It is my fault to wait until the end of the day then to rush the work. It is also what I like, the rushing part. Yet, things have to change eventually to cope with my age. I am 30 next year. I am still address as a junior. That is the worst part and I do everything myself. That is even worst. How about you? :( Which meant the design, the 3d, the area schedule, the calculations, the regulations and requirements, except for the presentation done by my boss. I tried to let go of some donkey works....It is difficult to trust people. Wondering my boss must have trusted me or to be force to trust me for certain level/stage to let me handle so much.... :puke:

Young, I'm 31, a partner in a small practice, I don't do everithing myself, so I have a draftsman working for me, but every work assigned to me is supersisioned by myself, the rush is always present....I believe architects like to leave things too near the deadlines....

How long should an individual work in a firm to gain enough experience to leave? When do you know you are capable to having your own firm? It is not architecture only. It involves management and human capital factors which causes people to freak back.

Young,
never worked on a firm, started my one with my partner (1998), still in Uni, we won a competition, get a public contract to plan about 30 social homes... we were lucky...

After I graduated in end of 1999, the firm really start doing some business, it was no easy, the first 3 years (including 1999) were not enough to maintain the office only with Arc/Eng plans, so we enter on the RealEstate Evaluation... well, my partner did.

Made a lot's of mistakes... but at least from what I've heard from other coleagues, that work in small/ medium practices, they often only see part of the job, never learning important aspects of the pratice, being just draftsman.

At least I´m the author (for the good and for the bad) of the works I imagine (or try to...).

Sometimes you just have to give the work to somebody you're not sure that will be able to complete the task propperly, but with time you will train that person and you'll be able to trust him as your boss trusts you. That probably was the case with you and your boss.

How long should an individual work in a firm to gain enough experience to leave? When do you know you are capable to having your own firm? It is not architecture only. It involves management and human capital factors which causes people to freak back.


I dont finish anything in my office. Its all a collaboration. The work comes together much like a puzzle. When all the pieces are in place correctly.. we are finished that segment. Some projects have hundreds of puzzles some just a few.

I think if you plan on forging your own way eventually... it will serve you well to tell your future employers you are looking for mentoring... that you want to learn from them.. and when the learning curve flattens, leave.(this is assuming you have some financial solvency and took the time to garner another position before tendering you resignation)

I have my own firm and I dont expect anyone who isnt financially tied to the firm to stay beyond when they feel the work is either no longer challenging and interesting ( an individual assessment) or they have stopped learning and feel they could learn more elsewhere. My first employee was with me as my only employee for 6 months she left and doubled her salary. Now granted I was upset that she left so soon but I understand that we all need to learn. Plus i had to do it all alone again. So I hired two people to replace her so that it would take longer for them to get the same info and have cut back on how many secrets I let out of the bag initially.

If you work for a few different types of firms and you are talented, quick and accurate. and stay long enough to see at least one project to completion at each of the places you work. You will probably have all the observations and skills you need to survive.

The business of architecture is alot of things to a lot of people but in the end if you need to make money to survive it is still a business.

Basic business skills cant hurt. Oh and sprinkle or two of raw talent, an autodidactic sense of exploration, excellent spatial recognition, and an ability to converse visually.

I work for myself & on my own
I wish I could afford to employ someone but I am unable to offer half a decent salary.

Page? I've been meaning to ask is that Avatar of yours based on Photosonic?

ReD ..avatar...

Its from an old ( almost a decade ago) Method (http://www.method.com) video intro. Still love their work (http://www.gucci.com/us/us-english/about-gucci/creative-directors/frida-giannini/).

sorry for the slight highjack.

I couldnt afford anyone for at least year. I saved like a hermit and sold a car to be able to have enough the following year. Its a struggle not to get bigger to take more projects to generate more income. But i like small and my three day weekends. So my sail boat will have to wait..

Cheers (sexy little Zip)

Thanks for the information. I shall practise the advises.
:not worth :not worth :not worth :not worth
I hopped 5 firms in 2 years' time. Hopping from firm to firm, I recognised different directors/architects with different attitude towards architectural practise makes the firm so much different. The firm I am working now grew from 20 staffs into 40 in a short period of time(2~5months' time). The boss told me it is the good relationship between client and himself that makes him rolls bigger and bigger. The 'big' meant multi-million jobs, which makes him and his partners a million dollar man with few percent of earning to the hundreds of millions' job.
The motto~Trust is the key to success.
I wish everyone a success to make the world looks and grew better and better. :)

Sometimes, asking this question is simply dumb.
But I couldn't afford not asking it because I am unrecognised in my country for political reasons.
A collegue of mine who didn't registered with PAM already opening his own firm, getting jobs as well at the moment.
Do you guys hold a registration as an architect under registered organization for example RIBA before opening your own business?
How long does it takes for you guys to make it?
It takes at least 3~4years in Malaysia for people to get qualified as an Architect after graduation.

Three years of qualified and observed practice accompanied with reccomendations and comments from previous employers after an acredited degree program is the norm here in the US.

Do you guys hold a registration as an architect

Seems to me you start when you feel ready. When you feel you can turn a unique opportunity into a career.

If memory serves, Tadao Ando is [self taught and holds no architectural degree].. but if you know the story of Rokko l-lll (http://kwc.org/blog/archives/2005/2005-03-17.talk_tadao_ando.html) and the hospital on the hill. You will find perseverance and determination along with the aforementioned sprinkles of miscellaneous talents, will take you anywhere a magic carpet will not.

Work work work. Sometimes people tends to get lost. Lost for survival, lost due to stress. It is great knowing people out there have the same interest, same career path. handling datelines. haha~! Thanks! :not worth

Well, my story is the other way around......
I worked for a very small firm during school, and after school I was asked to plan 2 houses and a few interior designs, so I was "forced" to open my own thing.
Not that I am sorry for that, but I feel I have little knowledge of working for others - or in other words: I know only how I work. I wish I had more diversity of architectural workflow examples.

It is very hard to hire someone to work for you. You have to plan ahead all the time what you do, and what he\she does. It is better sometimes to work alone.

Shmoo

Young,

My very first job after qualification was two years in an office in your home town of KL on the 52nd floor of the Empire Tower! I had specialised in presentation graphics and so ended up doing the full job through to design presentation. This unfortunate 'talent' has followed me around somewhat and even now, 10 years later I am still producing my own presentation graphics - to be honest though I don't think I'd have it any other way. I love the control that this provides - I don't mean I do absolutely EVERYTHING as the detail drawings are usually cadded by a technician, but I do the 'pretty pictures' part of the process which is exactly what I like doing.

Working in Malaysia taught me a hell of a lot about presentation work and I loved the speculative nature of the work which allowed for almost a continuation of the blue sky thinking that was encouraged at university. You jumped between 5 jobs in 2 years but that is what the construction industry in Malaysia allows you to do! Soak up the knowledge and move on is my opinion! Everyone else seems to do it over there.

If I was given a chance I wouldn't jump like what I did. However, I started working in a small firm. I guess noone would let everything to you unless you worked long enough to establish the trust. Yet I wasn't given a chance years before where I just worked few months and felt exploited without any learning curve.
My current boss offered me his own bungalow as for my first built up job last week.
Hopefully I can accomplish that. It is cruel to left someone just like that, but it is how the world works. I guess I am still hoping for someone to let me a chance; until I stop hoping, I'll just let go and change job. I always negotiate first before I go. If negotiation succeeded, I would have stayed.
I am working in 30th floor now. :cheers:

Sometimes you just have to give the work to somebody you're not sure that will be able to complete the task propperly, but with time you will train that person and you'll be able to trust him as your boss trusts you. That probably was the case with you and your boss.


Hopefully ;)

I am working in 30th floor now. :cheers:

Which tower??

I'm on the 2nd floor of a 2 floor building!! We're not that adventurous with multi-storey over here in Oxford ;)

My working place is opposite Concorde Hotel, right beside Shangrila Hotel., if you could remember...its an old building though. Traffic is terrible here.

I know where you mean - near to the KL Tower right? I seem to remember that they do a good Dim Sum at the Concorde Hotel on Sunday mornings......you can't beat those deep fried chicken's feet :rock on:

And as for the traffic being terrible - I still laugh at people in the UK when they moan about bad traffic. I will remember 'THE JAM' until my dying day, weaving my 70CC Honda motorbike through the static traffic on my way to the office in the morning, drawing tube slung over my shoulder......ahhh those were the days! I still refer to bad weather as 'Hujan besar' as that was always a good indicator that there would be 'BIG JAM' that day. :D

:) U must have missed KL a lot yeah....Great place though. Merry Christmas~! :cheers:

I still laugh at people in the UK when they moan about ...

moaning and whinging is a national sport i believe

yep - us whinging poms like nothing better than a good maon. Bah Humbug!!

moaning and whinging is a national sport i believe

Yeah Swank-E.....that's why I'm emigrating to Australia in February! :)