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yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0v9li | iu0dtr1 | 1,666,896,559 | 1,666,889,837 | 5 | 2 | You need a therapist, dude. It sounds like you’re your own worst enemy and the “woe is me” self deprecation that is subtextually there in your post is really not helpful. | Start a garden or find something that gives you joy and do that. | 1 | 6,722 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0v9li | iu0dwkl | 1,666,896,559 | 1,666,889,866 | 5 | 2 | You need a therapist, dude. It sounds like you’re your own worst enemy and the “woe is me” self deprecation that is subtextually there in your post is really not helpful. | Ok, so a lot to unpack here but: Let's put your economic situation aside, and other personal circumstances. All of what you tried to achieve was technically achievable, therefore I would not share details with potential employers. Also - you're likely not overqualified - you've not had significant professional experience and just graduating does not make you qualified really. As for how to push this forward: short term seek to build up skills that are sought after for arch assistant roles: Revit, BIM related knowledge, general 3d modelling etc. Start building your professional career based on that. Be patient. All of the options you've outlined make sense but require at least some patience. Lack of it is worrying. I'd try looking into help, therapy, mentoring at the very least. In architecture you have to be good at self organising, focused, resilient, smart and good at what you're doing to achieve work life balance - and it's totally doable, but requires to put in effort to start, and it takes years. Good luck | 1 | 6,693 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wt1 | iu05pyd | 1,666,886,382 | 1,666,886,700 | 3 | 5 | Do you have an equivalent to at least one year of full time work experience in the industry? Because if so - you most likely qualify for immigration to Canada through the skilled worker category. With your education, English skills and experience it should be relatively easy for you to get that approved and get a decent mid-level architecture position in Canada. Just make sure you put together a portfolio that combines your school projects and professional work. It doesn’t have to be very long 5-6 projects should be more than enough. And don’t worry too much about having unbuilt projects, it’s not that important unless you want to get a job doing construction admin. I’ve also been in the profession for a long time - almost 15 years and still struggling through some aspects of it. While I’ve had some pretty good jobs I’m still not done my M.Arch and have probably another 3 years to go. But a lot of my colleagues also took almost at decade to finish their schooling and most people don’t even become a license architect until they’re in their 40s or later. It is a tough career so don’t feel bad about being behind because chance are you’re not compared to most other people. However you do have to ask yourself if you actually find satisfaction in this career because it does take a lot of will power to stick through it. Best of luck. | Hi there! I was in your position a few years ago. I couldn’t afford to get my masters in architecture and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I now do product design. The first step is to get medicated now (if you can). I started on adderall and it fixed 50% of what you wrote up there. After you’re medicated, life will get easier. You’ll think clearer, everything won’t feel like such a burden anymore. You’ll have a quieter brain. Lastly, I would either go into teaching or UX. It has been good to me. | 0 | 318 | 1.666667 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | itzys4z | iu05pyd | 1,666,883,990 | 1,666,886,700 | 2 | 5 | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | Hi there! I was in your position a few years ago. I couldn’t afford to get my masters in architecture and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I now do product design. The first step is to get medicated now (if you can). I started on adderall and it fixed 50% of what you wrote up there. After you’re medicated, life will get easier. You’ll think clearer, everything won’t feel like such a burden anymore. You’ll have a quieter brain. Lastly, I would either go into teaching or UX. It has been good to me. | 0 | 2,710 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wbw | iu05pyd | 1,666,886,377 | 1,666,886,700 | 2 | 5 | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | Hi there! I was in your position a few years ago. I couldn’t afford to get my masters in architecture and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I now do product design. The first step is to get medicated now (if you can). I started on adderall and it fixed 50% of what you wrote up there. After you’re medicated, life will get easier. You’ll think clearer, everything won’t feel like such a burden anymore. You’ll have a quieter brain. Lastly, I would either go into teaching or UX. It has been good to me. | 0 | 323 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wt1 | iu05yyo | 1,666,886,382 | 1,666,886,799 | 3 | 5 | Do you have an equivalent to at least one year of full time work experience in the industry? Because if so - you most likely qualify for immigration to Canada through the skilled worker category. With your education, English skills and experience it should be relatively easy for you to get that approved and get a decent mid-level architecture position in Canada. Just make sure you put together a portfolio that combines your school projects and professional work. It doesn’t have to be very long 5-6 projects should be more than enough. And don’t worry too much about having unbuilt projects, it’s not that important unless you want to get a job doing construction admin. I’ve also been in the profession for a long time - almost 15 years and still struggling through some aspects of it. While I’ve had some pretty good jobs I’m still not done my M.Arch and have probably another 3 years to go. But a lot of my colleagues also took almost at decade to finish their schooling and most people don’t even become a license architect until they’re in their 40s or later. It is a tough career so don’t feel bad about being behind because chance are you’re not compared to most other people. However you do have to ask yourself if you actually find satisfaction in this career because it does take a lot of will power to stick through it. Best of luck. | I feel you OP. Life can be super hard and unsatisfying at times, often long stretches. I went to music school and am a professional musician and at 34 I am now working a starter job at Walmart (back room hard work, heavy lifting for 10 hours a day) with managers nearly half my age lol. It’s all good though because I have been working my ass off there going above and beyond and my bosses are definitely noticing. The entire culture of my department has changed a lot since I’ve been there and we transformed from one of the worst in the state to one of the best. It’s not what I dreamed of doing as a kid.. but I find satisfaction in it anyways. I know that as long as I can stick around and keep up the work ethic I will be able to transform my life for the better and I’m ok with it. | 0 | 417 | 1.666667 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | itzys4z | iu05yyo | 1,666,883,990 | 1,666,886,799 | 2 | 5 | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | I feel you OP. Life can be super hard and unsatisfying at times, often long stretches. I went to music school and am a professional musician and at 34 I am now working a starter job at Walmart (back room hard work, heavy lifting for 10 hours a day) with managers nearly half my age lol. It’s all good though because I have been working my ass off there going above and beyond and my bosses are definitely noticing. The entire culture of my department has changed a lot since I’ve been there and we transformed from one of the worst in the state to one of the best. It’s not what I dreamed of doing as a kid.. but I find satisfaction in it anyways. I know that as long as I can stick around and keep up the work ethic I will be able to transform my life for the better and I’m ok with it. | 0 | 2,809 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wbw | iu05yyo | 1,666,886,377 | 1,666,886,799 | 2 | 5 | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | I feel you OP. Life can be super hard and unsatisfying at times, often long stretches. I went to music school and am a professional musician and at 34 I am now working a starter job at Walmart (back room hard work, heavy lifting for 10 hours a day) with managers nearly half my age lol. It’s all good though because I have been working my ass off there going above and beyond and my bosses are definitely noticing. The entire culture of my department has changed a lot since I’ve been there and we transformed from one of the worst in the state to one of the best. It’s not what I dreamed of doing as a kid.. but I find satisfaction in it anyways. I know that as long as I can stick around and keep up the work ethic I will be able to transform my life for the better and I’m ok with it. | 0 | 422 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0djwj | iu04wt1 | 1,666,889,733 | 1,666,886,382 | 5 | 3 | I am in a similar place. Starting talk therapy has been enormously helpful. Getting the underlying issues a little bit more under control will help you start to get out of your own way. None of the top comments are addressing the underlying mental health issues. I think that is an oversight. Start by learning more about yourself and growing. You will be able to make better decisions once you have a more stable and healthy mindset. | Do you have an equivalent to at least one year of full time work experience in the industry? Because if so - you most likely qualify for immigration to Canada through the skilled worker category. With your education, English skills and experience it should be relatively easy for you to get that approved and get a decent mid-level architecture position in Canada. Just make sure you put together a portfolio that combines your school projects and professional work. It doesn’t have to be very long 5-6 projects should be more than enough. And don’t worry too much about having unbuilt projects, it’s not that important unless you want to get a job doing construction admin. I’ve also been in the profession for a long time - almost 15 years and still struggling through some aspects of it. While I’ve had some pretty good jobs I’m still not done my M.Arch and have probably another 3 years to go. But a lot of my colleagues also took almost at decade to finish their schooling and most people don’t even become a license architect until they’re in their 40s or later. It is a tough career so don’t feel bad about being behind because chance are you’re not compared to most other people. However you do have to ask yourself if you actually find satisfaction in this career because it does take a lot of will power to stick through it. Best of luck. | 1 | 3,351 | 1.666667 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0djwj | itzys4z | 1,666,889,733 | 1,666,883,990 | 5 | 2 | I am in a similar place. Starting talk therapy has been enormously helpful. Getting the underlying issues a little bit more under control will help you start to get out of your own way. None of the top comments are addressing the underlying mental health issues. I think that is an oversight. Start by learning more about yourself and growing. You will be able to make better decisions once you have a more stable and healthy mindset. | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | 1 | 5,743 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wbw | iu0djwj | 1,666,886,377 | 1,666,889,733 | 2 | 5 | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | I am in a similar place. Starting talk therapy has been enormously helpful. Getting the underlying issues a little bit more under control will help you start to get out of your own way. None of the top comments are addressing the underlying mental health issues. I think that is an oversight. Start by learning more about yourself and growing. You will be able to make better decisions once you have a more stable and healthy mindset. | 0 | 3,356 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0djwj | iu06x53 | 1,666,889,733 | 1,666,887,167 | 5 | 2 | I am in a similar place. Starting talk therapy has been enormously helpful. Getting the underlying issues a little bit more under control will help you start to get out of your own way. None of the top comments are addressing the underlying mental health issues. I think that is an oversight. Start by learning more about yourself and growing. You will be able to make better decisions once you have a more stable and healthy mindset. | Only you have the power the change your circumstance here. It starts with changing the story you tell yourself. Your post shows that you are harboring a lot of negativity about yourself. You absolutely have to free your mind from this or this will become the norm. Try not to look to others for approval, your opinion of yourself is the one that matters first and foremost. In spite of your perceived failures, you have achieved a lot more than many many people who have lived on this planet. Your past is a series of step stones and learning that has led you to where you are today. | 1 | 2,566 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0djwj | iu0c2u2 | 1,666,889,733 | 1,666,889,175 | 5 | 2 | I am in a similar place. Starting talk therapy has been enormously helpful. Getting the underlying issues a little bit more under control will help you start to get out of your own way. None of the top comments are addressing the underlying mental health issues. I think that is an oversight. Start by learning more about yourself and growing. You will be able to make better decisions once you have a more stable and healthy mindset. | What country are you from? | 1 | 558 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wt1 | iu0gv1x | 1,666,886,382 | 1,666,891,015 | 3 | 5 | Do you have an equivalent to at least one year of full time work experience in the industry? Because if so - you most likely qualify for immigration to Canada through the skilled worker category. With your education, English skills and experience it should be relatively easy for you to get that approved and get a decent mid-level architecture position in Canada. Just make sure you put together a portfolio that combines your school projects and professional work. It doesn’t have to be very long 5-6 projects should be more than enough. And don’t worry too much about having unbuilt projects, it’s not that important unless you want to get a job doing construction admin. I’ve also been in the profession for a long time - almost 15 years and still struggling through some aspects of it. While I’ve had some pretty good jobs I’m still not done my M.Arch and have probably another 3 years to go. But a lot of my colleagues also took almost at decade to finish their schooling and most people don’t even become a license architect until they’re in their 40s or later. It is a tough career so don’t feel bad about being behind because chance are you’re not compared to most other people. However you do have to ask yourself if you actually find satisfaction in this career because it does take a lot of will power to stick through it. Best of luck. | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | 0 | 4,633 | 1.666667 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | itzys4z | iu0gv1x | 1,666,883,990 | 1,666,891,015 | 2 | 5 | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | 0 | 7,025 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wbw | iu0gv1x | 1,666,886,377 | 1,666,891,015 | 2 | 5 | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | 0 | 4,638 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu06x53 | iu0gv1x | 1,666,887,167 | 1,666,891,015 | 2 | 5 | Only you have the power the change your circumstance here. It starts with changing the story you tell yourself. Your post shows that you are harboring a lot of negativity about yourself. You absolutely have to free your mind from this or this will become the norm. Try not to look to others for approval, your opinion of yourself is the one that matters first and foremost. In spite of your perceived failures, you have achieved a lot more than many many people who have lived on this planet. Your past is a series of step stones and learning that has led you to where you are today. | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | 0 | 3,848 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0gv1x | iu0c2u2 | 1,666,891,015 | 1,666,889,175 | 5 | 2 | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | What country are you from? | 1 | 1,840 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0dtr1 | iu0gv1x | 1,666,889,837 | 1,666,891,015 | 2 | 5 | Start a garden or find something that gives you joy and do that. | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | 0 | 1,178 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0gv1x | iu0dwkl | 1,666,891,015 | 1,666,889,866 | 5 | 2 | Have you ever read up on OCPD? Toxic perfectionism, procrastination & regular burn out is very common for those of us with this condition. | Ok, so a lot to unpack here but: Let's put your economic situation aside, and other personal circumstances. All of what you tried to achieve was technically achievable, therefore I would not share details with potential employers. Also - you're likely not overqualified - you've not had significant professional experience and just graduating does not make you qualified really. As for how to push this forward: short term seek to build up skills that are sought after for arch assistant roles: Revit, BIM related knowledge, general 3d modelling etc. Start building your professional career based on that. Be patient. All of the options you've outlined make sense but require at least some patience. Lack of it is worrying. I'd try looking into help, therapy, mentoring at the very least. In architecture you have to be good at self organising, focused, resilient, smart and good at what you're doing to achieve work life balance - and it's totally doable, but requires to put in effort to start, and it takes years. Good luck | 1 | 1,149 | 2.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wt1 | itzys4z | 1,666,886,382 | 1,666,883,990 | 3 | 2 | Do you have an equivalent to at least one year of full time work experience in the industry? Because if so - you most likely qualify for immigration to Canada through the skilled worker category. With your education, English skills and experience it should be relatively easy for you to get that approved and get a decent mid-level architecture position in Canada. Just make sure you put together a portfolio that combines your school projects and professional work. It doesn’t have to be very long 5-6 projects should be more than enough. And don’t worry too much about having unbuilt projects, it’s not that important unless you want to get a job doing construction admin. I’ve also been in the profession for a long time - almost 15 years and still struggling through some aspects of it. While I’ve had some pretty good jobs I’m still not done my M.Arch and have probably another 3 years to go. But a lot of my colleagues also took almost at decade to finish their schooling and most people don’t even become a license architect until they’re in their 40s or later. It is a tough career so don’t feel bad about being behind because chance are you’re not compared to most other people. However you do have to ask yourself if you actually find satisfaction in this career because it does take a lot of will power to stick through it. Best of luck. | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | 1 | 2,392 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wt1 | iu04wbw | 1,666,886,382 | 1,666,886,377 | 3 | 2 | Do you have an equivalent to at least one year of full time work experience in the industry? Because if so - you most likely qualify for immigration to Canada through the skilled worker category. With your education, English skills and experience it should be relatively easy for you to get that approved and get a decent mid-level architecture position in Canada. Just make sure you put together a portfolio that combines your school projects and professional work. It doesn’t have to be very long 5-6 projects should be more than enough. And don’t worry too much about having unbuilt projects, it’s not that important unless you want to get a job doing construction admin. I’ve also been in the profession for a long time - almost 15 years and still struggling through some aspects of it. While I’ve had some pretty good jobs I’m still not done my M.Arch and have probably another 3 years to go. But a lot of my colleagues also took almost at decade to finish their schooling and most people don’t even become a license architect until they’re in their 40s or later. It is a tough career so don’t feel bad about being behind because chance are you’re not compared to most other people. However you do have to ask yourself if you actually find satisfaction in this career because it does take a lot of will power to stick through it. Best of luck. | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | 1 | 5 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | itzys4z | iu0lld6 | 1,666,883,990 | 1,666,892,834 | 2 | 3 | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | I don't see any failures just possibly insurmountable obstacles. you haven't really done anything wrong. here I thought you had designed a building that wasn't to standard and people had been injured or died or had done something professionally unethical. it does not appear that you have done anything unethical. you have circumstances that are hard due to immigration and personal/ family issues. | 0 | 8,844 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0lld6 | iu04wbw | 1,666,892,834 | 1,666,886,377 | 3 | 2 | I don't see any failures just possibly insurmountable obstacles. you haven't really done anything wrong. here I thought you had designed a building that wasn't to standard and people had been injured or died or had done something professionally unethical. it does not appear that you have done anything unethical. you have circumstances that are hard due to immigration and personal/ family issues. | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | 1 | 6,457 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0lld6 | iu06x53 | 1,666,892,834 | 1,666,887,167 | 3 | 2 | I don't see any failures just possibly insurmountable obstacles. you haven't really done anything wrong. here I thought you had designed a building that wasn't to standard and people had been injured or died or had done something professionally unethical. it does not appear that you have done anything unethical. you have circumstances that are hard due to immigration and personal/ family issues. | Only you have the power the change your circumstance here. It starts with changing the story you tell yourself. Your post shows that you are harboring a lot of negativity about yourself. You absolutely have to free your mind from this or this will become the norm. Try not to look to others for approval, your opinion of yourself is the one that matters first and foremost. In spite of your perceived failures, you have achieved a lot more than many many people who have lived on this planet. Your past is a series of step stones and learning that has led you to where you are today. | 1 | 5,667 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0lld6 | iu0c2u2 | 1,666,892,834 | 1,666,889,175 | 3 | 2 | I don't see any failures just possibly insurmountable obstacles. you haven't really done anything wrong. here I thought you had designed a building that wasn't to standard and people had been injured or died or had done something professionally unethical. it does not appear that you have done anything unethical. you have circumstances that are hard due to immigration and personal/ family issues. | What country are you from? | 1 | 3,659 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0dtr1 | iu0lld6 | 1,666,889,837 | 1,666,892,834 | 2 | 3 | Start a garden or find something that gives you joy and do that. | I don't see any failures just possibly insurmountable obstacles. you haven't really done anything wrong. here I thought you had designed a building that wasn't to standard and people had been injured or died or had done something professionally unethical. it does not appear that you have done anything unethical. you have circumstances that are hard due to immigration and personal/ family issues. | 0 | 2,997 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0dwkl | iu0lld6 | 1,666,889,866 | 1,666,892,834 | 2 | 3 | Ok, so a lot to unpack here but: Let's put your economic situation aside, and other personal circumstances. All of what you tried to achieve was technically achievable, therefore I would not share details with potential employers. Also - you're likely not overqualified - you've not had significant professional experience and just graduating does not make you qualified really. As for how to push this forward: short term seek to build up skills that are sought after for arch assistant roles: Revit, BIM related knowledge, general 3d modelling etc. Start building your professional career based on that. Be patient. All of the options you've outlined make sense but require at least some patience. Lack of it is worrying. I'd try looking into help, therapy, mentoring at the very least. In architecture you have to be good at self organising, focused, resilient, smart and good at what you're doing to achieve work life balance - and it's totally doable, but requires to put in effort to start, and it takes years. Good luck | I don't see any failures just possibly insurmountable obstacles. you haven't really done anything wrong. here I thought you had designed a building that wasn't to standard and people had been injured or died or had done something professionally unethical. it does not appear that you have done anything unethical. you have circumstances that are hard due to immigration and personal/ family issues. | 0 | 2,968 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | itzys4z | iu1ur57 | 1,666,883,990 | 1,666,910,958 | 2 | 3 | As cliché as it sounds, you can try to go into tech UI/UX. Its probably one of the lower barriers of entry with decent pay. Also same as programming, there are resources to learn this online. Reason i am saying this is because UI/UX needs the same mix of art and problem solving - like industrial design. | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | 0 | 26,968 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu04wbw | iu1ur57 | 1,666,886,377 | 1,666,910,958 | 2 | 3 | First and foremost, work on improving your mental health. That will make everything easier to accomplish. Next, try to understand what you want out of architecture. It sounds like you want to do the design part, but are less enthusiastic about the process of documenting a design to get it built. The reality is that no firm is going to put green hires into a lead design position, and almost all of us start doing grunt work and work our way into more parts of the process. A good employer will work with you to achieve your goals, but you also can take advantage of learning from the gruntwork- for instance, learn technical details from what you are drawing, try to understand what the design is trying to do and ask the leads about the process. Look up the requirements for licensing and use that as a guide to things you need to work on, even if you aren't planning to get licensed. It will give you some direction in a job and a way to approach your bosses about things you want and need to work on. Finally, not every firm is a good fit for a particular person. I love working in a small firm- I got to be part of the design process early on, and I wasn't simply a cog in a big machine. The work isn't as big and sexy as many large firms, but I was seeing results of my design input in built projects while friends at large firms were still detailing public restrooms. | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | 0 | 24,581 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu06x53 | iu1ur57 | 1,666,887,167 | 1,666,910,958 | 2 | 3 | Only you have the power the change your circumstance here. It starts with changing the story you tell yourself. Your post shows that you are harboring a lot of negativity about yourself. You absolutely have to free your mind from this or this will become the norm. Try not to look to others for approval, your opinion of yourself is the one that matters first and foremost. In spite of your perceived failures, you have achieved a lot more than many many people who have lived on this planet. Your past is a series of step stones and learning that has led you to where you are today. | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | 0 | 23,791 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu1ur57 | iu0c2u2 | 1,666,910,958 | 1,666,889,175 | 3 | 2 | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | What country are you from? | 1 | 21,783 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu1ur57 | iu0dtr1 | 1,666,910,958 | 1,666,889,837 | 3 | 2 | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | Start a garden or find something that gives you joy and do that. | 1 | 21,121 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu0dwkl | iu1ur57 | 1,666,889,866 | 1,666,910,958 | 2 | 3 | Ok, so a lot to unpack here but: Let's put your economic situation aside, and other personal circumstances. All of what you tried to achieve was technically achievable, therefore I would not share details with potential employers. Also - you're likely not overqualified - you've not had significant professional experience and just graduating does not make you qualified really. As for how to push this forward: short term seek to build up skills that are sought after for arch assistant roles: Revit, BIM related knowledge, general 3d modelling etc. Start building your professional career based on that. Be patient. All of the options you've outlined make sense but require at least some patience. Lack of it is worrying. I'd try looking into help, therapy, mentoring at the very least. In architecture you have to be good at self organising, focused, resilient, smart and good at what you're doing to achieve work life balance - and it's totally doable, but requires to put in effort to start, and it takes years. Good luck | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | 0 | 21,092 | 1.5 | ||
yepboi | architecture_train | 0.91 | I've decimated my professional career . pls help me out. What do I do, ? \[TLDR\] : I (34) have nothing to show for the last 16 years I've spent in this profession spent studying, struggling to manage, trying to hold down jobs, burning out frequently and now too tired of myself, lost any & all will, kicking the life's bucket seems too enticing. Hardest part is, I don't even know where to begin rebuilding back up from this pit of despair. Please bear my long plea as i don't know where else to post this. **My Career's Illustrious failures so far.** ● started B.Arch in a new country in **2006** (*took 7yrs instead of 5, struggled with archaic third world curriculum, self pacing, resources, moved from a second World country..* ) ● Hardly worked 6 months after my 6 month internship. Quit/ let go due to lack of challenging work and low pay. 1 hospitality project, that later shutdown. ● started M.Arch in a new western country in **2014**, funded on partial debt, liked the curriculum, but too poor to focus on academics, had to 12hr work days as a CAD monkey just to meet the High Cost of living. Took three years to complete instead of two. Burnt to a crisp. Quit cad monkey job due to lack of work satisfaction, (too long to get to completion). 0 built projects to show for. ●2018, moved back to parent's basement (third world) after messing up and failing to lodge right work visas, any and all plans to contribute to family's small business rejected almost evicted from my own home. Living locked up as a recluse, haven't professionally worked a day since 2017. Survived initially of saving and now on scraps and handouts. On the verge of homelessness. ● **Major underlying cause seems to be my Undiagnosed Untreated ADHD / ADD, procrastination, anxiety, toxic perfectionism, being an economic refugee from a dysfunctional family made it even worse.** Had no friends ever to fallback on. No one ever want to be my friend / mentor not even my dad. *yay! daddy issues*. ●Compensate dark grim thoughts with distractions online that i am addicted to / sick of, dreaming diverse grandiose plans but do nothing much or burnout asap and spiral back into depression and back to cheap distractions. ●**Overqualified for the local job market, hate the type of work being done locally, harder as a minority and social outcast in the society, lack of native language skills other than English is an barrier as well**. ○**Would it be too unreal for me to dream of a stable job with a decent work life balance and some semblance of job satisfaction. I've wanted to help ppl but no one ever wants my help.** ○What it would be better for me to leave the profession and get into UX for shorter project turnarounds alone, the learning curve seems daunting and have no time i feel, given my situation. ○Do I strive to relocate to where my M.Arch is valid or worth it? immigration is hard and takes forever. or (easier to migrate) do I look at PhD positions and live off a stipend. I like research aspect but hate the idea of teaching others into this drudgery of high effort low reward profession. °Losing my mind, losing my time, please help me get out of this rut and shine. \[PS\]: Mods please remove of its inappropriate here. but please tell me why. \[PS\] Also. If I have doxed myself and you think you know me , i am sorry to be an embarrassment. | iu1ur57 | iu0y67g | 1,666,910,958 | 1,666,897,695 | 3 | 2 | > overqualified for the local job market Mate you haven’t had any projects built… I can’t imagine any job you would be overqualified for! | You sound like me. I only found out around the age of 48 that I had ADHD. I have 3 degrees in 3 different fields and can do each field well, but get so bored with my work so fast (all 3 are on the creative side but not art in itself). If I did not have a loving husband with a steady job, I would not have been able to start my own company. Without his degree in engineering, the company would also not be as valuable. My advice to you is that people with ADHD have a knack for finding work and being entrepreneurs. We struggle to stay the course and we get bored fast, but once we get that one that sticks, it really sticks. Get on some meds and find therapy. I have and it has really helped me get back on my feet after I was unemployed for 5 years and back in school with baby sitting on the side for 6. If meds and therapy is not available because of medical insurance or something like that in your country go to youtube and watch "How to ADHD" to at least understand yourself and your inclinations better and to find inexpensive tips to get back on your feet. | 1 | 13,263 | 1.5 | ||
w2w24e | architecture_train | 0.93 | Where can I find more sources about conceptual or imaginary architecture? Hi! I recently read an article on Failed Architecture's website about the 2.000-Ton City, a wild imaginary city created by the Italian architecture collective Superstudio where "every citizen \[...\] lives alone in a five-square-metre apartment: a cell made of screens, sensors and all the technical systems needed to support human life — sparing occupants the burden of ever having to leave. Thousands of these cubic capsules, stacked vertically, form an uninterrupted megastructure, stretching evenly across all sorts of landscapes". I found the concept fascinating and I would like if anyone could point me to other sources for this kind of speculative/imaginary (I'm sure there's a better term for it) architecture, where the idea is developed with seriousness, not just as a joke. Books, websites, blogs, articles, any kind of recommendation is welcomed! Thanks in advance. P. S. I know absolutely nothing about architecture and I really dislike barging into a subreddit I've never visited before asking questions, so please excuse me if posts like this one are common/annoying. | igsqppy | igsuisz | 1,658,248,975 | 1,658,250,394 | 1 | 2 | Here are two great places to start: 1. Larry Busbea's 'Topolgies' book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/topologies 2. The exhibit catalogue from 'The Changing of the Avant Garde.' Turns out it is online courtesy of MOMA! https://www.moma.org/documents/moma\_catalogue\_148\_300153298.pdf | I don't mean this to be pejorative at all You might look into visiting exhibitions or final reviews or acquiring student work publications if you are near any major architecture graduate schools. Most academic work is highly speculative, some very much so in the way you describe. | 0 | 1,419 | 2 | ||
w2w24e | architecture_train | 0.93 | Where can I find more sources about conceptual or imaginary architecture? Hi! I recently read an article on Failed Architecture's website about the 2.000-Ton City, a wild imaginary city created by the Italian architecture collective Superstudio where "every citizen \[...\] lives alone in a five-square-metre apartment: a cell made of screens, sensors and all the technical systems needed to support human life — sparing occupants the burden of ever having to leave. Thousands of these cubic capsules, stacked vertically, form an uninterrupted megastructure, stretching evenly across all sorts of landscapes". I found the concept fascinating and I would like if anyone could point me to other sources for this kind of speculative/imaginary (I'm sure there's a better term for it) architecture, where the idea is developed with seriousness, not just as a joke. Books, websites, blogs, articles, any kind of recommendation is welcomed! Thanks in advance. P. S. I know absolutely nothing about architecture and I really dislike barging into a subreddit I've never visited before asking questions, so please excuse me if posts like this one are common/annoying. | igsuisz | igsrvf3 | 1,658,250,394 | 1,658,249,403 | 2 | 1 | I don't mean this to be pejorative at all You might look into visiting exhibitions or final reviews or acquiring student work publications if you are near any major architecture graduate schools. Most academic work is highly speculative, some very much so in the way you describe. | Forgive me if I am missing the mark. I am not clear on whether you are looking specifically for stuff like the Superstudio study, or if you are looking for any other sources for speculative/imaginary architecture. But BLDGBLOG comes to mind for the latter. Geoff Manaugh writes his blog about "architectural conjecture" and "urban speculation," and his posts are great jumping off points for ideas like this. Great books too. | 1 | 991 | 2 | ||
m4zi8a | architecture_train | 0.88 | What to do when being graded unfairly in architecture school? Hey everyone, I’ve been having a hard time with one specific Instructor B this year. Not only has our group not been given the same amount of time and resources as other groups, but I am specifically being graded unfairly by Instructor B. I have a close friend in the same class with a different Instructor, and we both submitted work completed to the same extent (meeting deliverables, etc) he was given an 80/100, I received a 0/100. After politely emailing my professor who told me that’s not correct and to address it with the instructor, Instructor B got a similar email and tried saying I deserved the 0, but is refusing to answer my questions and hasn’t given a clear answer as to why I received 0. (An important detail, I’ve previously been vocal to my professor about Instructor B and how she has neglected our group and in general not taught or promoted a learning environment) I’m not saying I deserve a 100 or even 80 points, but this clearly isn’t right. What should I do? | gqx0rex | gqy31pv | 1,615,743,232 | 1,615,757,230 | -1 | 5 | Deliverables.......... never mind that. What was your design like? | Im studying at the moment too and that sounds awful - especially not giving proper feedback on why they graded you the way they did. I’ve literally never heard of anyone being given a zero unless they straight up didn’t hand anything in. Is there a unit coordinator or someone above them you could reach out to express your concern and potentially change tutors? | 0 | 13,998 | -5 | ||
m4zi8a | architecture_train | 0.88 | What to do when being graded unfairly in architecture school? Hey everyone, I’ve been having a hard time with one specific Instructor B this year. Not only has our group not been given the same amount of time and resources as other groups, but I am specifically being graded unfairly by Instructor B. I have a close friend in the same class with a different Instructor, and we both submitted work completed to the same extent (meeting deliverables, etc) he was given an 80/100, I received a 0/100. After politely emailing my professor who told me that’s not correct and to address it with the instructor, Instructor B got a similar email and tried saying I deserved the 0, but is refusing to answer my questions and hasn’t given a clear answer as to why I received 0. (An important detail, I’ve previously been vocal to my professor about Instructor B and how she has neglected our group and in general not taught or promoted a learning environment) I’m not saying I deserve a 100 or even 80 points, but this clearly isn’t right. What should I do? | gqx0rex | gr2w29d | 1,615,743,232 | 1,615,860,800 | -1 | 1 | Deliverables.......... never mind that. What was your design like? | Go above the instructor and talk to the program director, if this means you’re at risk of failing the course. Wouldn’t recommend trying to get an answer out of said instructor. A zero is laughable especially if you handed something in. Don’t let this incident distract you from your studies, and also, don’t let them get the satisfaction of seeing you’re upset by the grade. This seems like their intent. | 0 | 117,568 | -1 | ||
n8k7si | architecture_train | 0.89 | Are we underestimating the significance of setting humbler aims? Soon to be masters architecture student here, just curious to hear feedback from others in the field. I think it is at great peril that we underestimate the power of providing small-scale yet consistent and manageable improvements in our immediate environment (and in our community, as a result). There seems to be a growing movement (at least in my school) that supposes that the architect is responsible to approach everything through a political lens, and design with the purpose of mending society at large. There is undoubtedly a place for that ambition, and it has undoubtedly produced some of architecture's greatest innovations - but we should remember that it's only those which *didn't* fail that go down in history, and not forget the other 99.9% that did. For this reason, I think we ought to recognize the equal merit in devoting one's practice toward aims which are under our control, which are attainable and which we can confidently replicate across time. And I don't even think you can't be innovative without those higher aims, necessarily. Mies Van der Rohe was apolitical, after all. Or, is all of this meant to be the domain of the carpenters and craftsman? | gxixx7q | gxj2ewm | 1,620,586,979 | 1,620,589,148 | 3 | 6 | You raise an interesting point. Perhaps you are on to something. However, I would challenge you to game out how someone is supposed to support themself in this way. Having ideas and producing theory is all well and good, but at the end of the day the rubber has to meet the road. Architecture, in the current politico-economic system, is a business first and an art/theory distant, distant second. If you're not proposing this as a business then what you're describing is activism - which is not apolitical at all. > fail > 99.9% that did I'm curious what your sense of "failure is" and where you get that number from. > consistent and manageable improvements in our immediate environment (and in our community...) I would argue that this is not as apolitical an approach as you are imagining. Most libertarian political philosophical traditions progressive/left and conservative/right alike propose the local as the primary sphere of politics. One's immediate context still exists within the polity after all. > Or, is all of this meant to be the domain of the carpenters and craftsman? Affecting small-scale change in one's own community is the domain of craftspeople, designers, clergy, store clerks, nurses, students, birds, bees, flowers, trees and on and on. | I agree with you and I think you would like this blog: https://misfitsarchitecture.com | 0 | 2,169 | 2 | ||
n8k7si | architecture_train | 0.89 | Are we underestimating the significance of setting humbler aims? Soon to be masters architecture student here, just curious to hear feedback from others in the field. I think it is at great peril that we underestimate the power of providing small-scale yet consistent and manageable improvements in our immediate environment (and in our community, as a result). There seems to be a growing movement (at least in my school) that supposes that the architect is responsible to approach everything through a political lens, and design with the purpose of mending society at large. There is undoubtedly a place for that ambition, and it has undoubtedly produced some of architecture's greatest innovations - but we should remember that it's only those which *didn't* fail that go down in history, and not forget the other 99.9% that did. For this reason, I think we ought to recognize the equal merit in devoting one's practice toward aims which are under our control, which are attainable and which we can confidently replicate across time. And I don't even think you can't be innovative without those higher aims, necessarily. Mies Van der Rohe was apolitical, after all. Or, is all of this meant to be the domain of the carpenters and craftsman? | gxjc3np | gxixx7q | 1,620,593,791 | 1,620,586,979 | 4 | 3 | Excellent question. Late 30s professional in the field here. I think the most important thing for you, and anyone, are: 1) figure out your values and priorities (this is evolving not fixed), and 2) persistence. You mention failure— but keep in mind success is not black or white, it is a process, and testing to failure, and keeping up your dreams and trying to do good within those values and energy, is an enormous task that is actually quite hard but ultimately where success exist. Train yourself to set aside fomo and self comparisons. Train yourself to have good values and keep going, no matter what scale you work at. | You raise an interesting point. Perhaps you are on to something. However, I would challenge you to game out how someone is supposed to support themself in this way. Having ideas and producing theory is all well and good, but at the end of the day the rubber has to meet the road. Architecture, in the current politico-economic system, is a business first and an art/theory distant, distant second. If you're not proposing this as a business then what you're describing is activism - which is not apolitical at all. > fail > 99.9% that did I'm curious what your sense of "failure is" and where you get that number from. > consistent and manageable improvements in our immediate environment (and in our community...) I would argue that this is not as apolitical an approach as you are imagining. Most libertarian political philosophical traditions progressive/left and conservative/right alike propose the local as the primary sphere of politics. One's immediate context still exists within the polity after all. > Or, is all of this meant to be the domain of the carpenters and craftsman? Affecting small-scale change in one's own community is the domain of craftspeople, designers, clergy, store clerks, nurses, students, birds, bees, flowers, trees and on and on. | 1 | 6,812 | 1.333333 | ||
n8k7si | architecture_train | 0.89 | Are we underestimating the significance of setting humbler aims? Soon to be masters architecture student here, just curious to hear feedback from others in the field. I think it is at great peril that we underestimate the power of providing small-scale yet consistent and manageable improvements in our immediate environment (and in our community, as a result). There seems to be a growing movement (at least in my school) that supposes that the architect is responsible to approach everything through a political lens, and design with the purpose of mending society at large. There is undoubtedly a place for that ambition, and it has undoubtedly produced some of architecture's greatest innovations - but we should remember that it's only those which *didn't* fail that go down in history, and not forget the other 99.9% that did. For this reason, I think we ought to recognize the equal merit in devoting one's practice toward aims which are under our control, which are attainable and which we can confidently replicate across time. And I don't even think you can't be innovative without those higher aims, necessarily. Mies Van der Rohe was apolitical, after all. Or, is all of this meant to be the domain of the carpenters and craftsman? | gxjc3np | gxj539o | 1,620,593,791 | 1,620,590,438 | 4 | 1 | Excellent question. Late 30s professional in the field here. I think the most important thing for you, and anyone, are: 1) figure out your values and priorities (this is evolving not fixed), and 2) persistence. You mention failure— but keep in mind success is not black or white, it is a process, and testing to failure, and keeping up your dreams and trying to do good within those values and energy, is an enormous task that is actually quite hard but ultimately where success exist. Train yourself to set aside fomo and self comparisons. Train yourself to have good values and keep going, no matter what scale you work at. | My sense is that this is a process that kicks in after you have left school. Some find themselves winning competitions and rising to fame, some in business-led design, some doing house extensions off their kitchen table. None are right or wrong, and there is a mix of drive dedication and luck as to where you end up. But I think it is true that many schools want to push students into signature architecture, but if you end up somewhere else this absolutely does not mean you have failed. | 1 | 3,353 | 4 | ||
n8k7si | architecture_train | 0.89 | Are we underestimating the significance of setting humbler aims? Soon to be masters architecture student here, just curious to hear feedback from others in the field. I think it is at great peril that we underestimate the power of providing small-scale yet consistent and manageable improvements in our immediate environment (and in our community, as a result). There seems to be a growing movement (at least in my school) that supposes that the architect is responsible to approach everything through a political lens, and design with the purpose of mending society at large. There is undoubtedly a place for that ambition, and it has undoubtedly produced some of architecture's greatest innovations - but we should remember that it's only those which *didn't* fail that go down in history, and not forget the other 99.9% that did. For this reason, I think we ought to recognize the equal merit in devoting one's practice toward aims which are under our control, which are attainable and which we can confidently replicate across time. And I don't even think you can't be innovative without those higher aims, necessarily. Mies Van der Rohe was apolitical, after all. Or, is all of this meant to be the domain of the carpenters and craftsman? | gxr5dft | gxj539o | 1,620,754,773 | 1,620,590,438 | 2 | 1 | A thought occurred to me reflecting on this post. I think you need to do some more learning about Mies van der Rohe. I don't know where the idea that Mies was apolitical is coming from. Perhaps he was not overtly interested in statecraft, but there are many ways to be political. The number one example would be his early career at the Bauhaus as a leading figure in the progressive, modernist, a ante garde of the time. This is not a political act in the sense of statecraft. But it was political enough that his school was shuttered by the Nazis for what they perceived as degeneracy. I'm not entirely sure what this essay is trying to assert - the conclusions are not clear. But I think the premises and assumptions upon which it is couched need a more rigorous reassessment. I'm interested to see what you think, though I see you have not responded to any comments yet. Oh well | My sense is that this is a process that kicks in after you have left school. Some find themselves winning competitions and rising to fame, some in business-led design, some doing house extensions off their kitchen table. None are right or wrong, and there is a mix of drive dedication and luck as to where you end up. But I think it is true that many schools want to push students into signature architecture, but if you end up somewhere else this absolutely does not mean you have failed. | 1 | 164,335 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il46bi6 | il3y1mk | 1,661,030,930 | 1,661,027,296 | 11 | 5 | Maybe look into architectural engineering? Or real estate flipping or something that lets you design and be creative, you don’t have to be pretentious. And don’t worry everyone makes fun of those people behind their backs, it’s no way to live. | I felt like this about engineering. I found my passion in sustainability/resilience infrastructure and urban planning. I’m not sure about job prospects for where you are but any city or municipality will have listings for planners and the skill sets cross over quite a bit but there’s significantly less ego in planning. I’ve been doing state regulatory stuff for a while now and it’s been very cool. | 1 | 3,634 | 2.2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il4gl62 | il3y1mk | 1,661,035,581 | 1,661,027,296 | 8 | 5 | You can work in construction management if that appeals to you. Definitely not pretentious although my experience is similar to another post. There is a lot more pretentiousness in school. Reality is a lot more about budgets and code and filing permits! Not that sexy. Try to enjoy the big ideas while you can | I felt like this about engineering. I found my passion in sustainability/resilience infrastructure and urban planning. I’m not sure about job prospects for where you are but any city or municipality will have listings for planners and the skill sets cross over quite a bit but there’s significantly less ego in planning. I’ve been doing state regulatory stuff for a while now and it’s been very cool. | 1 | 8,285 | 1.6 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6fluc | il3y1mk | 1,661,078,886 | 1,661,027,296 | 6 | 5 | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | I felt like this about engineering. I found my passion in sustainability/resilience infrastructure and urban planning. I’m not sure about job prospects for where you are but any city or municipality will have listings for planners and the skill sets cross over quite a bit but there’s significantly less ego in planning. I’ve been doing state regulatory stuff for a while now and it’s been very cool. | 1 | 51,590 | 1.2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il4xb15 | il6fluc | 1,661,043,588 | 1,661,078,886 | 4 | 6 | I agree with some of the other comments that a lot of your very valid frustrations are because of this academic university mindset. A lot of architectural professors only see a very one dimensional side of the profession (potentially because they haven’t spent that much time themselves in practice). The whole starchitect this is just a tiny part of the profession. Once you start working you’ll be able to find the type of architect you want to be. Find a good mentor that is pragmatic and down to earth and follow their lead. A lot of real life clients don’t want the bullshit conceptual architectural narrative either- they want good pragmatic design in budget and on time. They’ll find your perspective refreshing | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | 0 | 35,298 | 1.5 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il4zchj | il6fluc | 1,661,044,590 | 1,661,078,886 | 3 | 6 | I can't read that wall of words but I did read the title and can say there's plenty of stuff out there. I work in a misc metals (division 5) shop and we have a few architecture graduates on staff. We are a small shop and if the draftsperson wants to help fab or install they can do that. Look for local shops that are doing cool shit, woodworkers, misc metals, etc. At a minimum you will get to understand how stuff actually gets built, which will give you a leg up. | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | 0 | 34,296 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il56dnb | il6fluc | 1,661,048,026 | 1,661,078,886 | 3 | 6 | I finished my degree and worked for 6 months before deciding that I can't do this job anymore. I love designing but the countless hours in an office on a computer and the low pay made me reconsider. I had done lots of work in construction with my hands that I found I enjoyed lots more. So now I am becoming a builder. Have aspects of my own designing, have control over the job and dont have to spend everyday on a computer. | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | 0 | 30,860 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6fluc | il5zx76 | 1,661,078,886 | 1,661,065,670 | 6 | 2 | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | get into urbanism, landscape design, maybe focus on interior design since smaller scope and you can focus on the more fun details of architecture. | 1 | 13,216 | 3 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6fluc | il5rjbt | 1,661,078,886 | 1,661,059,528 | 6 | 1 | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | Just become a cleaner instead. All you need is more Lemon Pledge. | 1 | 19,358 | 6 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6fluc | il68m3l | 1,661,078,886 | 1,661,072,925 | 6 | 1 | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | Wdym by pretentious students? Just curious cause I’d like to avoid that path in the future lol | 1 | 5,961 | 6 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6dbn3 | il6fluc | 1,661,076,999 | 1,661,078,886 | 1 | 6 | Start a business where you provide all the needed drawings & forms for contractors and DYI enthusiasts who need to secure a permit at their town building permit board. So many people get to the permit office trying to do things according to their town ordinances only to find the place is not user friendly. Most towns require some type of plans, and not others. Most want the format to be very specific, to their normal operating procedures. All of this acts to deflate the user. A company which provides affordable & fast forms drawings, and guidance could be a gold mine. | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | 0 | 1,887 | 6 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6fluc | il5hvu5 | 1,661,078,886 | 1,661,053,918 | 6 | -2 | UX DESIGN. Same core creative design skills. Easier/better software. Wonderful pay and benefits. Great work/life balance. Tons of time off. Remote work options. An industry run by young people. Do a UX course online and go make 100k. The architecture/building industry is irreparably broken. It’s just not worth it. | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | 1 | 24,968 | -3 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5rjbt | il5zx76 | 1,661,059,528 | 1,661,065,670 | 1 | 2 | Just become a cleaner instead. All you need is more Lemon Pledge. | get into urbanism, landscape design, maybe focus on interior design since smaller scope and you can focus on the more fun details of architecture. | 0 | 6,142 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5hvu5 | il5zx76 | 1,661,053,918 | 1,661,065,670 | -2 | 2 | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | get into urbanism, landscape design, maybe focus on interior design since smaller scope and you can focus on the more fun details of architecture. | 0 | 11,752 | -1 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5rjbt | il86rkp | 1,661,059,528 | 1,661,108,917 | 1 | 2 | Just become a cleaner instead. All you need is more Lemon Pledge. | Pretty much any design job, from fashion or other accessories | 0 | 49,389 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il86rkp | il68m3l | 1,661,108,917 | 1,661,072,925 | 2 | 1 | Pretty much any design job, from fashion or other accessories | Wdym by pretentious students? Just curious cause I’d like to avoid that path in the future lol | 1 | 35,992 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6dbn3 | il86rkp | 1,661,076,999 | 1,661,108,917 | 1 | 2 | Start a business where you provide all the needed drawings & forms for contractors and DYI enthusiasts who need to secure a permit at their town building permit board. So many people get to the permit office trying to do things according to their town ordinances only to find the place is not user friendly. Most towns require some type of plans, and not others. Most want the format to be very specific, to their normal operating procedures. All of this acts to deflate the user. A company which provides affordable & fast forms drawings, and guidance could be a gold mine. | Pretty much any design job, from fashion or other accessories | 0 | 31,918 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il86rkp | il6w378 | 1,661,108,917 | 1,661,089,201 | 2 | 1 | Pretty much any design job, from fashion or other accessories | >(as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction) This suggest a level of anxiety that's beyond regular. If this is the kind of thing you worry about, a different field might be better. That is so far from anything an architect or interior designer would actually be responsible for, that's it's hard to reconcile how it's an issue. I get that it is, but surely you know that you would have nothing at all to do with how a job is constructed, right? regardless, it is what it is for you People often ignore the public sector as an alternative, but if you went to work at a university, or major hospital, or for a govt agency, you do a lot of programming and schematic design/space planning for the user, (almost all of it interior, especially if you're junior) and then you work with the architecture firm hired to execute the design. Nobody expects overtime, deadlines are reasonable for the most part, and you have a say in them.Paychecks are probably a bit less, but they are stable . Benefits tend to be decent. search your state websites and usajobs for federal, use keywords architect, interior designer, planner, (one at a time) you might be surprised what's out there. edit typo | 1 | 19,716 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il7d49f | il86rkp | 1,661,096,734 | 1,661,108,917 | 1 | 2 | Forget University, and avoid professors. Go work for contractors or small firms closely involved with the industry. Then whenever possible go to work for a city hall, there you will have a fixed 9 to 5 hours will be a union member (nearly no Architect have this protection). I can also recommend building science, energy, solar and heat-pump related additional grad degrees if you prefer money + usefulness+details over art+socializing+competititive environment. | Pretty much any design job, from fashion or other accessories | 0 | 12,183 | 2 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il86rkp | il5hvu5 | 1,661,108,917 | 1,661,053,918 | 2 | -2 | Pretty much any design job, from fashion or other accessories | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | 1 | 54,999 | -1 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5rjbt | il5hvu5 | 1,661,059,528 | 1,661,053,918 | 1 | -2 | Just become a cleaner instead. All you need is more Lemon Pledge. | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | 1 | 5,610 | -0.5 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5hvu5 | il68m3l | 1,661,053,918 | 1,661,072,925 | -2 | 1 | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | Wdym by pretentious students? Just curious cause I’d like to avoid that path in the future lol | 0 | 19,007 | -0.5 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5hvu5 | il6dbn3 | 1,661,053,918 | 1,661,076,999 | -2 | 1 | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | Start a business where you provide all the needed drawings & forms for contractors and DYI enthusiasts who need to secure a permit at their town building permit board. So many people get to the permit office trying to do things according to their town ordinances only to find the place is not user friendly. Most towns require some type of plans, and not others. Most want the format to be very specific, to their normal operating procedures. All of this acts to deflate the user. A company which provides affordable & fast forms drawings, and guidance could be a gold mine. | 0 | 23,081 | -0.5 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il6w378 | il5hvu5 | 1,661,089,201 | 1,661,053,918 | 1 | -2 | >(as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction) This suggest a level of anxiety that's beyond regular. If this is the kind of thing you worry about, a different field might be better. That is so far from anything an architect or interior designer would actually be responsible for, that's it's hard to reconcile how it's an issue. I get that it is, but surely you know that you would have nothing at all to do with how a job is constructed, right? regardless, it is what it is for you People often ignore the public sector as an alternative, but if you went to work at a university, or major hospital, or for a govt agency, you do a lot of programming and schematic design/space planning for the user, (almost all of it interior, especially if you're junior) and then you work with the architecture firm hired to execute the design. Nobody expects overtime, deadlines are reasonable for the most part, and you have a say in them.Paychecks are probably a bit less, but they are stable . Benefits tend to be decent. search your state websites and usajobs for federal, use keywords architect, interior designer, planner, (one at a time) you might be surprised what's out there. edit typo | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | 1 | 35,283 | -0.5 | ||
wtf7i6 | architecture_train | 1 | Career options if you don't want to be an architect? I pretty much hate architecture at this point. Designing is fun (and I'm good at it- my grades and work during my 4 years of undergrad proves that, I even graduated a year early and got a scholarship for a MArch course), but I just don't think I can deal with the constant pretentious bullshit that architects in general do. Ooooo look at this concept! Oooo look how well I've delved into the community with this project! Oooo look at this black and white photo I took of the surrounding neighborhood! Proceeds to *pay* to be able to design something for some random competition only to get short listed at best for a shot to get their firms name out there. Idk if my experience has been bad but just god. It sounds exhausting. The hours, the work, the architects themselves, and worst of all the pay is just depressing and thinking about how my future will be all work for peanuts makes me want to cry. Worst part is that unpaid internships are the norm here because rich architecture students worship the ground star architects walk on and think it's an honor to work for them for free, which in turn means no intern will get paid ever because there's a bunch of kids who think they don't deserve wages because they're getting \~experience\~ and can put it in their resume. The firms are pretty much just like influencers who pay in exposure at this point. I feel like I'm ranting about the things I hate but I'm so burnt out and tired of this industry. *Please* help me figure something out for my future. I was thinking of getting a degree in Computational methods in Architecture and maybe jump from that to a development, data analysist role; but I can't find any alumni who actually did do anything similar and the ones who did graduate with a degree like that don't seem to do jobs with better prospects than architecture itself. Environmental design seems interesting but instead of getting a job as a specialist or consultant, graduates seem to work as an Architect with a few side consultant jobs so ultimately it seems like you'd have to have a firm or work in one doing architecture as well. I wanted to originally study interior design because I love building my own furniture and decorating and get a low stake job (as in, my design decisions won't endanger people, like have a worker or something die during construction), but I was warned against the job prospects and pay and how id be \~wasting my potential\~ that I ended up in architecture. I just don't know. Can anyone please reassure me that my future isn't bleak and there are jobs and grad school courses out there that I could do with an architecture degree that won't give me so much anxiety and dread? For what it's worth I'm a good student and a good employee in general, so I'm not really worried about not being able to do a job, my concern is mostly just finding a job that won't make me feel like death while doing it. Something that I can finish within work hours, won't need me to stay overtime every month, no constant sudden surprises and deadlines; just go in (or better yet work remotely!), do the work, get paid, spend the money on hobbies. Surely there has to be something like that I can do with an architecture degree? I wouldn't even mind If there was overtime and stuff if it was an actually exciting thing to do instead of just staring at a monitor or paper draft and making tweaks to a design. Sorry if the whole post came off as too whiny and annoying, I'm just really stressed out lol. | il5hvu5 | il7d49f | 1,661,053,918 | 1,661,096,734 | -2 | 1 | It sounds like your real passion is complaining about architecture. In which case you should go work for a contractor. Larger the better. More to complain about n all. | Forget University, and avoid professors. Go work for contractors or small firms closely involved with the industry. Then whenever possible go to work for a city hall, there you will have a fixed 9 to 5 hours will be a union member (nearly no Architect have this protection). I can also recommend building science, energy, solar and heat-pump related additional grad degrees if you prefer money + usefulness+details over art+socializing+competititive environment. | 0 | 42,816 | -0.5 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i90fzoz | i90d5xj | 1,652,831,879 | 1,652,830,504 | 17 | 8 | It's not everywhere. There certainly are no shortage of firms and studios who expect staff to work absurd hours. But there definitely are firms that expect you to work 40, and take some extra time off when you do need to work late for a critical date. I think part of the issue is that folks who've worked their way up to leadership often did so by being seen as productive leaders, but were actually just working long hours and expect others to do the same. Once that attitude gets stuck in a firm, it becomes entrenched. | I guess the architecture field is one of those where there is so much competition between coworkers and even friends in the same area that everyone just wants to prove themselfs better in any way possible. People in this area usually don't like to share interesting or relevant information about how to design better, faster, etc. They want to be able to do it alone, and forget that architecture is about people caring for people, and making life better for others. The competition inside kills our love to create. It is really hard when you love the work, but not the environment of the work. | 1 | 1,375 | 2.125 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i90nwhy | i90d5xj | 1,652,835,631 | 1,652,830,504 | 9 | 8 | It's a huge problem but it's not everywhere and I actually feel like it's getting (slowly) better. In my immediate circle i think a lot of us reprioritized after COVID hit. People were laid off and then rehired and then firms still complained about nobody having enough experience or wanting too much money. There's no reason to bend over backwards (or forwards) for this culture. Ive also noticed that I've never been explicitly asked to work these crazy hours and a lot is monkey see monkey do....so just don't, and call out friends and coworkers that do. There will likely be a few steps before anything like getting fired happens or, if you get fired for not working until 3am I really would say they've saved you a lot of trouble because at that point you're devaluing your time so much that there's no point in working in a high stress job. | I guess the architecture field is one of those where there is so much competition between coworkers and even friends in the same area that everyone just wants to prove themselfs better in any way possible. People in this area usually don't like to share interesting or relevant information about how to design better, faster, etc. They want to be able to do it alone, and forget that architecture is about people caring for people, and making life better for others. The competition inside kills our love to create. It is really hard when you love the work, but not the environment of the work. | 1 | 5,127 | 1.125 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i90pz4b | i90v87s | 1,652,836,612 | 1,652,839,076 | 2 | 3 | Nope, not at the firm I work for. We work overtime every once in a while but not very often. I don’t think I’ve ever worked a 12 hour day. Maybe 10 at the most. And that was only for a few days in a row. My fiancé also works at a different architecture firm and it seems similar to mine. Working overtime when needed, but mostly just 40 hours a week. Edited to add: I work at a small firm (10 people) in Boise, Idaho. | Ah yes, this is quite common in architecture. A few of my college friends worked 10-12 hours per day during their intership at big places/names while I chose a small firm, less then 10 people place for internship, which had a principal architect who didn't like working beyond 8 hours and didn't encourage that kind of behavior on us all well. We worked on govt projects, so about once or twice in a month we might have worked for upto 9-10 hours but never beyond that. I was always astonished to hear that my friends we're working 12-15 hours and even beyond that off the work, just to perfect their work and better it. I never did office work in off hours and my friends found it weird but I just shrugged off and said 'I enjoy having a life.' | 0 | 2,464 | 1.5 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i90uyvh | i90v87s | 1,652,838,951 | 1,652,839,076 | 2 | 3 | I live in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half west of NYC. As previously mentioned, that's not my firm. We work 40-45 hour weeks and very very infrequently work 60 hour weeks.. Maybe once or twice a year? Three weeks of PTO with eight paid holidays along with flexible scheduling, half day Fridays in the summer and one day WFH. It's pretty great for work life balance, honestly. | Ah yes, this is quite common in architecture. A few of my college friends worked 10-12 hours per day during their intership at big places/names while I chose a small firm, less then 10 people place for internship, which had a principal architect who didn't like working beyond 8 hours and didn't encourage that kind of behavior on us all well. We worked on govt projects, so about once or twice in a month we might have worked for upto 9-10 hours but never beyond that. I was always astonished to hear that my friends we're working 12-15 hours and even beyond that off the work, just to perfect their work and better it. I never did office work in off hours and my friends found it weird but I just shrugged off and said 'I enjoy having a life.' | 0 | 125 | 1.5 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i90pz4b | i93gv43 | 1,652,836,612 | 1,652,894,111 | 2 | 3 | Nope, not at the firm I work for. We work overtime every once in a while but not very often. I don’t think I’ve ever worked a 12 hour day. Maybe 10 at the most. And that was only for a few days in a row. My fiancé also works at a different architecture firm and it seems similar to mine. Working overtime when needed, but mostly just 40 hours a week. Edited to add: I work at a small firm (10 people) in Boise, Idaho. | I'm fairly fresh out of school as a 2020 grad and absolutely lived this. My first job routinely asked me to work 50+ hour weeks with no overtime pay. I would do this routinely thinking its just like school, only to talk to my friends and find that it isn't normal. I hated that job. Everything about it, from the hours, to the subject(Big box stores), to the leadership. The last straw was a manager questioning my dedication, character and intelligence in a review. Within 2 weeks of applying I was at a new job, with a 10k raise and overtime. It's been 4 months here now and the most I've had to work was 45 once for a project deadline. Value yourself, your skills, and your time. | 0 | 57,499 | 1.5 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i90uyvh | i93gv43 | 1,652,838,951 | 1,652,894,111 | 2 | 3 | I live in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half west of NYC. As previously mentioned, that's not my firm. We work 40-45 hour weeks and very very infrequently work 60 hour weeks.. Maybe once or twice a year? Three weeks of PTO with eight paid holidays along with flexible scheduling, half day Fridays in the summer and one day WFH. It's pretty great for work life balance, honestly. | I'm fairly fresh out of school as a 2020 grad and absolutely lived this. My first job routinely asked me to work 50+ hour weeks with no overtime pay. I would do this routinely thinking its just like school, only to talk to my friends and find that it isn't normal. I hated that job. Everything about it, from the hours, to the subject(Big box stores), to the leadership. The last straw was a manager questioning my dedication, character and intelligence in a review. Within 2 weeks of applying I was at a new job, with a 10k raise and overtime. It's been 4 months here now and the most I've had to work was 45 once for a project deadline. Value yourself, your skills, and your time. | 0 | 55,160 | 1.5 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i93gv43 | i92mr7h | 1,652,894,111 | 1,652,881,569 | 3 | 2 | I'm fairly fresh out of school as a 2020 grad and absolutely lived this. My first job routinely asked me to work 50+ hour weeks with no overtime pay. I would do this routinely thinking its just like school, only to talk to my friends and find that it isn't normal. I hated that job. Everything about it, from the hours, to the subject(Big box stores), to the leadership. The last straw was a manager questioning my dedication, character and intelligence in a review. Within 2 weeks of applying I was at a new job, with a 10k raise and overtime. It's been 4 months here now and the most I've had to work was 45 once for a project deadline. Value yourself, your skills, and your time. | I'd say this certainly exists enough in architecture to be a trope, but it is neither normal or acceptable. I work in the US and have worked at two firms since graduating. Neither has expected more than a 40 hour week. Maybe once a month I work a 42 hour week but only because I wanted to. Some senior staff sometimes work 45-50 hour weeks but it's not regular. However the partners work their asses of at 50+ hour weeks to continuously improve the company and run the business as best as possible. Because it's their company, they don't push inefficiencies down the food chain. We also bank any time over 40 to use as a form of PTO. Even before that, we start 4 weeks PTO plus holidays, and get more weeks per year the longer we've been there for. The company just discussed introducing unlimited PTO. We have flexible hours for when we want to arrive and leave, and the option to work from home two days a week. There are also monthly paid team building events, and a yearly paid ski day, paid beach day, paid volunteer day, and a weekend retreat. We can take a long lunch to go out to eat or do "lunch laps" on the ski slope behind the office. They trust us to get 40 productive hours in a week and not miss meetings. I know I have it better than average, but I got into detail to illustrate what's out there. The middle ground is much better than what you're experiencing. A business that relies on overworking its staff to stay afloat is a poorly run businesses, architectural or not. I also live in a high cost of living area like NYC (my two bedroom is $2,400 and I live 40 miles away, the equivalent two bedroom by the office would be $10,000). So I don't see high wages and property cost as an excuse for what your firm is doing. We are paid well and our firm has overhead for all of our benefits and for enough employees to spread out work to 40hrs each. I'd start looking around. | 1 | 12,542 | 1.5 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i93gv43 | i921jip | 1,652,894,111 | 1,652,868,880 | 3 | 1 | I'm fairly fresh out of school as a 2020 grad and absolutely lived this. My first job routinely asked me to work 50+ hour weeks with no overtime pay. I would do this routinely thinking its just like school, only to talk to my friends and find that it isn't normal. I hated that job. Everything about it, from the hours, to the subject(Big box stores), to the leadership. The last straw was a manager questioning my dedication, character and intelligence in a review. Within 2 weeks of applying I was at a new job, with a 10k raise and overtime. It's been 4 months here now and the most I've had to work was 45 once for a project deadline. Value yourself, your skills, and your time. | I’ve never worked at a firm that required or expected people to do this. We log our 40hr/week in whatever combination of times we want then that’s that. The pace of work is very high but we always meet sensible deadlines without OT. My previous employer I could work even less as long as we got the work out when it needed to go. There were weeks I worked 30hr/week. If people want to grind then fine but it’s not a work/life balance I want and I wouldn’t work for an employer who did. | 1 | 25,231 | 3 | ||
uryl5r | architecture_train | 1 | Anyone Else Tired of Bad Work Culture? For context I work for a large firm in NYC. Since I’ve started working here I’ve noticed it’s routine for designers and project staff to work 12+ hour days, weekends, even holidays. I’ve been working 45-50 hour weeks since this project has started and even then I feel it’s not enough when I look at my coworkers (the other day one of the project architects told me she was working up until 3am!). We know architecture has an exploitation and work culture problem, but at this point it’s nuts. Everyone I talk to is running on fumes, no wonder so many people are switching careers. Anyone else at their wits end with this? Am I just in an extreme situation, or is this the norm everywhere? I truly love design, and I thought architecture would be a good fit for me, but the industry seems to be filled with so many issues and work life balance is clearly one of them. | i921jip | i92mr7h | 1,652,868,880 | 1,652,881,569 | 1 | 2 | I’ve never worked at a firm that required or expected people to do this. We log our 40hr/week in whatever combination of times we want then that’s that. The pace of work is very high but we always meet sensible deadlines without OT. My previous employer I could work even less as long as we got the work out when it needed to go. There were weeks I worked 30hr/week. If people want to grind then fine but it’s not a work/life balance I want and I wouldn’t work for an employer who did. | I'd say this certainly exists enough in architecture to be a trope, but it is neither normal or acceptable. I work in the US and have worked at two firms since graduating. Neither has expected more than a 40 hour week. Maybe once a month I work a 42 hour week but only because I wanted to. Some senior staff sometimes work 45-50 hour weeks but it's not regular. However the partners work their asses of at 50+ hour weeks to continuously improve the company and run the business as best as possible. Because it's their company, they don't push inefficiencies down the food chain. We also bank any time over 40 to use as a form of PTO. Even before that, we start 4 weeks PTO plus holidays, and get more weeks per year the longer we've been there for. The company just discussed introducing unlimited PTO. We have flexible hours for when we want to arrive and leave, and the option to work from home two days a week. There are also monthly paid team building events, and a yearly paid ski day, paid beach day, paid volunteer day, and a weekend retreat. We can take a long lunch to go out to eat or do "lunch laps" on the ski slope behind the office. They trust us to get 40 productive hours in a week and not miss meetings. I know I have it better than average, but I got into detail to illustrate what's out there. The middle ground is much better than what you're experiencing. A business that relies on overworking its staff to stay afloat is a poorly run businesses, architectural or not. I also live in a high cost of living area like NYC (my two bedroom is $2,400 and I live 40 miles away, the equivalent two bedroom by the office would be $10,000). So I don't see high wages and property cost as an excuse for what your firm is doing. We are paid well and our firm has overhead for all of our benefits and for enough employees to spread out work to 40hrs each. I'd start looking around. | 0 | 12,689 | 2 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwkogx | gkwoyy2 | 1,611,716,496 | 1,611,718,717 | 3 | 7 | You are seriously overthinking this. Buy an hygrometer to keep an eye o the humidity. Otherwise relax. | So much misinformation here... With really tight builds, you can accumulate toxic gases from cooking, breathing, combustion etc. That's why mechanical ventilation is now code in the US. Most systems are using HRVs or ERVs that are constantly exhausting the room air and bringing in fresh air. Most systems put fresh intake in the bedrooms and exhaust in bath and kitchen areas. One room won't accumulate so much CO2 that you will pass out. Every time you open your door it mixes with fresh air. Also very few houses are built air tight enough for this to be a problem. | 0 | 2,221 | 2.333333 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwoyy2 | gkwff9z | 1,611,718,717 | 1,611,713,877 | 7 | 1 | So much misinformation here... With really tight builds, you can accumulate toxic gases from cooking, breathing, combustion etc. That's why mechanical ventilation is now code in the US. Most systems are using HRVs or ERVs that are constantly exhausting the room air and bringing in fresh air. Most systems put fresh intake in the bedrooms and exhaust in bath and kitchen areas. One room won't accumulate so much CO2 that you will pass out. Every time you open your door it mixes with fresh air. Also very few houses are built air tight enough for this to be a problem. | You're unlikely to die in your room from co2 biuld up or oxygen consumption. The smell might get a bit much if you don't ventilate and wash your bedding regulary. I'd be more concerned about ghe humidity. It will make things uncomfortable and enhance tge smell. | 1 | 4,840 | 7 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwhkec | gkwoyy2 | 1,611,714,927 | 1,611,718,717 | 1 | 7 | Does you house have a/c? If so does your room have a supply and return? A wall unit? Even if it doesn’t I think it would be very unlikely you have anything to worry about. | So much misinformation here... With really tight builds, you can accumulate toxic gases from cooking, breathing, combustion etc. That's why mechanical ventilation is now code in the US. Most systems are using HRVs or ERVs that are constantly exhausting the room air and bringing in fresh air. Most systems put fresh intake in the bedrooms and exhaust in bath and kitchen areas. One room won't accumulate so much CO2 that you will pass out. Every time you open your door it mixes with fresh air. Also very few houses are built air tight enough for this to be a problem. | 0 | 3,790 | 7 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwoyy2 | gkwhyni | 1,611,718,717 | 1,611,715,125 | 7 | 1 | So much misinformation here... With really tight builds, you can accumulate toxic gases from cooking, breathing, combustion etc. That's why mechanical ventilation is now code in the US. Most systems are using HRVs or ERVs that are constantly exhausting the room air and bringing in fresh air. Most systems put fresh intake in the bedrooms and exhaust in bath and kitchen areas. One room won't accumulate so much CO2 that you will pass out. Every time you open your door it mixes with fresh air. Also very few houses are built air tight enough for this to be a problem. | If I had to guess, just you breathing (especially asleep) is going to take a long time to use all the oxygen. Obviously if there is another source of co2 or something using up oxygen (like a flame) is going to change that. | 1 | 3,592 | 7 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwkogx | gkwff9z | 1,611,716,496 | 1,611,713,877 | 3 | 1 | You are seriously overthinking this. Buy an hygrometer to keep an eye o the humidity. Otherwise relax. | You're unlikely to die in your room from co2 biuld up or oxygen consumption. The smell might get a bit much if you don't ventilate and wash your bedding regulary. I'd be more concerned about ghe humidity. It will make things uncomfortable and enhance tge smell. | 1 | 2,619 | 3 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwhkec | gkwkogx | 1,611,714,927 | 1,611,716,496 | 1 | 3 | Does you house have a/c? If so does your room have a supply and return? A wall unit? Even if it doesn’t I think it would be very unlikely you have anything to worry about. | You are seriously overthinking this. Buy an hygrometer to keep an eye o the humidity. Otherwise relax. | 0 | 1,569 | 3 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwkogx | gkwhyni | 1,611,716,496 | 1,611,715,125 | 3 | 1 | You are seriously overthinking this. Buy an hygrometer to keep an eye o the humidity. Otherwise relax. | If I had to guess, just you breathing (especially asleep) is going to take a long time to use all the oxygen. Obviously if there is another source of co2 or something using up oxygen (like a flame) is going to change that. | 1 | 1,371 | 3 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwff9z | gkwwm57 | 1,611,713,877 | 1,611,722,990 | 1 | 2 | You're unlikely to die in your room from co2 biuld up or oxygen consumption. The smell might get a bit much if you don't ventilate and wash your bedding regulary. I'd be more concerned about ghe humidity. It will make things uncomfortable and enhance tge smell. | So you're telling me you have no windows in your bedroom now? | 0 | 9,113 | 2 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwwm57 | gkwhkec | 1,611,722,990 | 1,611,714,927 | 2 | 1 | So you're telling me you have no windows in your bedroom now? | Does you house have a/c? If so does your room have a supply and return? A wall unit? Even if it doesn’t I think it would be very unlikely you have anything to worry about. | 1 | 8,063 | 2 | ||
l5tths | architecture_train | 0.78 | Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? Context: My bedroom faces a busy street and noise levels make it very difficult to get a good night's sleep with stray dogs barking/howling through the night (a common sight in small towns of India), and it's super loud (city administration completely apathetic to the problem, and no dog shelter in town). The biggest culprit for the noise was two sets of 4'x4' windows in my room, although one of these window sets was completely blocked by my wardrobe. The house is about 35 years old, and there were definitely some tiny gaps in the window frame. My dad consulted with an architect friend (although I had doubts on his competency/knowledge level) and he suggested to seal the windows off with solid concrete slabs. There was about a 5 inch ledge between where the windows end and where rest of the walls end, and so both the window sets were completely sealed off with solid concrete slabs, and now the facade basically looks like one giant wall. This has stopped the noise problem, but I'm deeply worried about whether this can lead to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup in the room. Ever since the pandemic, I spend vast majority of my time in my room (almost the entire 24 hours on many days, including eating, sleeping, and working/studying). Now I never really opened the window before (back when I could), but like I had said there were definitely some tiny gaps in the frame. The only remaining openings to the outside world now are a \~1 inch diameter hole for the broadband cable and satellite tv cable, the bedroom door which connects to my house's hallway and has a visible gap between its bottom and the floor, and my bathroom door which although doesn't have any visible gaps in the frame but if I keep it open then my bathroom does have two openings to the outside world separated only by some wire meshing so it's basically a source of fresh air. **Now assuming I keep both my doors shut at all times (especially during sleeping hours) and the only opening that remains is that tiny hole for cables, and I stay mostly in the room, can that be a serious problem wrt to low O2 levels in the room, and/or harmful levels of CO2 buildup?** **Would keeping both doors open during non-sleeping hours (need it shut while sleeping) mitigate any potential problem? Although I would definitely prefer keeping the bedroom door shut at all times for privacy. If that does mitigate the problem, is 8 hours of completely airtight room (I know it's not really fully airtight, but quite airtight) during sleep hours also a potential health hazard?** I do have ceiling fans in my room (quite common in India), not sure if turning them on (they are on most of the time) really does anything wrt air composition in the room. Even if the potential health risk is miniscule, I don't want to take any chances. **If there is a health risk with this new set-up, do you suggest we get rid of the concrete slabs, i.e., back to status quo and the noise issue is back?** Or am I overthinking this and O2/CO2 ratio can never really be a problem as the room is not really airtight? **Please try and answer for all scenarios, i.e., a) assume both doors are shut at all times and I stay mostly in the room, is that a health risk? (preferred scenario as others would work if this works); b) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and keep one or both doors open during rest of the day (only bathroom one preferably), is that enough to mitigate any potential risks with scenario a?; c) I keep both doors closed during sleeping hours and spend rest of my time in living room as both a & b are potential health risks; d) All situations pose a health risk and we should just get rid of the slabs.** Like I had said, the tiny hole is omnipresent in all scenarios. The answers I found online were suggesting O2 doesn't change much, but CO2 can increase to harmful levels in closed rooms (as airtight as realistically possible). **If that is indeed the case, then will my room ever regain normal air composition (proper O2 and CO2) levels even if I open my doors from time to time with the tiny hole omnipresent? Or will the CO2 levels keep rising (subsequently O2 drops) for many days to a point that it can cause permanent damage (to brain or some other organs) without me realizing, or even death?** Assume that I never physically leave the room for many days/weeks. **Please refrain from suggesting there were other options to solve the noise issue, what's done is done, and I would prefer keeping the slabs unless there is an actual health risk wrt the air quality in the room**. Replacing current windows with new double-glazed ones was another option to solve the noise issue, but that was way more expensive and time-consuming. Besides a properly installed one would be airtight too, albeit giving me an option to open it which I never did anyway with my regular windows either. I am experiencing some tightening in my muscles since the work was completed yesterday and very mild breathlessness, but I should admit that I'm a textbook overthinker and do suffer from severe OCD and anxiety. I also checked for room CO2/O2 monitors on Amazon, and even the cheapest ones with bad reviews are way too expensive and beyond my budget. And although seeing some readings would definitely solve my worries, I'm certain my parents won't help me out with that and just blame it on my OCD and say I'm overthinking (which I know I am). I did check my Sp02 on a good quality finger oximeter (which we bought coz Covid) and it was a very strong \~98-99% after hours in the room. Sorry if this was a bit long, but I try being as detailed as possible to get a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Please help me out. Would highly appreciate if all the concerns raised via boldening are addressed. Cheers. Explain like I'm five years old: Can a tightly sealed room run out of Oxygen or build harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide? | gkwwm57 | gkwhyni | 1,611,722,990 | 1,611,715,125 | 2 | 1 | So you're telling me you have no windows in your bedroom now? | If I had to guess, just you breathing (especially asleep) is going to take a long time to use all the oxygen. Obviously if there is another source of co2 or something using up oxygen (like a flame) is going to change that. | 1 | 7,865 | 2 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie69pbf | ie69h8d | 1,656,502,746 | 1,656,502,604 | 90 | 4 | I work in Japan for a big firm. I enjoy almost every second of my job, I get amazing opportunities, participate to international competitions and bring home enough to live comfortably and save some. I miss Europe, but my job is making it almost impossible for me to find the will to look elsewhere. I just love it too much | I don't make a lot of money so if that is your main criteria then please stop reading. I do consider myself successful tho. I worked in the same company during my studies and when I startet we were only 7 people.now we are 20. And since I've been there quite long during my studies I am of high seniority eventhought I just finished my master's a couple month ago. My bosses are intheir early 40s and most of my colleagues are 25-35 which makes a super fun dynamic team. I actually enjoy each and every one of them and we often also hang out together outside of work. Going to the office is not a chore. I like going in. I am also allowed to bring my future dog to the office which I'm working on obtaining at the moment. I am getting all the support I need from my company to get licensed by the chamber of architects as soon as I hit the mandatory two years of working experience after graduation. I work in a super nice environment, as much Home-Office as I want, and I only work 90% over the year in a 40h work week. That means I have an additional paid 22 days of holidays to the mandatory 22 of my country. I can take the extra 22 days of in one go so each year I have additional month of paid leave that I can travel the world in and really get to know different cultures. I work on super sustainable small scale projects that are very individual. Often with experimental building methods. Even given my young age I am heard on the same level by my bosses as people with 10 years+ experience. I get to got through with projects from the beginning to the end so it never gets boring or repetitive. We rarely do any competitions so I think that also helps to minimize the overhours and deadline stresses. So do I make a lot of money? Not really. I make the average of what university graduates with a master's make in my country. And since I just finished university a couple of month back my cost of living is still super low so I'm able to save a lot of my salary. But I'm in no way struggling financially, and I am very happy with my life and especially with my Work-Life balance. If I had a family to support I probably would mind the money part a bit more but for now I couldn't be happier with my situation. And with increasing work experience I will also be paid more. | 1 | 142 | 22.5 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie69h8d | ie6abt3 | 1,656,502,604 | 1,656,503,135 | 4 | 53 | I don't make a lot of money so if that is your main criteria then please stop reading. I do consider myself successful tho. I worked in the same company during my studies and when I startet we were only 7 people.now we are 20. And since I've been there quite long during my studies I am of high seniority eventhought I just finished my master's a couple month ago. My bosses are intheir early 40s and most of my colleagues are 25-35 which makes a super fun dynamic team. I actually enjoy each and every one of them and we often also hang out together outside of work. Going to the office is not a chore. I like going in. I am also allowed to bring my future dog to the office which I'm working on obtaining at the moment. I am getting all the support I need from my company to get licensed by the chamber of architects as soon as I hit the mandatory two years of working experience after graduation. I work in a super nice environment, as much Home-Office as I want, and I only work 90% over the year in a 40h work week. That means I have an additional paid 22 days of holidays to the mandatory 22 of my country. I can take the extra 22 days of in one go so each year I have additional month of paid leave that I can travel the world in and really get to know different cultures. I work on super sustainable small scale projects that are very individual. Often with experimental building methods. Even given my young age I am heard on the same level by my bosses as people with 10 years+ experience. I get to got through with projects from the beginning to the end so it never gets boring or repetitive. We rarely do any competitions so I think that also helps to minimize the overhours and deadline stresses. So do I make a lot of money? Not really. I make the average of what university graduates with a master's make in my country. And since I just finished university a couple of month back my cost of living is still super low so I'm able to save a lot of my salary. But I'm in no way struggling financially, and I am very happy with my life and especially with my Work-Life balance. If I had a family to support I probably would mind the money part a bit more but for now I couldn't be happier with my situation. And with increasing work experience I will also be paid more. | I always intended to have my own practice and once I approached 40 I figured there were probably three career paths if I wanted to stay in the industry. 1. Work towards management role, 2. Specialise (e.g. site/admin or sector specific) or 3. Start my own practice. I suspected that being a good all-round architect wasn't enough and I kept seeing the 40 something architects lose their jobs but only the 20 something come in to the large practice I worked at. I knew it was my time so I left. I went from earning around $100k down to $40k while the practice was being developed now back up well past the original figure Projects are diverse, we need to pay staff so all my work is viewed through a cashflow lens. Ultimately I'm very satisfied with what we've built... buildings and practice. If you are business minded I would highly recommend option 3 | 0 | 531 | 13.25 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie6cnkh | ie7slgz | 1,656,504,530 | 1,656,526,657 | 21 | 29 | I make a livable wage (enough to be stable, but major things like a house, kid, or retirement aren't worry free). I'm also not licenced yet but still consider myself successful as I learn the field. I love my job. I can't talk to you about specific projects because I've signed NDAs, but I work on houses for some of the richest people in the US. Think secret rooms, tunnels, waterfalls, car elevators, pools where one end is inside while the other end is outside, multiple basement levels, etc. It's great fun. And I have great work life balance. 4 weeks of PTO plus any hours worked over 40 become comp time (more PTO). Health premiums paid for my entire family, a health stipend, monthly office team building, firm wide design charretts to iron out someone's design block on a tricky problem, and lots of other benefits. Office culture is incredibly important to job satisfaction and this place has it figured out. I'm not saying it's all rainbows and unicorns, I still have stressful days. But every job does and every field has good and bad companies to work for. Know that you can keep changing offices and putting out applications until you find the right fit. (As long as you're employed while you look of course) We have standards for a life partner and don't settle, yet spend just as much time with our coworkers and company. Not everyone has access to other opportunities once they do get a job, but if you do, take advantage of it. I had a little savings so I was able to move 2000 miles for this job, and it was absolutely worth it. | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | 0 | 22,127 | 1.380952 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie7slgz | ie6lonu | 1,656,526,657 | 1,656,509,264 | 29 | 15 | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | I make good money and am a lead designer / 1 test away from being a licensed architect at a small firm. I design 70% of the projects we get which include absolutely stunning contemporary and traditional custom single family residences right on the Pacific Ocean. I love my work, the office is super laid back and has great benefits, and my dog comes into the office every day with me - I couldn’t be happier! Looking forward to an increase in pay and responsibilities later this year once I finally finish up my license. My situation is definitely unique though | 1 | 17,393 | 1.933333 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie7slgz | ie6azji | 1,656,526,657 | 1,656,503,532 | 29 | 12 | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | Being paid handsomely and doing work you find rewarding are two different things. Also interesting projects does not necessarily equate to fulfilling work. There's a ton of other factors to consider. How well do you get along with the client, for example. What's the budget? Are the other consultants easy to work with? Is this project in a part of the world that will allow you to ever get to even see the finished product? Is the schedule reasonable? Is this a project typology that you enjoy (e.g. designing a prison might be an interesting project but maybe not everyone's cup of tea). If you own your own firm you can make a good living for sure. That's because you're a business owner and can basically make as much as you want or your system has the capacity to handle. If your business is big enough and you have the right kind of clients, you could easily become a millionaire. It certainly isn't a stretch to have top line revenue in the low millions for a small to medium sized firm. For everyone else if you're working for someone else then you're bound by the economics of the industry typically. Principals can usually be somewhere in the 100k+ range or more if their executive compensation includes equity in the company. I've definitely seen architecture executives who are say Director of Architecture for a big real estate company or hotel developer make even more than that. But understand these are extremely senior roles that take decades to get to. You're not rolling out of school into a principal position anywhere. You can just go on Glassdoor and type in any architecture firm and just see what the range is. Generally you'll find it between 60-100k for architects and slightly lower for interior designers. Project managers make slightly more on average. Now as for being fulfilled by the work that's a highly personal thing. It really depends on what you do and who you do it for. Architecture is a business not an art so there's a lot of work that's just not meant to be fulfilling creative work. Especially if it's architect of record type stuff unless you're the kind of person who enjoys arguing with city officials and contractors and wrangling consultants. But a good amount of the work an architect does is not necessarily explicitly creative but administrative and managerial. The architect runs the project. There are people who do nothing but write specifications, for example, or who are construction administration specialists who visit job sites. Some firms tend to be more design oriented than others. And if you own your own then you can tool it whatever way you like. Like others have said it is what you make it, but creative business in general whether that's film making, fashion, UX design, architecture, interiors, etc often sell themselves being more glamorous and artistic than they really are. While you're definitely doing semi artistic things, these are first and foremost businesses that just happen to use creative abilities in service of making a product. If you can find meaning and happiness in that, and a great many people do, then it's fine. You can have a long, rich, rewarding career. | 1 | 23,125 | 2.416667 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie7slgz | ie7lv71 | 1,656,526,657 | 1,656,524,003 | 29 | 11 | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | I am an in-house architect for a large retailer. I review drawings to make sure they are thorough and done to the company's criteria. I work with great folks, take on no liability, manage outside consultants, and make over six figures. I have gotten to work on nationally historic buildings, done some very creative sustainable design, on projects that have won a good handful of awards. | 1 | 2,654 | 2.636364 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie7slgz | ie69h8d | 1,656,526,657 | 1,656,502,604 | 29 | 4 | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | I don't make a lot of money so if that is your main criteria then please stop reading. I do consider myself successful tho. I worked in the same company during my studies and when I startet we were only 7 people.now we are 20. And since I've been there quite long during my studies I am of high seniority eventhought I just finished my master's a couple month ago. My bosses are intheir early 40s and most of my colleagues are 25-35 which makes a super fun dynamic team. I actually enjoy each and every one of them and we often also hang out together outside of work. Going to the office is not a chore. I like going in. I am also allowed to bring my future dog to the office which I'm working on obtaining at the moment. I am getting all the support I need from my company to get licensed by the chamber of architects as soon as I hit the mandatory two years of working experience after graduation. I work in a super nice environment, as much Home-Office as I want, and I only work 90% over the year in a 40h work week. That means I have an additional paid 22 days of holidays to the mandatory 22 of my country. I can take the extra 22 days of in one go so each year I have additional month of paid leave that I can travel the world in and really get to know different cultures. I work on super sustainable small scale projects that are very individual. Often with experimental building methods. Even given my young age I am heard on the same level by my bosses as people with 10 years+ experience. I get to got through with projects from the beginning to the end so it never gets boring or repetitive. We rarely do any competitions so I think that also helps to minimize the overhours and deadline stresses. So do I make a lot of money? Not really. I make the average of what university graduates with a master's make in my country. And since I just finished university a couple of month back my cost of living is still super low so I'm able to save a lot of my salary. But I'm in no way struggling financially, and I am very happy with my life and especially with my Work-Life balance. If I had a family to support I probably would mind the money part a bit more but for now I couldn't be happier with my situation. And with increasing work experience I will also be paid more. | 1 | 24,053 | 7.25 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie70izj | ie7slgz | 1,656,515,687 | 1,656,526,657 | 5 | 29 | Architecture as a whole is an underpaid profession, but I do fairly well with that in mind, I enjoy the work I do, I have a decent work/life balance and I see my future as bright. I would consider myself successful but it has not come without hard work and strong networking. Your network is one of your most important assets. | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | 0 | 10,970 | 5.8 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie6x31j | ie7slgz | 1,656,514,282 | 1,656,526,657 | 3 | 29 | I am an architect in training with less than 5 years experience working for a non-profit housing organization in canada and make a good living wage. | i guess i would call myself "successful" — own my own small firm with my partner / have a pretty good referral pipeline / projects are getting bigger + more interesting... we really only do residential (99% private homes or spec homes) with maybe 1 or 2 tenant-finish and/or commercial interiors projects a year in partnership with a licensed firm. we've been in business for just about 4 years in our current incarnation, but i've been in and around the industry for just about a decade. i travel 1-2mos. a year (often a combo of business / leisure as i am always on the hunt for other tangential businesses / opportunities — we do interiors too so lots of sourcing), live in a building we designed, above our office space. we rent, but we own 10 acres in the desert that we'll build on at some point in the next 5 years. we are also exploring buying property in europe as a retirement situation / rental opportunity. i am unlicensed (so i am a designer, rather than Architect™) but am exploring AXP portfolio as a pathway to licensure. i graduated from a top-10 b.arch program in 2009 (height of economic meltdown), so all job offers and most of the firms offering them disappeared. i had an extremely circuitous and bizarre route back into the profession, hence zero apprenticeship / training at a big firm, but have learned on-the-job and from lots of really helpful and talented peers. and, very glad to have had the circuitous route as i learned a TON of stuff that they definitely do not teach at all or very well in any program. i think the reason why i am in the position i am is largely due to the fact that i am "unemployable" — i never had the right qualifications or experience to get a "real job" so i just had to create my own, and that process made me really understand what i wanted to do / what i did not want to do. i have also been able to figure out and somewhat streamline the process of building in historic districts in our city (which is frankly a truly awful and bureaucratic nightmare) so i have carved a little niche out. (we are definitely trying to limit the number of projects we do in that sector as it is truly soul-sucking and miserable) i still have the business-owner panic of "how the hell am i going to keep the lights on" occasionally, but i've been at this for nearly 10 years so i figure i'll be ok. | 0 | 12,375 | 9.666667 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie6cnkh | ie6azji | 1,656,504,530 | 1,656,503,532 | 21 | 12 | I make a livable wage (enough to be stable, but major things like a house, kid, or retirement aren't worry free). I'm also not licenced yet but still consider myself successful as I learn the field. I love my job. I can't talk to you about specific projects because I've signed NDAs, but I work on houses for some of the richest people in the US. Think secret rooms, tunnels, waterfalls, car elevators, pools where one end is inside while the other end is outside, multiple basement levels, etc. It's great fun. And I have great work life balance. 4 weeks of PTO plus any hours worked over 40 become comp time (more PTO). Health premiums paid for my entire family, a health stipend, monthly office team building, firm wide design charretts to iron out someone's design block on a tricky problem, and lots of other benefits. Office culture is incredibly important to job satisfaction and this place has it figured out. I'm not saying it's all rainbows and unicorns, I still have stressful days. But every job does and every field has good and bad companies to work for. Know that you can keep changing offices and putting out applications until you find the right fit. (As long as you're employed while you look of course) We have standards for a life partner and don't settle, yet spend just as much time with our coworkers and company. Not everyone has access to other opportunities once they do get a job, but if you do, take advantage of it. I had a little savings so I was able to move 2000 miles for this job, and it was absolutely worth it. | Being paid handsomely and doing work you find rewarding are two different things. Also interesting projects does not necessarily equate to fulfilling work. There's a ton of other factors to consider. How well do you get along with the client, for example. What's the budget? Are the other consultants easy to work with? Is this project in a part of the world that will allow you to ever get to even see the finished product? Is the schedule reasonable? Is this a project typology that you enjoy (e.g. designing a prison might be an interesting project but maybe not everyone's cup of tea). If you own your own firm you can make a good living for sure. That's because you're a business owner and can basically make as much as you want or your system has the capacity to handle. If your business is big enough and you have the right kind of clients, you could easily become a millionaire. It certainly isn't a stretch to have top line revenue in the low millions for a small to medium sized firm. For everyone else if you're working for someone else then you're bound by the economics of the industry typically. Principals can usually be somewhere in the 100k+ range or more if their executive compensation includes equity in the company. I've definitely seen architecture executives who are say Director of Architecture for a big real estate company or hotel developer make even more than that. But understand these are extremely senior roles that take decades to get to. You're not rolling out of school into a principal position anywhere. You can just go on Glassdoor and type in any architecture firm and just see what the range is. Generally you'll find it between 60-100k for architects and slightly lower for interior designers. Project managers make slightly more on average. Now as for being fulfilled by the work that's a highly personal thing. It really depends on what you do and who you do it for. Architecture is a business not an art so there's a lot of work that's just not meant to be fulfilling creative work. Especially if it's architect of record type stuff unless you're the kind of person who enjoys arguing with city officials and contractors and wrangling consultants. But a good amount of the work an architect does is not necessarily explicitly creative but administrative and managerial. The architect runs the project. There are people who do nothing but write specifications, for example, or who are construction administration specialists who visit job sites. Some firms tend to be more design oriented than others. And if you own your own then you can tool it whatever way you like. Like others have said it is what you make it, but creative business in general whether that's film making, fashion, UX design, architecture, interiors, etc often sell themselves being more glamorous and artistic than they really are. While you're definitely doing semi artistic things, these are first and foremost businesses that just happen to use creative abilities in service of making a product. If you can find meaning and happiness in that, and a great many people do, then it's fine. You can have a long, rich, rewarding career. | 1 | 998 | 1.75 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie69h8d | ie6cnkh | 1,656,502,604 | 1,656,504,530 | 4 | 21 | I don't make a lot of money so if that is your main criteria then please stop reading. I do consider myself successful tho. I worked in the same company during my studies and when I startet we were only 7 people.now we are 20. And since I've been there quite long during my studies I am of high seniority eventhought I just finished my master's a couple month ago. My bosses are intheir early 40s and most of my colleagues are 25-35 which makes a super fun dynamic team. I actually enjoy each and every one of them and we often also hang out together outside of work. Going to the office is not a chore. I like going in. I am also allowed to bring my future dog to the office which I'm working on obtaining at the moment. I am getting all the support I need from my company to get licensed by the chamber of architects as soon as I hit the mandatory two years of working experience after graduation. I work in a super nice environment, as much Home-Office as I want, and I only work 90% over the year in a 40h work week. That means I have an additional paid 22 days of holidays to the mandatory 22 of my country. I can take the extra 22 days of in one go so each year I have additional month of paid leave that I can travel the world in and really get to know different cultures. I work on super sustainable small scale projects that are very individual. Often with experimental building methods. Even given my young age I am heard on the same level by my bosses as people with 10 years+ experience. I get to got through with projects from the beginning to the end so it never gets boring or repetitive. We rarely do any competitions so I think that also helps to minimize the overhours and deadline stresses. So do I make a lot of money? Not really. I make the average of what university graduates with a master's make in my country. And since I just finished university a couple of month back my cost of living is still super low so I'm able to save a lot of my salary. But I'm in no way struggling financially, and I am very happy with my life and especially with my Work-Life balance. If I had a family to support I probably would mind the money part a bit more but for now I couldn't be happier with my situation. And with increasing work experience I will also be paid more. | I make a livable wage (enough to be stable, but major things like a house, kid, or retirement aren't worry free). I'm also not licenced yet but still consider myself successful as I learn the field. I love my job. I can't talk to you about specific projects because I've signed NDAs, but I work on houses for some of the richest people in the US. Think secret rooms, tunnels, waterfalls, car elevators, pools where one end is inside while the other end is outside, multiple basement levels, etc. It's great fun. And I have great work life balance. 4 weeks of PTO plus any hours worked over 40 become comp time (more PTO). Health premiums paid for my entire family, a health stipend, monthly office team building, firm wide design charretts to iron out someone's design block on a tricky problem, and lots of other benefits. Office culture is incredibly important to job satisfaction and this place has it figured out. I'm not saying it's all rainbows and unicorns, I still have stressful days. But every job does and every field has good and bad companies to work for. Know that you can keep changing offices and putting out applications until you find the right fit. (As long as you're employed while you look of course) We have standards for a life partner and don't settle, yet spend just as much time with our coworkers and company. Not everyone has access to other opportunities once they do get a job, but if you do, take advantage of it. I had a little savings so I was able to move 2000 miles for this job, and it was absolutely worth it. | 0 | 1,926 | 5.25 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | iep1ygs | ie6lonu | 1,656,855,686 | 1,656,509,264 | 21 | 15 | Yes it is. I own an architectural firm that I started 4 years ago and have made enough money to move out of my little apartment and buy a large home and travel anywhere in the world. We do nearly a million dollars in sales a year, which is not bad considering we are a small company of 7 people that is only 4 years old. So, it is possible, however, most of the money comes from having an architecture license, which I have. This is the most important factor. Those that complain about money are usually people who want to be pure designers, or got into this profession for the artsy side. Truth is that this profession is as much science and problem solving as it is art. So you need to be a logical and creative person to do it. You also need to like the technical aspects of building things. Alternatively, you could work your way up the ladder inside the a large corporate architecture firm and potentially make a six figure salary. But be warned, you will have to lick many behinds to do it. To me architecture is the best profession in the world. We need less "artists" and more real builders in the profession. Edit: We work on everything from immense warehouses to large apartment buildings, and shopping centers. This also a key factor. Don't be snobby, and be open to any kind of building. Good design can be used everywhere. | I make good money and am a lead designer / 1 test away from being a licensed architect at a small firm. I design 70% of the projects we get which include absolutely stunning contemporary and traditional custom single family residences right on the Pacific Ocean. I love my work, the office is super laid back and has great benefits, and my dog comes into the office every day with me - I couldn’t be happier! Looking forward to an increase in pay and responsibilities later this year once I finally finish up my license. My situation is definitely unique though | 1 | 346,422 | 1.4 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | ie6azji | iep1ygs | 1,656,503,532 | 1,656,855,686 | 12 | 21 | Being paid handsomely and doing work you find rewarding are two different things. Also interesting projects does not necessarily equate to fulfilling work. There's a ton of other factors to consider. How well do you get along with the client, for example. What's the budget? Are the other consultants easy to work with? Is this project in a part of the world that will allow you to ever get to even see the finished product? Is the schedule reasonable? Is this a project typology that you enjoy (e.g. designing a prison might be an interesting project but maybe not everyone's cup of tea). If you own your own firm you can make a good living for sure. That's because you're a business owner and can basically make as much as you want or your system has the capacity to handle. If your business is big enough and you have the right kind of clients, you could easily become a millionaire. It certainly isn't a stretch to have top line revenue in the low millions for a small to medium sized firm. For everyone else if you're working for someone else then you're bound by the economics of the industry typically. Principals can usually be somewhere in the 100k+ range or more if their executive compensation includes equity in the company. I've definitely seen architecture executives who are say Director of Architecture for a big real estate company or hotel developer make even more than that. But understand these are extremely senior roles that take decades to get to. You're not rolling out of school into a principal position anywhere. You can just go on Glassdoor and type in any architecture firm and just see what the range is. Generally you'll find it between 60-100k for architects and slightly lower for interior designers. Project managers make slightly more on average. Now as for being fulfilled by the work that's a highly personal thing. It really depends on what you do and who you do it for. Architecture is a business not an art so there's a lot of work that's just not meant to be fulfilling creative work. Especially if it's architect of record type stuff unless you're the kind of person who enjoys arguing with city officials and contractors and wrangling consultants. But a good amount of the work an architect does is not necessarily explicitly creative but administrative and managerial. The architect runs the project. There are people who do nothing but write specifications, for example, or who are construction administration specialists who visit job sites. Some firms tend to be more design oriented than others. And if you own your own then you can tool it whatever way you like. Like others have said it is what you make it, but creative business in general whether that's film making, fashion, UX design, architecture, interiors, etc often sell themselves being more glamorous and artistic than they really are. While you're definitely doing semi artistic things, these are first and foremost businesses that just happen to use creative abilities in service of making a product. If you can find meaning and happiness in that, and a great many people do, then it's fine. You can have a long, rich, rewarding career. | Yes it is. I own an architectural firm that I started 4 years ago and have made enough money to move out of my little apartment and buy a large home and travel anywhere in the world. We do nearly a million dollars in sales a year, which is not bad considering we are a small company of 7 people that is only 4 years old. So, it is possible, however, most of the money comes from having an architecture license, which I have. This is the most important factor. Those that complain about money are usually people who want to be pure designers, or got into this profession for the artsy side. Truth is that this profession is as much science and problem solving as it is art. So you need to be a logical and creative person to do it. You also need to like the technical aspects of building things. Alternatively, you could work your way up the ladder inside the a large corporate architecture firm and potentially make a six figure salary. But be warned, you will have to lick many behinds to do it. To me architecture is the best profession in the world. We need less "artists" and more real builders in the profession. Edit: We work on everything from immense warehouses to large apartment buildings, and shopping centers. This also a key factor. Don't be snobby, and be open to any kind of building. Good design can be used everywhere. | 0 | 352,154 | 1.75 | ||
vnakvv | architecture_train | 0.99 | Are there any successful architects here? I always only see people posting about how little money they make and how much time they put in. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really talk about how they’re thriving and all the interesting projects they get to work on. Would love to hear this side of the story from any of you, if it exists. Who’s living the best-case scenario as an architect and what does that look like? Is it possible to enjoy what you do and be handsomely rewarded as well in this field? | iep1ygs | ie7lv71 | 1,656,855,686 | 1,656,524,003 | 21 | 11 | Yes it is. I own an architectural firm that I started 4 years ago and have made enough money to move out of my little apartment and buy a large home and travel anywhere in the world. We do nearly a million dollars in sales a year, which is not bad considering we are a small company of 7 people that is only 4 years old. So, it is possible, however, most of the money comes from having an architecture license, which I have. This is the most important factor. Those that complain about money are usually people who want to be pure designers, or got into this profession for the artsy side. Truth is that this profession is as much science and problem solving as it is art. So you need to be a logical and creative person to do it. You also need to like the technical aspects of building things. Alternatively, you could work your way up the ladder inside the a large corporate architecture firm and potentially make a six figure salary. But be warned, you will have to lick many behinds to do it. To me architecture is the best profession in the world. We need less "artists" and more real builders in the profession. Edit: We work on everything from immense warehouses to large apartment buildings, and shopping centers. This also a key factor. Don't be snobby, and be open to any kind of building. Good design can be used everywhere. | I am an in-house architect for a large retailer. I review drawings to make sure they are thorough and done to the company's criteria. I work with great folks, take on no liability, manage outside consultants, and make over six figures. I have gotten to work on nationally historic buildings, done some very creative sustainable design, on projects that have won a good handful of awards. | 1 | 331,683 | 1.909091 |
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