This One is For the Architecture Students
Sorry construction kids, you’ve already crossed over to the dark side. This one is for the architecture students. As I’m new here, I’m going to tell you a bit about how this all started.
In Year 12 (I’m not even going to tell you how long ago that was) I was very good at graphic design, and some may say art. This lead to me try and get into industrial design straight out of university. Thankfully they rejected me. I had no idea what it was and oh boy, did that show in the interview. The other degree that kept on popping up was architecture. It looked interesting enough – a bit of design, a bit of history, let’s try this architecture thing. Plus, obviously, I will be the big shot designing all the buildings… in my dreams.
RMIT University rejected me, and I thought my career was over even before it started. Parallel to that I also had an application for the then Bachelor of Environments at the University of Melbourne. It was my 18th birthday, and I was in Israel, when I woke up, checked my emails and got an approval for my application. I was stoked, I was going to become an architect! ....
Let’s just say whilst I kept a well above average GPA during my degree, I was anything but a rising architecture star. I was always frustrated with the design process and never took joy in it. I was the student who came to class with a “conceptual” model that still had the glue drying and probably dripping. Trust me, it wasn't without effort or application, but there was little reward for me. Plus the students who seemed to do really well were those that had the most illogical, impractical designs generated by CAD. I never learned 3D anything, I had negative ambition to. With those wild Revit designs that were doing so well, I always wondered how this could ever be built, who would even pay for it – the floor plates weren't even lining up! I realized that my personality is far more logical, process orientated, and was more curious to find out how this works. Plus I’m really big into planning and organization (sometimes to my detriment), and I really like working with numbers not sketches.
Alas I graduated. Needless to say, the two architecture interviews I did have were…. I’ll save that for another time.
I enrolled in a Master of Construction Management, taking a complete departure from architecture, having realized that I’m not suited to that discipline, and I would like to earn more than the minimum wage. There are of course, many career paths available to integrate architecture and building (design management), but it just wasn't for me. I may have spent three years and who knows how much money on balsa wood, but I learnt how to appreciate design, to look at cities around us through a different lens. This is probably why I love working on unique, bespoke builds. Plus, without architects, us builders would value managed everything until we are left with.. a box.
So then in 2013, I started my Master of Construction Management at the University of Melbourne and my mind was opened up to the world of Construction Management. It was everything at once – too big to handle, captivating, logical, structured, overwhelming, and answered my questions as to how sh*t gets done. My career had begun.
Also it never helped that everyone I spoke to who was working in architecture gave ample warnings to find another career path… And so I did, thankfully so.
What should this mean to you?
Don’t be afraid to change your trajectory – where you started off is not a marker of where you will end up.
Talk to as many people in the field to understand the type of people suited to this industry.
Understand what drives you, thrills you, and motivates you. I can’t stand CAD, give me an excel sheet any day! That will help you find work that is aligned with you.
Don’t let the failures get you down – at the time, when I didn't get into RMIT, or get a job after graduating, it felt like it was game over. FAR FROM IT. Those failures are meant to be, they’re just steering you to where you need to go. It’ll all happen for you too.
So, who's working in construction with me?
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