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  • Architects of this forum…..
  • tillyfishes
    Free Member

    I am an student in my last year of school in Scotland and am looking into studying architecture at university.

    Thoughts, advice and general discussion please…..

    aP
    Free Member

    Where are you thinking of studying?
    And, what are your expectations in your career?

    Rockhopper
    Free Member

    Do some summer work experience in a local practice. We often take people on like that for a couple of weeks. It 100% a total eye opener for them. They come in thinking architects spend all day sitting at a drawing board creating amazing buildings. My last practice (fifty strong) skipped all their drawings boards about ten years ago now. Very little is hand drawn any more unless you get in with one who does lots of competition work, they might even have a dedicated department just for this).

    To be fair we have even had Part 1’s come to us who think the same. The last girl left after four days.

    It can be very up and down as well – building is the first to be hit by economic downturns and the last to recover.

    You won’t earn big money either unless you get in with a top practice and get as far as associate or partner.

    Sorry if I sound very negative! I’ve been in the trade now for twenty years and worked for large and small practices covering all sectors but I appreciate that others may have had different experiences 🙂

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    aP
    Free Member

    ^^ quite a lot of what he said… I didn;t want to appear too negative 😐
    We have a couple of school work experience a year – I’m never quite sure what their expectations are, or what their thoughts are when they leave… But i spend way more time in Excel, Project and Word than I’d have expected (not that they existed when I studied).
    The good things though when you get to work on a project where you make a measurable difference to people’s quality of life is great.

    himupstairs
    Full Member

    As above really.

    There isn’t much money in it, even at the upper end of a decent practice (speaking from experience in Edinburgh), but if you find a nice place to work it can be rewarding in other ways.

    Hard work, long hours at uni and after. A dwindling amount of respect from others involved in the construction industry (who needs experts?), a shocking procurement system for public buildings (in Scotland at least), fee levels that are likely to only get lower, etc etc. Also as mentioned, expect opportunities to come and go as the economy swings. We’ve just had a round of redundancies, and may have more soon.

    Saying that, we have a few part 2s with us just now who all seem remarkably enthusiastic, and are well aware of the various pitfalls.

    You might have done some drawing in Revit or similar at school, and that is now how buildings are drawn, for better or worse. Model making with your hands is still a very valuable tool though, and a technique our office strive to make use of. We have a laser cutter, 3d printer, and workshop for woodworking and all sorts of other interesting things.

    Regardless of computer use (I spend my days in sketchup and photoshop), being able to draw properly is a huge bonus at uni and for CVs, as it’s a very direct way to communicate design sensitivity and attitude. A beautiful hand drawing can be much more revealing than a visual from a piece of drawing software. There’s no denying you will almost certainly end up tethered to a mouse and keyboard, but the ability to sketch and draw will be appreciated.

    As long as you go in with your eyes open there can be a rewarding career in there somewhere.

    Yak
    Full Member

    All as above tbh. But from experience for the purposes of sound family financial planning, don’t marry another architect.

    redmex
    Free Member

    Times must be a changing, most architects i’ve known dont drive a Fiesta they all seem to have Porsches and pretty good pads, although architectural technicians possibly get a lot of their domestic work now and engineers taking over so much of drawing changing most things

    andeh
    Full Member

    As someone who studied architecture, and then decided to sack it off and become a teacher, make sure you know what you’re getting yourself in for.

    If you’re looking to study at uni, make sure you visit loads of different departments on open days and ask questions about the work they produce. No two schools will focus on the same sort of thing, some might be really into arty renders and conceptual stuff, whereas others could be bordering on structural engineering, and then everything between.

    Try and get some experience before you go, I found architects very cliquey and heavily into nepotism, so make friends, be positive and keep in touch, they will be invaluable when you’re looking for a placement.

    Be prepared to work hard, architecture degrees are crazy, the only folk who work harder are the medics. Do some reading before hand, do some drawing, learn to use Revit/AutoCAD (or 3DS Maxx if you’re going somewhere that likes black and white renders with lens flare). Have an open mind and understand that most tutors (most, not all) are there to help, the rest are there for ego massages and some extra dollar. I was too resistive to it all, and it didn’t help.

    tillyfishes
    Free Member

    Cheers for all the feedback. I have a large background in making physical things, i am an amateur model engineer and definitely don’t lack the physical side and spatial awareness. I don’t have a formal qualification in art, but will be able to get a portfolio together.

    I am looking into work experience and already have a few possibilities lined up.

    For the those with the negative attitude, couldn’t that be applied to most sectors.

    To give a bit of background, I have studied science and maths throughout school, but have recently realised that i don’t want end up in research or teaching and that a career as a designer and the ability to live most places would be much more enjoyable, it also ensures i don’t end up working in arms/oil/bad things…. 🙂

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I was mates with an architect at uni. He spent an absolutely insane amount of working. He and his course mates seemed to go on these work benders where they would attack some project all weekend without sleep. Seemed rather extreme!

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    tillyfishes, given your model making, maths and physics, have you considered engineering (perhaps mechanical or civil)? Also bear in mind what aP said – “But i spend way more time in Excel, Project and Word than I’d have expected”. A great deal of professional practice is team and project management, contract documentation and assorted bollocks. It’s the reason I left Civil Engineering not too many years after becoming chartered. I just wanted to design stuff. With hindsight there was probably a way to achieve that but I was a bit naive.

    aP
    Free Member

    Tillyfishes – I studied Maths, Physics, Chemistry at A-level so it’s not a problem, particularly if you are already making and looking and thinking about the built environment.
    I do spend a lot of time in spreadsheets but a lot of that is for bidding and then cost control during projects. I also bring out the lead holder and yellow trace and sketch out ideas and thoughts too.
    I have worked a lot in multi disciplinary teams developing schemes – with Mechanical & Electrical to Civils/ Structural and Tunnelling engineers amongst others.
    Drop me a PM and I’ll try and give you some pointers.

    andykirk
    Free Member

    The Architecture course itself is great, really really great. You learn about a huge range of subjects, I cannot think of another course that gives you such a broad skill base. I would join a course that is based in an Art College, always loads of interesting things going on and interesting people milling about.

    Actually working as an Architect is not so great. As said above, I just wanted to design things. Unfortunately in most cases you spend most of your time doing other things, most are far less enjoyable. I know a lot of people who got really sick of it and have left to do something else.

    To sum it up. you have to really really really love Architecture to put up with all the crap that goes along with it.

    The most important skill by far is the ability to have ideas and to be able to communicate them, all the rest are secondary.

    mikey74
    Free Member

    I’d agree with what Andy says above. If I knew 10 years ago what I know now, there’s no way I’d go into architecture. The salary isn’t worth the crap you have to put up with.

    For the those with the negative attitude, couldn’t that be applied to most sectors.

    Actually no: Much of the crap you have to deal with is due to the fact that architects are expected to pick up everything else that all other consultants refuse to deal with. Working on private domestic project amplifies this significantly.

    MTT
    Free Member

    For the those with the negative attitude, couldn’t that be applied to most sectors.

    Probably, but you asked about Architecture.

    I’m Part III qualified but not registered. My experience mirrors that of the others really:

    Training – Part I was superb, brilliant. Year in practice was eye opening but he momentum carried me back to Uni. Part II was pretty much a step backwards and only sought to highlight the disconnect between Uni teaching and the realities of practice. Part III, if you’ve gone this far you might as well…

    Post Part III – Long hours, terrible pay, near constant threat of redundancy,

    I left after 18 months.

    Nearly 10 years on I have a couple of Architectural Practices as clients (100+ strong), things seem to be much the same.

    On the plus side, the women on my course were spectacular specimens.

    Rockhopper
    Free Member

    My sister and her husband run their own practice down in that London. They take on lots of Part 1’s (because they are cheap I imagine) but even the fully qualified people they employ are sleeping on friends floors because they can’t pay them enough to afford London rents. They did seriously consider setting up their own HMO or hostel just for their staff to live in.

    One lass who came to work for us complete with her freshly printed degree had not only never seen a copy of the Building Regs, she’d never even heard of them either. Architects these days do much the same job as a technologist/technician so as well as being able to draw buildings you need to know how to make them work so a good understanding of the Building Regs is important.

    tillyfishes
    Free Member

    Again, thanks for the insights. Really helpful to gain an insight. The pay isn’t something that I can see bothering me. I want a job that lets me live in a rural location, even if that is a few years down the line and is also something that I can enjoy. Those who have replied thanks and more discussion is still welcomed!

    Rockhopper
    Free Member

    Architects tend to be based in cities or at least large towns as thats where the work is.

    mikey74
    Free Member

    The pay isn’t something that I can see bothering me.

    Give it time….

    I want a job that lets me live in a rural location

    In that case, don’t expect a generous salary if working for a practice. Practices that are based on large cities tend to pay the best. You may be able to run your own, but that will be years down the line.

    manlikegregonabike
    Free Member

    lots of wall cross sections…

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