<p>Hi! I have a somewhat odd situation - I want to get a BArch, but I don't want to be an architecture. Is this crazy?! (esp considering how specialized the field architecture is?)</p>
<p>I've read about the hard work and dedication it takes of getting a BArch and it sounds really challenging, but in a good way! I really enjoy this kind of studio work and I'm not averse to pulling all nighters. </p>
<p>My problem is this: I've spent the last few days researching about what it's REALLY like to be an architect and I think I have a pretty realistic unromanticized (ok that's not a word :P) view...and I know I wouldn't enjoy being an architect - not to mention I wouldn't want to get my masters and license and pass the many exams. </p>
<p>However, as ironic and silly as it sounds, the preparation to be an architect (getting a BArch) seems like the perfect major for me. Not only is it challenging, but I imagine it would be sort of fun (don't quote me on this in a few years though :P). Is the training you get in your BArch applicable to many different occupations? Do you guys know of any person who has a BArch, but is in a completely different field of work? The thing is I'm not exactly sure what I want to be yet, but I know it's not an architect.</p>
<p>(and yes, I'm aware of the difficulty and time and effort involved to major in architecture, but it still seems like my type of challenge!)</p>
<p>Some of the 4 year Arch studies programs are pretty rigorous. If you look at the curriculums of each of them some of them are just like the first 4 years of the B.arch, minus the 5 th year. You could consider one of those and get a Master’s in something else besides Arch. It could be related masters in ie construction, urban planning, sustanability, real estate or different ie MBA or law. I think you might need to figure out what area you see yourself working in the future and then decide if have the Arch degree will give you a base for that endeavor.</p>
<p>im in a BArch program now. unless you are really dedicated to architecture, itll seem more like architorture, given the rigor of all of the program. i agree with lakemom, to maybe pursue a BA or BS in architecture with a 4 year program. the 5 year programs are really for the students who want to be an architect when everyhting is all said and done</p>
<p>Yeah, I completely agree with the responses. Try a 4 year BA or BS program. For example, I’m a first-year student at WashU majoring in architecture. It is a 4 year BA or BS program, and the program is extremely intense. Just one 3 credit studio can consume your life if you let it. The third year of the program requires that you completely dedicate your coursework to architecture, with room for one elective per semester. However, the 4-year program also allows for freedom outside the major, so you can explore outside coursework, get a second major or minor. A 5-year program might not let you do that.
Practically speaking, this would be your best bet. That way, you can have another major, or at least experience, in what you want as a career, in addition to what you want as an academic experience. A 5-year program will close you off so much from other options, and the real world, that you will not have the time to discover what you want in a career.</p>
<p>haha oops just realized the type on the title…i mean “don’t want to be an architect*” not architecture lmao…</p>
<p>i guess i should’ve stated that i’m from canada. in canada, there is so such thing as a 5 year BArch (except for 1 uni, but it’s bc of co-op work terms) and there’s really no such thing as a BA while majoring in architecture (only 1 uni offers that, but it’s honestly ZERO studio time and it’s all textbook/theoretical work…so might as well not major in that at all!)</p>
<p>for the most part, there is only the 4-year BArch (which is already pretty intense and full of studio work) + the 2 yrs of MArch (you can’t practice architecture with only a Barch). so i would be talking about the 4-year BArch (which would be where i stop), which i guess is the same as the 5-year BArch in the states, only shorter by a year.</p>
<p>but your advice is still applicable - thanks!</p>
<p>p.s. actually, i want to be a pastry chef and open up my own bakery making wedding cakes one day. however, my parents want me to get a university education first. i decided on architecture because it seemed like a challenge, yet fun! i would go to pastry school right afterwards (arichitecture might be related somewhat?! lol…at least the structures part?! haha)</p>
<p>Can you study architecture for five years and then not become an architect? Sure, just ask anyone who has graduated in the last six months Architects do all kinds of things with their degrees, some because they want to try something different, many because the profession no longer has room for them.</p>
<p>So after a few days of research you REALLY know what it’s like to be an architect…the reality is that this is an incredibly varied profession. The difference between doing working drawings for a Walmart in Iowa versus designing a high rise in Shanghai is immense (in both satisfaction and compensation), and there are a thousand experiences in between. My guess is that if you go into a 5 year program and love it, you will probably love being an architect, and if you don’t you will get out soon enough. Very few people will put up with the rigors of a 5 year program thinking that they want to be a chef.</p>
<p>a little off topic, but if you really want to be a pastry chef, cornell’s hotel school has an amazing program for students who want to be in the food industry…many are able to study at various culinary instituties…</p>
<p>…its not architecture, but after going through 2.5 years of a BArch already, i dont know if id want to do something totally different once i graduate. that would be a lot of wasted time and money (plus i love it too much :]P )…and lack of sleep…</p>
<p>at 50% of college graduates are not working in their majors. The reasons vary. Speaking from experience–do what you want and love. I majored in electrical engineering but practiced as a software engineer. I got an MBA in Marketing during the evening. Worked in marketing for 20+ years. I came to the realization I loved studying engineering and marketing more than practicing them. Went back to school and got a teaching certificate to teach math. I am now in my 5th year teaching 8th grade math–the best career decision I ever made. I have no regrets about the way my career(s) and majors have worked out or the choices I made. That is the key.</p>
<p>It is never too late to change careers or majors. Don’t ignore the college degree but do some research. As stated from others, consider majors that will get you to be a chef–culinary school or something like Cornell’s program (Purdue’s is also highly rated).</p>
Architects do all kinds of things with their degrees, some because they want to try something different, many because the profession no longer has room for them.</p>