this is is a novice's question, so thanks for enlightening - prelude.

i have been thinking of career switching into archi and finding archinet and the forum have been god sent. having spent an unhealthy amount time immersing myself deep in the belly of archinet forum in the last few weeks a subject has repeatedly come to my attention.

there seems to be a general warning / advice / opinion that architecture school and working in architecture are two very different things. would any one care to help clarify this thought...? it'd good to be able to find out as much about the profession before embarking on a 3-5 year study and coming out to a completely different experience then expected.

thanks

they're different and that's just the way it is. enjoy school for what it is, then enjoy work for what it is. school is more about ways of thinking and dealing with problems than necessarily equipping you for a workforce.

if that makes you queasy, then there are schools that are more vocationally focused, but imo they aren't as good.

architecture school asks questions, architecture profession provides answers.

You sit a lot more in the profession: sit,click,sit,click,sit,click,pee,sit click. For 8hrs 5 days per-wk.

School enslaves you for the betterment of your mental capacity. Industry enslaves you for the betterment of industry. One is stimulates, one numbs.

I don't think this is unique to Architecture, but Arch. is that way. There are exciting days though: you may get to speak at a big conference, learn something new, or get a flat so you don't have to go in.

''You sit a lot more in the profession: sit,click,sit,click,sit,click,pee,sit click. For 8hrs 5 days per-wk. ''

What firm do you work in? Try 12 hours Monday through Friday and 6 hours on the weekends.



Also, I think your remarks regarding the profession being mind numbing are absolutely false. People who are bored are actually boring themselves. Your job is what you make of it. Anything can be banal if you want it to be and likewise anything can be interesting if you want it to be.

School is like a cult of bullshit worshipers. Theres certain rules about what to say and do but they arent written down and by the time you learn to follow them your brainwashing is complete. The real world is performance based doesnt put up with bullshit so you will spend the next 5 years deprograming yourself. Some people inevitably become too fried in the head and end up here.

Architecture school is challenging, inspiring, exciting, stimulating and exhausting. Architecture as a profession is challenging, exciting and banal, dream stifling and exhausting.


All depends on what your expectations are. Not everything in life is 'what you make of it', although there are always opportunities to do things differently and get what you want.

Personally, the profession was too stifling for me (from a creative and compensation standpoint), so I choose a different path after 6+ years of arch education (4 undergrad, 3 grad).

I still design buildings, but I won't work as an architect. Your career is what you make of it and there are many opportunities to do things how you want to get what you want - all depends on your personal expectations and interests, everyone is different.

trace, totally agree

school is all about learning about coming up with ideas

work is all about executing these ideas (not your own ideas at first) in actual projects, then learning it all takes about 100x longer to complete a building than you are lead to believe in school


both have their benefits and drawbacks

but you are not in school to learn the skills you will use daily in the professional world
those really can only be learned once you start working



jp
do you actually work 12 hour days and then on the weekends all the time?
I hope you get paid extra for that

i do agree with you though
If you are bored in your job, you are not doing something right. Yes, everything will not always be fun, but those who say real world architecture work is boring or mind numbing usually have completely unrealistic expectations for their job.
You wont get to design your dream project every single day of your career, and most young architects arent able to handle that it seems.