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Hello and welcome to our brand new advice column that we launched last week for fun, the sake of doing new stuff, and well, honestly, connecting with you all on a deeper, personal level.
We yearn to meet new people, and while we have access to so many of you via social networks, it only seems more difficult to really “talk”! Starting an advice column just seemed like the perfect choice to build this parasocial relationship with you all because what could go wrong in asking for advice? (unless our advice doesn’t work for you) But we will do our best, promise?
The idea of this column is simple: you ask a question, we try our best to give you an answer. And if it works for you, chances are it works for a lot of people out there. Each week we pick one question from this form (where you can submit more questions) and answer them here (where you can read the answers).
Before we answer the first two questions of this week, we want to really thank everyone who submitted their queries. It is vulnerable and courageous, the act of questioning, and we are really surprised by how many of you took that chance. So, never stop asking questions because no question is a wrong one :)
See you with more advice next week. For this week’s advice, continue reading -
Anik - Dhaka, Bangladesh
Architecture has been a back-and-forth journey for me. Now, in my final semester, it is taking a serious toll. However, it's not like I've never enjoyed the subject. What I have come to realize is that I don't enjoy the practicality of building construction, which has been a major setback for my motivation. On the other hand, I love the processes of documentation, learning about different lifestyles of people and storytelling. So, my question is, what could be my other career options instead of joining a general architectural firm? I am even willing to go for a postgraduate degree that is more aligned with my interests.
Hi Anik! Greetings from India! Thanks for writing and submitting your question. Reading your question was like looking into a mirror because we have LITERALLY gone through the same feelings before we found out that we could survive by making comics. Like you said, the dynamics of running an architecture practice are so different from what we learn in school, and while some of us thrive in those challenges, for some of us, it could be a nightmare.
For us personally, we loved architecture as a course and as a process we loved the conceptual stage of any design be it during our architecture course or urban design course in case of Anuj. But the problems arose when it was time to decide whether we could do it full time - whether we were ready to face the real life challenges of executing those ideas- not that we hated the idea of seeing a project turn into its reality but it was just the dealing with clients, the stakeholders, the changes and the redos, the corruption, thinking of how to expand the business (if it was our own) or in case of working under someone - how to climb up the ladder in office hierarchy.
But guess what, all of THIS did not matter even a bit when we had to deal with same dynamics in Leewardists. We deal with clients (some good some bad) every day, our invoices take months to clear sometimes, we get redos on almost every stage but somehow, it just seems easier and sometimes even comfortable to deal with all of them.
I have a friend who has been practicing for the past 11 years. 11 years is a lot of time. Though 11 years can be a very good number for your clients. You love it when you say “Hello, I have been practicing for the past 11 years” and the Client goes “Wow! That is a lot of time”. But that is it, that is the only thing he can say to the clients. Apart from that he has been struggling with other parts of his practice. Most of his projects that he has worked on extend so long that eventually he starts to lose interest or he abandons the project. Sometimes it is very difficult to maintain the same level of excitement and dedication for a project if it moves too long. My friend never managed or laid down steps and conditions for his project. May be it is too much for him or…..maybe he has just opened an office and is running it. It makes him drained. It makes him demotivated and most importantly he eventually wants the money and is not worried about what his design turns out to be. Patience is lost when you do not handle the politics of the construction industry.
My other friend has left her job and wants to start her own practice. She is enthusiastic about the idea of being independent and working on her own designs. But when she started she just liked the design and the SketchUp part of it (Hah! yes, SketchUp part of it, don’t we all like it) The later part of it she thinks that she needs other people who would execute it or make all the negotiations. She gets stuck and is mostly dependent on other people to take the final decisions. For her, it is the practical side that she finds difficult to deal with.
My other friend was at a big position of a big company and had a big fat salary. She was enjoying the process of all parts of the design. Concept, detailed design, services, vendors and a lot of things which eventually gives rise to the final complex building. Even though it is a good process which she loved, it eventually boiled down to the question “Is this my thought? Is this my idea? Am I doing it according to myself? Am I doing this for myself?” The answer was no unfortunately (or fortunately?). For her, the politics of construction is a problem but when she’s working for others, not so much for herself (she now has a successful practice).
To summarize, there can be many cases of individuals who do not enjoy the practical side of construction - the negotiations, the politics, the compromises, the corruption, the sacrifices and many more.
Even if we accept that they are an integral part of the practice it is okay to feel that I am not fit for it. But then what am I fit for? You can face all of the above things in a field/subject which might not bother you at all, no matter if you are working for someone or for yourself. You can find a niche area where you are not bothered by these obstacles and let it become a part of your process. Because in the end, you are going to see something very exciting. But then how do you find what is that ‘thing’ which when you practice does not let you down by the practicality of that subject.
Not to digress, but the only setback of this format of delivering advice is that we can’t ask you follow-up questions (really wishing this were a Zoom call), but if we could, we would want to ask you how and where did you feel the shift or the transition in your interests (internship/exposure to workshops/other fields etc), probably you could drop that in the comments of this post, but regardless, we do want to tell you that you should not feel the pressure of practicing as an architect or working in an architecture firm just because you were trained to be one.
We have so many examples of people pursuing something that has little to no connection to what they learned in school and while we cannot say that for other fields but architecture as a course is this wonderful concoction of diverse practices that opens so many avenues if you have the eye for it.
We love that for you, it came early (believe us, for us it took many years and change of jobs) and that you are aware of WHAT YOU LIKE about architecture.
Nothing that you already know, but the journey from this awareness that has been blessed upon you to actually finding what you want to do, is decidedly long and will take you multiple trials and errors to find what you really want to do.
Now, coming to what can you do. Unfortunately, we can’t tell you what to do. Nor should we. And we don’t believe in googling or Chat-gpt-ing ‘10 potential career paths with A,B and C skills’.
You and I both know that your answer lies in your Venn diagram of interests that you have (passion for documentation and learning about different livelihoods and culture) and skill sets (storytelling).
In that pursuit, we often find orchestrated answers (thanks to google), in that; for example; I like cooking therefore I must become a chef or open a restaurant but what if I want to open a grocery store or what if I want to make pickles? Just pickles. This does not come from Google. This comes from introspection. Deep diving, soul-touching introspection.
In pursuit of finding THAT THING that you would potentially want to pursue full time (within or outside architecture), you will also have to acquire allied skills, which could also lead you to take up a postgrad degree that you’ll enjoy.
For example, for me (Anuj), Urban Design as a course has had a great impact on the stories I write and the way I look at cities. I did not take up urban design because I had an interest or a forte, nor did I do it to work under a big MNC (although I did work under one in Mumbai for a few years, it was a lot of fun). I had no clue how would my masters or for that matter architecture impact me or my work in any way. But in hindsight, I could work on Leewardists, think about the stories I write or the comics I make because of the exposure that these two courses gave me. The work that Shreya and I do is an extension of the courses that we did, the concepts that we learned from it.
And for me (Shreya), I wanted to write. For a while, I did think that writing in architecture is all about writing 1000 words about a project using sustainability as a term 100 times to satisfy the SEO gods. I was becoming a chef when I actually wanted to make pickles. Making comics (a childhood dream of mine) was my pickle combined with the ardent love and earnest interest I have in architecture and cities. And no, I haven’t done my masters yet and probably won’t do one. But never say never.
So know that doing a masters is not the ultimate answer to finding a perfect job(s) or starting on your own. And also that any masters you do will not be a perfect match but will also not be completely useless.
Eventually, to find your pickle-making business (pun not intended or intended), you have to venture out of your comfort zone, things that you already know to find the unknown. And in that unknown, you will find what is yours, unique to you and something that will keep you going as long as you want to. We know that you probably know all these things, and sometimes advice could be just listening to your own words via a stranger, just to reinforce the things you believe in. We hope you really find the answer to your Venn diagram, and when you do (which we are sure is right around the corner), do give us a heads up via a call or an email or maybe even a personal visit.
P.S. - You are asking the right questions, do give yourself a pat on the back for that!
All the best Anik! :)
We would encourage you (yes, you the reader) to also contribute to the conversation by leaving your thoughts on the post. Thanks!
Stay tuned for more questions. See you soon with more advice.
Cheers!
Leewardists
What advice would you give to us about taking breaks?
Hello, I am Anik. Thank you so much for replying to my question. I loved your advice on the Venn diagram of interests. And about my shift in interest from the practicality of architecture, it is a long and complicated story. And some parts of it are still confusing to me. To talk about it, when I first started architecture, I did not know much about what I was getting into- as a career option or the university culture that was associated with it. You could say, I got into this line of study just because I was accepted to a reputable university, and was curious what this subject had to offer. Our freshmen classes were mostly abstract projects- which were difficult for me at that time but eventually, I loved working on them. I also loved learning theories on art, history, and culture that were associated with architecture. University taught me many things and influenced me to start doing a lot of things that I once loved but stopped doing. I started drawing again, I started writing again. And architecture taught me to see cities differently.
Eventually, as time passed, I saw my peers getting more serious about their careers and the practicality that the subject has to offer (of course, which was pretty normal, we are studying for a professional degree). Especially when we were doing internships, I found myself not so interested in the office culture, nor did I feel the ambition to build my own buildings. But all my peers used to talk about was how they wanted to get into some reputable office for their internship, their experience there, and how they wanted to be great architects. Of course, this is not the only thing that happened in between. I had opportunities to see and think about whether I was interested in building construction at all. I felt like I was the only one among my peers- who only loved parts of what architecture had to offer; rather than enjoying the main thing I was being trained to do- to build buildings. I feel very immature and silly for feeling this way.
I might also mention, I had the opportunity to attend the first “Learning from Puran Dhaka” workshop. I loved the experience there, I enjoyed talking to people and documenting the streets of Puran Dhaka. Of course, this is not the only documentation project that I had to do in my architecture course, but that was something noteworthy- and helped me realize how I always loved storytelling.
I know there is still a long way to go. I plan on trying out different things after I hopefully pass my final semester. And I will keep readjusting my Venn diagram accordingly. If I ever get to figure out the answer to my Venn diagram- I will try to let you know. And thank you so much for the cute little sketch you drew of me. I really loved it.