5 Things They Don’t Tell You About Architecture School – What I Wish I Knew Before Signing Up
5K views · 2021-07-05
Space & Architecture
Studying architecture. Ah, what a great choice. Unfortunately, there’s a lot they don’t tell you about architecture school. Here’s 5 things I wish I knew before studying architecture.
There’s a lot that people don’t tell you about architecture school. But, it’s nothing bad right? It’s nothing bad… right?
For the most part. It’s not all bad. There are some bad things that really just make you want to hurt the people that talked you into studying architecture, but after 4 years of studying architecture I can say that it’s, pretty good.
Here are 5 things they don’t tell you about architecture school that would’ve been nice to know before signing up.
1) It’s a self-driven education. You need to be the one who pushes yourself to learn new things.
2) It’s not a 40-hour week education, or profession. The more you put in, the more you get out. Because it is self-driven, you determine the pace which determines how much you learn.
3) You need to know people. If this scares you, take a deep breath. I didn’t know anyone when I signed up for architecture school. I was and am the most introverted of introverts but have still managed to make lots of great friends and connections with professionals in the industry. It’s a great way to push yourself outside your comfort zone and you need to make the most of that. If you spend the entire time in your own bubble, you won’t reap the full benefits of architecture school. Yes, it’s self-driven, but don’t underestimated the importance of networking and working with others.
4) It’s hard work, if you make it hard for yourself. Like anything, it’s a lot of work and it’s hard work, but only if you leave it all to the last minute. It’s what you make it. I’ve heard from different people with different experiences, some say it’s easy, some say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done. And I guarantee the ones who found it difficult were the ones who couldn’t manage their time. Time management is key!
5) Motivation comes and goes. Some days I’m fired up. Other days I wish I had done something else. Having a big picture of the future definitely helps with that. To stay motivated, you need a clear reason why you’re choosing architecture. To me, I started architecture without a clear reason why I wanted to be study it. I heard that it’s a good profession, it pays decent, and this is how most people get into it. But you really need to dig deeper than that. Picture yourself 10, 20 years from now. How does your education help you become that person? Does it even? That should help you stay motivated and keep you pushing forward.
6) You need to think for yourself. Don’t follow what others are doing, you don’t even necessarily need to follow what the teachers are telling you to do. If you have a strong idea about how you want to do something, do it that way! Do what makes you happy and disregard what others are doing. You’ll be criticised but if you stay true to you and be yourself, you’ll create great work and enjoy the work a whole lot more. Anything in architecture school goes, as long as you can justify why you’ve done what you’ve done. That’s probably the biggest thing.
All of this doesn’t matter. It really is what you make of it. If you’re still unsure about signing up for architecture school, there’s only one way to find out if it’s for you. And that’s to give it a go. There’s no shame in trying something and quitting because you don’t enjoy it. And I think that’s where a lot of people get stuck. That put themselves in a cage by starting something and force themselves to finish it because they have to finish what they started. Sure, persevere. If you have a tough time keep going. But if you really don’t enjoy it and are forcing yourself through it, maybe it’s time for another direction, and that’s fine. At least you now know that it’s not for you. If you had never done it, you would have never known. And if you never try it, you’ll never find out if it is something that you truly love.
There’s a lot that people don’t tell you about architecture school. But, it’s nothing bad right? It’s nothing bad… right?
For the most part. It’s not all bad. There are some bad things that really just make you want to hurt the people that talked you into studying architecture, but after 4 years of studying architecture I can say that it’s, pretty good.
Here are 5 things they don’t tell you about architecture school that would’ve been nice to know before signing up.
1) It’s a self-driven education. You need to be the one who pushes yourself to learn new things.
2) It’s not a 40-hour week education, or profession. The more you put in, the more you get out. Because it is self-driven, you determine the pace which determines how much you learn.
3) You need to know people. If this scares you, take a deep breath. I didn’t know anyone when I signed up for architecture school. I was and am the most introverted of introverts but have still managed to make lots of great friends and connections with professionals in the industry. It’s a great way to push yourself outside your comfort zone and you need to make the most of that. If you spend the entire time in your own bubble, you won’t reap the full benefits of architecture school. Yes, it’s self-driven, but don’t underestimated the importance of networking and working with others.
4) It’s hard work, if you make it hard for yourself. Like anything, it’s a lot of work and it’s hard work, but only if you leave it all to the last minute. It’s what you make it. I’ve heard from different people with different experiences, some say it’s easy, some say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done. And I guarantee the ones who found it difficult were the ones who couldn’t manage their time. Time management is key!
5) Motivation comes and goes. Some days I’m fired up. Other days I wish I had done something else. Having a big picture of the future definitely helps with that. To stay motivated, you need a clear reason why you’re choosing architecture. To me, I started architecture without a clear reason why I wanted to be study it. I heard that it’s a good profession, it pays decent, and this is how most people get into it. But you really need to dig deeper than that. Picture yourself 10, 20 years from now. How does your education help you become that person? Does it even? That should help you stay motivated and keep you pushing forward.
6) You need to think for yourself. Don’t follow what others are doing, you don’t even necessarily need to follow what the teachers are telling you to do. If you have a strong idea about how you want to do something, do it that way! Do what makes you happy and disregard what others are doing. You’ll be criticised but if you stay true to you and be yourself, you’ll create great work and enjoy the work a whole lot more. Anything in architecture school goes, as long as you can justify why you’ve done what you’ve done. That’s probably the biggest thing.
All of this doesn’t matter. It really is what you make of it. If you’re still unsure about signing up for architecture school, there’s only one way to find out if it’s for you. And that’s to give it a go. There’s no shame in trying something and quitting because you don’t enjoy it. And I think that’s where a lot of people get stuck. That put themselves in a cage by starting something and force themselves to finish it because they have to finish what they started. Sure, persevere. If you have a tough time keep going. But if you really don’t enjoy it and are forcing yourself through it, maybe it’s time for another direction, and that’s fine. At least you now know that it’s not for you. If you had never done it, you would have never known. And if you never try it, you’ll never find out if it is something that you truly love.