k almost doesn't cut it.

Here I go again, thinking too much.

Oh well. Thanks again for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. Getting tips from real world people with real world experiance is very helpful.

 

MyBad here.

Thanks smcoy for the kind words.

Well I've read every post thus far and am very surprised at the attitudes displayed. Here's why.

Graduating from the College of Architecture was one of my greatest accomplishments. Yes it was hard, but I rose to the challenge and enjoyed every minute of it. I also grew tremendously as an individual and responsible adult.

I worked for two firms as an apprentice. At that time I was required to work for 5 years before being eligible for the licensing exam. I had to take two. The first was 5 days long, 8 hours a day. The last day was a design exam where I had to design an airport terminal in the mid-west. The second exam was 3 days long taken 6 months later. I passed all sections of each exam the first time. That was also one of my greatest achievements.

After becoming licensed I started my own firm and have had it for 20 years. I have designed hundreds of projects of all types from a small specialty retail store to a very large and complex research laboratory.

The cream rises to the top. As an employer, I support each employee who sets goals for their professional development. I help them find and develop their talents. It sounds like some of the posters have yet to receive that kind of support. That's not a reflection of the profession. Rather, its a reflection of their employers.

I strongly encourage you to enter an architecture program. You will be exposed to many aspects of the profession and many associated professions. For instance, forensic architecture, construction management, design-build, material testing, etc.

As an aside, the profession has lost many architectural graduates to the film industry. With CAD and design skills, graduates have decided to go into the special effects business.

Good luck in your career. If you want to talk with me about it send me a PM.

 

Hehe mission accomplished! J/K Seriously I don't mean to scare you, just wanted you to see what you are getting into. Architecture is a tough tough profession. If money is what you are after then architecture is not for you. Unless you own the firm, you don't make much. But there are ways to make money in architecture.

1) Own your own firm. You will make $ owning your own firm. But the problem is you need to establish a client base. How do you do that? From working for someone else a few years (5 to 10 yrs) and doing such a slam blam jobs that clients are loyal to you not your employer. So when you leave you leave with a "secured" client base.

2) Being a smoocher (Spell check) in your firm. What I mean about that? You bring in business to your employer's firm. How do you do that? There are several ways -

a) Go to big name school with lots of rich kids or going to be rich adults. For example Harvard. You go to Harvard majored in architecture and make some friends along the way. Your friends (you are already networking) hopefully will become big name lawyers, politicians, etc. Who do they look to when they become big and need someone to do their house? You! That is why you go to Harvard not for the education for the people. Other than that you can go to a regular school. Architects don't care where you went to school just your experience. (Look at my last post).

b) In New York and California, there are lots of high rise buildings. In those high rise buildings (the individually owned ones) there are facility or building managers. You have to kiss their ass - take them to dinner, golf, strip bars, etc. Why? Because they manage the building THEY decide who "plays" in their building. So you need them to like you to allow you to do work in their building. Same goes to buildings who are owned by corporate firms. They owned like 10 buildings you smooch them to get work.

Being a smoocher in your firm, is the better way I think. No risk of your money because it's not your firm.

3) Become a partner or associate. I think the salary ceiling depends on the size of the firm can be $80,000 (Big size firm). Being a partner doesn't mean sit back and get fat. Just lots of stress and responsibility.

4) Work for an architectural firm to get experience (5 to 7 yrs) and get out do something related to architecture like going to the "other side". The other side is the construction part become that contractor or project manager at the construction firm they earn a lot more and have no reliability? WHAT, no reliability???!! How is that possible? They just say look at the drawings the architect told me to build it that way, I'm just a dumb contractor following his drawings.

This is something I am considering, move back to Cali and work for a contracting firm. Just have to wait to see if my comic strip doesn't pan out.

Those are the ways I know you can get rich in architecture. I do want to tell you one thing. If you do go into architecture staying in SoCal is the way to go. In New York there is no such thing as new architecture (except for the New World Trade Center). There is NO ROOM for a new building and people here are too conservative about "design". Cali on the other hand has lots more room to "play". Then why are there so many architects in NY you ask? Because they are all doing interior design. For example I did a space near Central Park in the Caesar Pelli Building. The previous tenant moves out (BMG, yes the music firm) and Barry Diller moves in (Yes the rich one and yes I met him) We gutted his space and redo it - these are called TI (tenant improvements). There are other types of "interior design", like the one for the guy did for Anna Nicole. Those are just picking furniture, paint colors, etc - this is also called interior design (or what I use to do in school. I went over to the interior design department and redid their sign to "Inferior Design")

Maybe I am jaded (not like Mybad) but I can tell you I have seen everything and done everything in architecture. I have done supermarkets, restaurants, high rises, lobbies, buildings, interior spaces, houses, hospital. Everything! I started at the bottom and been to the top of the mountain and it doesn't have a pot of gold.

A few more things just in case you are considering architecture and go through with it, these are things to keep in mind.

- Surveying. What the hell is that? When a previous tenant moves out and your client moves in, you have to measure out their space to see if everything fits. Doesn't sound hard... Well it's not just freaking tedious!!! Imagine this. You are measuring a space 25,000 sq ft. On the long side of the space it is 200 feet long and there are 41 windows they are slightly less than 4 feet wide. You get lazy, complacent, or whatever. You are off 1/2" on every window, by the end of the line you are off like 2 feet! And don't know why!!! You go back and survey again! The boss is pissed too! Why your time is money going back is money out of his pocket! Another thing about surveying most of the time the space is still occupied from the tenant who hasn't moved out yet. So all their shit is in the way! making it sometimes impossible to measure when rows of files are in the way. A few times we have to go back and survey at night is the tenant doesn't want you to disturb them. Yes i have done that. The last one was at the Fox building in Century City (The Die Hard building) I started with another person at 7pm we ended at 4am. Why would you go survey then? Why not wait till they move out? Because time is money. Once the tenant moves out your client starts paying rent regardless if he is occupied in the space or not. So the bigger headstart he can get he will take it and you will suffer because of it. Oh, BTW these are the nice places to measure... there are other places to measure too. Real dirty and nasty places - restaurants completely disgusting what they do in the kitchen, everyplace has restrooms imagine measuring one!!! (Men's room - nuff said), supermarkets nasty ass storage areas full of rats, you get the idea. I even did a few haunted places.

- Architect for houses. This can be the most satisfying (sp) one of all. Why? You get to do a personal job such as design and little details because the owner wants them. But most stressful too... Because you are dealing with their house, their HOME. Everything little thing that goes wrong they turn to you.

- Working for a big firm. Hard to move up the ladder unless you sabotage and brown nose your way up. Very easy to get cookie fitted. What is that? For example "Oh he is good at drawings toilets, give it to him!" You end up drawing cans forever!

- Working for a small firm. You learn a lot! This is where you earn your scars and loving it. The only drawback is the pay. The smaller the firm the less they pay. I recommend like how I did it. Intern at a small firm (Make damn sure it's a successful and very busy firm but small) that is what I did. I learn to do everything. When I graduated I was more then ready to do anything, I think that is how I moved up the ladder so quickly. If you do choose to walk this path I can't stress this enough intern at a small busy and successful firm. Earn your scars early. That means while your buddies are enjoying the summer vacation, you work. Also another incentive is I made enough (under the table yes I got paid, I told you I was lucky) to off all my loans by the time I graduated in one shot. My friends are still trying to pay theirs off (been 6 yrs)

- Working a mid size firm. This is like the Train stop where Neo got stuck in Matrix 3. This is no man's land. You choose your fate you can forever be a CAD monkey or work your way up.

- Working for an interior design firm. The typical job that you will probably get.

- Working for a firm that does health facilities. This is a nice job to get. Very BORING. But most stable when the economy tanks they are not effect they still need hospital.

- When the economy tanks... architecture is the first to get hit and the last to recover. When you don't have $ what don't you want to do? Renovate. That means jobs for us.

As for what to do... I don't know. I never knew what people meant when they said "I'm so lucky!! I love my job and I get pay doing it!" till now. I think you just need to find what you love not what other people love you to do, ultimately it's you doing it.

Comment on the mechanical and structural engineer career - NO!!!!! Same shiet! Even worse. Their jobs are boring and they have to kiss architect ass to get a job because they work under the architect.