AIArchitect

I thought I was the only one who thought the 'profession' needed a wake-up call. I tend to both agree and disagree with those who assert that getting rid of the 'aged' creates long-term havoc. I agree that these oldsters' experience is needed, however without us youngsters, who will teach the old farts how to use a computer? That's basically how I spent a good 80% of my time, telling the partners over and over again how to draw a line in CAD. Unless those old warts want to go back to hand drafting and watercolor representations they need to get the younger staff back in the office. We are the backbone, we produce the drawings, we produce the models, all the old people do is sit on their fat asses and talk. Since WE are the young and have all the ideas, WE will walk away and find better careers more deserving of our time and efforts. I'm done with architecture too. I'm so done with it I don't feel pressed to pay back any of my student loans, since my accredited 'education' appears to have been such a waste of time. If I had known it was going to be such a Greek tragedy I would have gone to medical school like my mother told me to do years ago.

DesigningCrossing.com is a great site, wish I'd known about that a few weeks ago. For the most part I agree with Terry, laying off the experienced guys is like cutting off your own arm...not smart.

As bitter as 'Done with Architecture...'is, I still sympathize. Across the board, we are more educated (schooling-wise, not intellectually) and are paid less than engineers, lawyers, and those in construction management. These professions tend to have a 'care for your own' mentatlity as oppose to the survival mode architects seem to be intrenched within. Why is this? Just because upper management had to grind it out a few decades ago doesn't mean new interns should go with meager pay and long hours. Evolve, like lawyers, and get better pay across the board. Long hours are inevitable, not bad salaries.

I graduated from a 5-year accredited school, starting to take the ARE, and have put in my 'grunt' time, yet I find myself working at a millwork company doing shop drawings. There are more opportunities here than at any AEC firm I've worked for and it's because they look to expand and give responsiblity, not just 'protect myself', the mentality that floods the architecture community. My wife's law-school internship will pay better than my former architecture salary, and she's not even out of school yet! Architecture is great profession, too bad it's got a fraternity stigma, rather than a professionally advanced reputation.

I was laid off from my job of six years last year. I had no idea what I was going to do till I found http://www.DesigningCrossing.com This web site has more job listings for architects than any other I could find. If anyone else is having trouble finding a job try here!

Architecture is a ridiculous profession. While architects feel their profession is important, their wages certainly indicate the contrary. In my experience, architects are spineless, always willing to cut fees thus undervaluing the profession; this appears to be endemic within the profession. Even in boom times, while everyone else is making a fortune, architects are barely breaking even. Architects are the ultimate economic 'health' indicator and are the first to be hired and fired as the economy booms and busts. All this education and horrific student loans for 40, 50K a year maybe 80K in the height of your career!? Are you kidding me - I'll be designing houses, but I'll never live in one. Half my graduating M.Arch class has left the career entirely. Given the ludicrous length of the M.Arch program it should be revamped to reduce the airy-fairy bs and increase the hard-nosed business education. Architects have to be the worst bunch of self promoters and business people on the planet yet they're so capable of being otherwise.

If I sound bitter, I am. In the time it takes to become an architect, I could have become a doctor who actually makes a difference in society instead of helping others get rich at my own expense.

If you're a student contemplating architecture - don't. Architects EAT their young and apparently their experienced as well. The internship program is a farce: you'll be a CAD tech. for years [sporting a masters degree] with a paycheck that would make janitors laugh. Get an actual high-paying career and then you can actually afford to indulge in architecture. If you have the determination and smarts to get through an M.Arch degree then don't squander your intellect on architecture.

Architecture would be an amazing profession if the partitioners would band together and drive fees up [instead of devaluating] and insist upon reduced liability. Until the spinlessness stops, the 'profession' is a joke.

Terry,
I didn't think your post sounded bitter, I think it's spot on, and it's important to protect the knowledge. Weed the deadwood firt, reguardless of age- the underperformers need to go, and if a company was well run there should be few of those (we had 2 in 101, as we don't let it get out of hand). Since the down turn we've had to lay off a total of 5 and put one person on a short work week. Sadly, we will certainly be seeing more have to go as project assigments get completed if we can't keep the hopper full of work. There are prospects out there and we compete well in most of the markets we are in. Retail, shell buildings and Hospitality have taken a hit, but our interiors work is going fairly strong.

This mess is going to take at least a year or two to climb out of. Even when our clients have access to cheap money (and some still do- but in an effort to not tip off to much, I'm leaving it at that...) they're choosing to park the jobs until the consumer market returns.

This economic mess has been going on so long, that both parties have blood on their hands. Good people are going to be loosing jobs, and likely to loose their homes and they never took out stupid loans - their sin will have been a failure to save enough money for a rainy day, and having too much debt.

2009 is going to be a year to forget in the short term, and with any luck a year never to forget in 5 or 6 years.

Age discrimination is illegal.

Characterizing me as "sounding bitter" invalidates the message to some extent and it is actually not accurate.

My point is that the economic business model of Architectural firms in general leads principals to embrace the idea that shedding the 45 and older employees, because of the higher wages paid to them, is good business management. When in fact it is not.

In response to T. Walker's comment: Sadly Terry you sound bitter in your post and I get the bitterness.
I work in Chicago and consult to the City here. As an architect of many years having walked many a mile in this work, I remember well the "Halloween Massacre" as it was called in the early 90's here in Chicago when hundreds of architects were fired from firms in one single day - this during the first Gulf War. The result and the reality is that the firm I was employed by NEVER really recovered from that era. In general it has taken years for the institutional knowledge in the profession to regain it's footing. And even in the face of that history I see this so much now - people wiht 20, 25 + years experience walking out the door with the organization's most valuable asset - the brains and knowledge of so many years in the trenches. A pity that the value older pros bring to the table is not valued in and of itself in the world of architecture and other areas of work. The profession of architecture is not alone in this - it runs the table - I have friends in other walks of life and their song is similar.

Beyond the stupidity of having not planned ahead for the inevitable economic downturn is the the associated stupidity of the typical survival strategy once you must layoff employees.

There are two substantial stupidities regarding the profession of Architecture and economic downturns particularly in the larger firms: the way we treat our experienced licensed professionals and the way we treat our interns.

First you need to examine the fundamental truths. Experienced older licensed professionals are the backbone of your company. Laying off the older guys is the common practice these days. It is disgusting. Such practice is damaging to your company because of the massive loss of knowledege skill and ability. These people are in your company and paid bigger salaries because they are the people who solve the problems and make it all work everyday. They are the people training the interns in your company. You know you are not doing it. The older experienced people embody your best hope of recovering. From the ethics & morality perspective laying off the folks that help you achieve success is simply inappropriate.

The idea that you are helping the older people by giving them the opportunity to go and start their own practice is evil self delusion. If you think that way stop. You never paid them enough money that they could succeed at their age and limited resource as an unemployed person in such an expensive endeavor. It takes a huge capital investment to start an architectural practice.

The joke about cab drivers is on point. You are destroying the careers of the best people in your company and that is just stupid.

The second stupidity has to do with the false paradigm regarding youth.

The idea of tossing the older qualified and capable out to fend for themselves while retaining the younger less qualified and less capable because they embody the hope for the future is a bankrupt strategy. This concept serves an embedded marketing illusion; the idea that your clients want "younger looking" companies more than they want quality services.

In reality the quality of the projects creates the companies success and it's future. Everything the company has been and hope to be will be determined by the aggregate quality of your projects. Never exchange substance in hand for an illusion.

The next aspect of stupidity regarding interns is the idea that to transition the company you need to shed the existing alpha's in the company to make room for the future ownership transition. It is better to make partners of the existing proven alpha's in the company than bet on the unproven candidate. Stick to what works and who you know.

In every company there are a few interns that stand out. You want to keep only a few of your brightest young stars and raise the bar in your company. When economic realities force the company to shed staff, keep the best veterans and the best rookies in play.

Finally, begin now to do the necessary planning and preparation for the next economic cycle, make certain your company is ready next time the economy slows down.