Dear future architects, never lose your optimism

Dear future architects,

Architecture is an inherently optimistic profession. The very act of designing and building requires hope, it needs it. We need it.

If you’re just entering the profession, there are a lot of opportunities for disappointment ahead, I ask that you take them in stride. Don’t give up the good fight.

The job won’t turn out to be what you imagined, the day to day work will be less fulfulling than you’d hoped, and the perfect project that you imagine will be ‘the one’ to really build your practice will get cancelled. As exhausting as school was at times, the profession can be equally so. So how do you get through it? How do you decide to pick the sharpie back up, and start again tomorrow? Two things: Friendship and Humor.

There’s never been an easier time to make new friends. Seek out like-minded colleagues, locally and beyond. Make real connections, enjoy others company, visit and compliment their work. Join your local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Tour buildings, attend social events, and commiserate with one another, celebrate each other’s successes.

As for humor, there are so many blogs, cartoons, more cartoons, and podcasts.

Simply put, we aren’t alone. Someone has been through exactly what you’re going through. It’s easy to give into pessimism. It’s easy to let your frustration with the profession get to you and turn on your fellow architect, don’t let it. Life is too short for that. Instead, make the profession better, start a movement, do good work. Then tell us about it.

Never lose your optimism. We need it.

Without hope, architecture could not be practicable. We cannot afford the luxury of pessimism. Daniel Libeskind

For more ArchiTalks, check these folks out:

Enoch Sears – Business of Architecture (@businessofarch)
Dear Future Architects: A Confession

Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/dear-future-architects-you-need-to-hear-this/

Matthew Stanfield – FiELD9: architecture (@FiELD9arch)

Marica McKeel – Studio MM (@ArchitectMM)
Dear Future Architects: 4 Perspectives

Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols)

Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
dear future architects

Mark R. LePage – Entrepreneur Architect (@EntreArchitect)

Evan Troxel – Archispeak Podcast / TRXL (@etroxel)
Dear Future Architects

Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Dear Future Architects: 3 letters

Collier Ward – One More Story (@BuildingContent)

Cormac Phalen – Cormac Phalen (@archy_type)

Nicholas Renard – dig Architecture (@dig-arch)

Andrew Hawkins, AIA – Hawkins Architecture, Inc. (@hawkinsarch)

Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
future architects: #architalks

Jes Stafford – MODwelling (@modarchitect)
Dear Future Architect, Listen Here

Cindy Black – Rick & Cindy Black Architects (*)

Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Dear Future Architect — Remember Then

Rosa Sheng – EquitybyDesign [EQxD] (@EquityxDesign)

Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
“Dear Future Architects,”

Meghana Joshi – IRA Consultants, LLC (@MeghanaIRA)
Dear Future Architects..

Amy Kalar – ArchiMom (@AmyKalar)

Michael Riscica – Young Architect (@YoungArchitxPDX)
Dear Future Young Architects… Please Quit Screwing Around!?!!

Stephen Ramos – BUILDINGS ARE COOL (@sramos_BAC)
Dear Future Architects: Don’t makes these 4 Mistakes

brady ernst – Soapbox Architect (@bradyernstAIA)
Dear Boy in the Plastic Bubble,

Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
Dear Future Architects

Michael LaValley – Evolving Architect (@archivalley)
Dear Future Architects, Be Authentic

Jonathan Brown – Proto-Architecture (@mondo_tiki_man)

Eric Wittman – intern[life] (@rico_w)

Sharon George – Architecture By George (@sharonraigeorge)

Brinn Miracle – Architangent (@simplybrinn)

David Molinaro – Relax2dmax (@relax2dmax)

Emily Grandstaff-Rice – Emily Grandstaff-Rice FAIA (@egrfaia)
Dear Future Architects…

Daniel Beck – The Architect’s Checklist (@archchecklist)

Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)

Anthony Richardson – That Architecture Student (@anth_rich)
Dear Future Anthony

Lindsey Rhoden – SPARC Design (@sparcdesignpc)

Drew Paul Bell – Drew Paul Bell (@DrewPaulBell)
Dear Future Architects, Do Your Thing

Greg Croft – Sage Leaf Group (@croft_gregory)
Dear Future Architect,

Courtney Casburn Brett – Casburn Brett (@CasburnBrett)

Jeffrey A Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)

Aaron Bowman – Product & Process (@PP_Podcast)

Samantha Raburn – The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch)

Kyu Young Kim – Palo Alto Design Studio (@sokokyu)

Nisha Kandiah – TCDS (@SKRIBBLES_INC)

Karen E. Williams – (@karenewilliams3)

Jared W. Smith – Architect OWL (@ArchitectOWL)
Dear Future Architects…

Rusty Long – Rusty Long, Architect (@rustylong)
Dear future architects, never lose your optimism

Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
Dear future architects, are you credible?

Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
Dear future architects, are you credible?

Adam Denais – Defragging Architecture (@DefragArch)
Dear Future Architect, a Letter to My Younger Self

Jim Mehaffey – Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey)
Dear Future Architects…

Ken Saginario – Twelfth Street Studio ()
Dear Future Architects…