Foreword:

Every job has its cold splash of reality and even the most ardent professional in architecture will admit that their job is far from perfect and that there are plenty of days when they would rather just not get out of bed. It would be hopelessly idealistic to imagine that it will be the perfect job and you will never have problems in the field. Every job has its problems and knowing these problems will allow you to make an informed decision about choosing this profession or choosing another.

Why not to be an architect?

Architects have both the problems of many professions and some that are unique to their field. Students of architecture often find that they cannot make it professionally (or even in school) and end up dropping out.

Even those who make it through the grueling education may not end up with a job at all, or at least not one any time soon, and thus will feel as though five to seven years of his or her life has gone down the drain. This is a problem common to many professions though, so it should always be kept in mind. Architects take it a step further though in that in their line of work there is often fierce competition and long stretch of dry periods where an architect lives on E.I. and whatever else they can scrape together.

There is little stability for an architect-even those working for a firm can find that they are being laid off because of a slow year. Fierce competition also means that architects often find themselves underpaid as they compete for any work possible and part of this means trying to charge as little as possible in order to attract the client.

This can lead to feelings of depression and lack of worth as it often feels as though they are working as hard as those who make twice as much as them. Architects also come under fire a lot for their work-if anything goes wrong in the building; it is the architect that is often sued, whether they are guilty of something or not.

Still asking yourself why not to be an architect?

Finally, architects also have to be hard of hide as they have to deal with clients who may not like their work and be very verbal about it. Since the designer often gets emotionally involved in their work, this can come as a real blow.

Architects who try to strike out on their own have a whole other set of problems on top of the usual ones. Opening a private firm is fraught with risks and financial perils on top of the usual ones of work.

Architects who go this route can find themselves heavily in debt and have a difficult time getting out of it again. Architects who want to succeed too may have to put many other things aside like getting married and having children as they will have to commit all of their time to working on their career in order to keep afloat.

Of course, there is also the simple fact that if you do not have the temperament required to be an architect, you will not do as well. Lack of talent, patience, ego, and/or passion is the downfall of many potential architects.

Intelligence will not necessarily get you far in this career as you also need the ability to draw, create, and defend your ego against critique. Without dedication, you will not be able to survive the downturns of your chosen profession and without patience, it is difficult to do the work that is set to you.

Architecture is a difficult road to follow and romanticizing it by focusing on the artistic freedom and possibility for wealth and fame will not help anyone. Instead, it should be understood that it is a job like any other one, complete with its own set of pitfalls and problems. However, if you are not frightened off yet by this candid article on why not to be an architect, then congratulations. You are well on your way, emotionally speaking anyway, to being an architect.

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