AR 428/Regular Architectural Practice

(Advisory Grading)
Lecture 2

WHY NOT TO BE AN ARCHITECT?

Reasons not to be an architect are a matter of judgment. Therefore what follows are observations
and interpretation of commonly encountered risks, roadblocks, and sources of frustration. Some
are typical of many trades or professions, while others are more unique and endemic to
architecture. It is safe to suppose that at one time or another virtually every architect has been
plagued by some or all of these problems, felt overwhelmed or disillusioned by them.
Unfortunately knowing about and anticipating them makes them no less obstructive.

THE ODDS OF MAKING IT

 There may be less than 50-50 chance of ultimately becoming a licensed architect.
o Many architectural students drop out.
o Not all of those graduates will become registered and practice architecture.
o Some will change fields after graduation for various reasons.
o Some women with architectural degrees stop working in order to have families.
 Attrition and unrealized goals are normal in any academic undertaking or career, that people
change their minds and majors with ease and regularity.
 But attrition in architecture is unusually pronounced, and those who make it through and enter
practice, despite the odds, still face tough challenges.

LACK OF WORK
 Of all the difficulties faced by architects, periodic lack of work is probably the most frustrating, and
is a major cause of economic and psychological suffering.
 The overall amount of work for architects is determined by the volatile and unpredictable
conditions of the economy over which architects have no control.
 The architect must constantly face the possibility of being under- or unemployed from one year to
another.

COMPETITION
 Intense competition made worst the threat of having no work.
 There is the problem of too many architects chasing too few jobs.
 Competition in the field of architecture is keen and unending.
o It begins in school,
o Carries over into the beginning years of job seeking and employment, and
o Continues in the marketplace of practice.
 Architects are challenged by their colleagues in two ways:
1. By their sheer numbers.
2. By their ability and willingness in many cases to mount effective, aggressive campaigns
to woo clients.

INADEQUATE COMPENSATION
 It is possible, but unlikely, for architects to earn above-average incomes.
 No one should go into architecture to make a lot of money.
 Be an architect for many reasons but not to get rich.
 Architect’s dependency on economic and project circumstances differentiates their income
pattern from that of doctors or lawyers.
 Supply and demand relationships are a major contributor to the problem, with too little work for
too many architects.
 Competition—there is always pressure to quote fees that are least comparable to the going rates,
and often to cut fees below the going rates.

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EGO VULNERABILITY: Getting Lost in the Crowd
 The level of ego involvement in architecture is high, and this can lead to great frustration s well as
provide the impetus for achieving.
 Succeeding means gaining some measure of professional standing and reputation.
 There is a natural craving for peer group recognition.
 Many architects feel, rightly or wrongly, that they have failed to gain the status or recognition that
they deserve.

THE RISKS OF ENVY

 There is an inescapable pressure on architects which motivates them but which can also produce
feelings of jealousy or envy.
 Given the competition and egos that prevail, it is easy to understand why architects fall victim to
these sins.
 Envy and jealousy appear whenever an architect observes some other architect winning while the
observer is losing or is left out.
 Professional jealousy is an unfortunate, regrettable dimension of the architect’s ego, rarely acted
upon externally, but capable of precipitating internal damage to the psyche.
 Anything can trigger such feelings, especially at moments of vulnerability:
o Seeing others busy when you are not
o Others winning awards or competitions when you are not
o Others being published or favorably reviewed when you are not
o Others being promoted when you are not
o Others making money when you are not
 Every architect is susceptible, and the higher one’s aspirations, the higher the susceptibility.

ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

 Jealousy is a normal symptom, and so is professionally related depression, to which many
architects are easily prone from time to time.
 In order to be a happy architect, one must be emotionally tough.
 Don’t be an architect if you suffer from severe rejection anxiety or fear of failure, for periodic
failures is guaranteed in the practice of architecture.
 Anxiety and depression over money matters are experienced and understood by all and not
unique to architecture.
 But as professional designers, architects produce work that is continually scrutinized, tested,
criticized, redone, and frequently rejected.
 No one likes rejection, but architects must be especially able to accept and cope with it.
 Architects have little choice but to endure these recurring circumstances, always exerting his or
her best, or to drop out.

PERSONAL ENCUMBRANCES
 Architecture demands taking risks.
 Architecture demands great investment of time, effort, and emotional and physical energy to
achieve anything worthwhile.
 To be able to seize opportunities when they arise, or to pursue unconventional goals, requires
both personal resources and certain degree of freedom from personal encumbrances.
 In particular,
o Starting one’s own architectural firm is often a great risk, especially financially.
o Or traveling and additional graduate study are other pursuits that can extremely beneficial
to an architect.
 Financial and personal obstacles can keep architects sitting in the back of drafting rooms

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LACK OF TALENT
 Some people fail because they don’t meet all of their goals because they don’t have the essential
resources needed to do so.
 Lack of talent can be serious impediments if one desires to be an architect.
 It is crucial to note that being intelligent is no guarantee of aptitude for architecture.
 Intuition and instinct are indispensable to architectural design, erudition and intelligence are
necessary but not sufficient.

LACK OF DEDICATION
 Without extraordinary effort and dedication the prospective or practicing architect surely faces
rejection and failure.
 Unwillingness to work hard, and to accept often minimal rewards, is a very good reason not to be
an architect.
 Students first discovered this in architectural school.
o Being very labor intensive
o Requiring countless hours of mental and manual effort making drawings and crafting
models
 Architectural study prepares one for what is to come:
o Lots more hard work
o And always the potential for rejection
 Those fully committed to their work and their objectives will weather the rougher moments.
 Dedication to architecture and to work can provide a stabilizing rationale in an apparent irrational
world.

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RISKS

 Architects in practice who own firms and whose designs get built are exposed to very substantial
legal and financial risks.
 The major risks stems from the potential for professional negligence which can cause clients or
others to suffer monetary damages.
 Architects are sued all the time by plaintiffs who believe that the architect negligently committed
an error which caused injury or financial loss to the plaintiff.
 It also a risk of not being paid for services rendered and in turn having to take legal action to
collect fees.
 The only victors are the lawyers!

DISILLUSIONMENT
 Perhaps the greatest overall risk in becoming an architect—frustration and disillusionment.
 Architects periodically feel exploited or used.
 They sometimes provide services for little or no pay, hoping for something in the future, only to
end up with nothing.
 Many see their careers as a giant compromise, having given more than they got and accepted
less than they deserved.
 A few simply abandon the profession, seeking firmer ground.
 One thing is certain; there is no way to predict where the choice will lead.
 There will be both rewards and frustrations, moments of delight and depression.

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