{"id":18706,"date":"2021-01-01T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-01T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/new-year-new-career-alternatives-to-architecture\/"},"modified":"2022-06-07T08:00:18","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T12:00:18","slug":"new-year-new-career-alternatives-to-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/new-year-new-career-alternatives-to-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year, New Career? Pursuing Alternative Jobs With Your Architecture Degree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael LaValley is an N.Y. State-registered architect, career strategist and blogging entrepreneur. His blog, Evolving Architect<\/a>, helps creative professionals to channel their passions for architecture and design into successful careers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Each year, colleges and universities around the country release a new generation of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed architecture graduates into society. A new group of young, aspiring architects dream of how they\u2019ll make a difference in the world. This gets me thinking about my own education.<\/p>\n

Did you ever consider all of the opportunities you have with a degree in architecture? Did you ever think about what you could do with one besides just becoming an architect? Sometimes I do think about what would have happened to my life if I had, say, gone into filmmaking. I\u2019m a die-hard film nerd and remember a few distinct moments in college when I could have made very different decisions for my career.<\/p>\n

And why not?<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Via <\/i>Architect\u2019s Journal<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re taught how to be an architect in school and in studio, what are you really being taught? Are you learning directly applicable skills that are required for your job in the workforce?<\/p>\n

Quite simply, no.<\/b><\/p>\n

Instead, we\u2019re taught fundamental ways of thinking, modes of being and frameworks for perception. And really, that\u2019s perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

Architecture is a profession in which it literally takes decades to develop your own way and adequately function as an architect. Because college is only four to five years, academia can only do so much to prime you for the real world. As such, programs at the collegiate level tend to be much more about creating environments for you to stretch your legs and experiment rather than teach you every skill you\u2019ll ever need to be an architect.<\/p>\n

Architecture isn\u2019t a trade, it\u2019s a profession. <\/b>You leave school with a mentality rather than a full set of tools.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, you do learn skills, but the skills can be applied to almost anything. So, back to my career that almost was, filmmaking. As a creative person, rather than just an architect, I find my interests lie in the manifestation of ideas. I gravitated toward film because of my fascination with motion pictures. If there is one thing I respect film for over architecture, it\u2019s dynamism.<\/p>\n

I can take the skills I\u2019ve learned in architecture school \u2014 space, scale, hierarchy, rhythm \u2014 and apply them directly to the creation of film. Now granted, I don\u2019t have the direct skills to know everything about how to construct an actual film. But I do have the vision for how to create spatial ideas that resonate conceptually with others.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Via <\/i>GreenBiz<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Not into film? Why not go back to academia and teach the next generation of architects at your Alma Mater? Or perhaps you could design the next wave of high-end fashion in New York? What if you pursued a law degree and advocated for clients against a critical jury of your peers?<\/p>\n

See where I\u2019m going?<\/p>\n

The opportunities you have because you were trained as an architect don\u2019t stop at architecture. They begin there.<\/b><\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not suggesting that you up and leave the profession right now. Instead, I recommend that you take a look at what you\u2019ve been given to date and consider that just maybe, there is another version of you waiting to be revealed. One that embraces being an architect and chooses to use that skill set to help others beyond the built environment.<\/p>\n

Consider a new way of working with the skills you have. Could you apply your skills as an architect in another way? Could you spend some time in a related field? Think about the options you have at your disposal. Don\u2019t think you\u2019re better off somewhere else. Just know that you likely have all the tools you need to shape the future however and wherever you want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for being awesome!<\/p>\n

Mike<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/b>

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work by uploading projects to Architizer<\/a>\u00a0and sign up for our\u00a0inspirational newsletters<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n

This post first appeared on Evolving Architect<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The opportunities you have because you were trained as an architect don\u2019t stop at architecture. They begin there,” argues Mike LaValley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1907190","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[31],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-18706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-details","category-practice","tag-opinion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Year, New Career? 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