15 Reasons NOT TO Study Architecture – The Worst Things About Studying Architecture

Why SHOULD YOU NOT study architecture? Here’s 15 reasons NOT TO study architecture. These are the worst things about architectural studies.

The idea with this video is not to discourage you from becoming an architect. I love studying architecture and am enjoying every bit of it. However, I wanted to share with you some not-so-great things about studying it.
Afterwards, I’ll share 15 reasons why these things don’t matter! Hopefully it encourages you to choose architecture as a profession to begin your journey studying to become an architect.

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1. First of all, studying architecture is bloody Intense. Architecture is a hard thing to study with a lot of work involved.

2. Group work - sometimes you get stuck with a partner who just doesn’t do anything or a group that doesn’t care. This is one of the worst things about studying architecture.

3. “Rest? What’s that?” – no time for down time in architecture school.

4. Sometimes you forget to eat. I’ve done this a few times.

5. It can be expensive – the main costs are architectural modelling materials, drawing and drafting tools, your COMPUTERS (this is a big one). There are also other things like printing costs, desks, coffee, anti-depressants (essential)…

6. Have to take brutal criticism on your architectural crits – it isn’t fun, but it needs to be done.

7. Finding a job in the architecture industry is competitive – like, really competitive. In our state, 250 Master’s students graduated and only 5 of them got immediate work after studying architecture at university.

8. Once you get into the profession of architecture, the pay sucks (at the beginning).

9. You are forced to study things you might not be interested in studying – there are so many different things you need to learn in architecture school. Design, theory, history, construction, laws, codes… the list goes on and on. You might not enjoy studying one of these subjects, but you have to do it anyways.

10. When in the profession of architecture, you might not be doing what you signed up for – not all architects design. A lot of architectural interns and graduates have the job of doing technical drawings or detailing and are rarely involved in the design aspects of projects. Architecture is at most 20% design (more realistically a lot less) and 80% problem solving, meeting building codes, laws and just doing other things.

11. Architecture isn’t as cool as Ted Mosby makes it out to be (it’s even cooler).

12. Hustle culture – the more hours your put on an architectural project, the better it is going to be. This can result in a never-ending spiral of design, adjust, refine, repeat.

13. When we say “study”, it means “produce”. There isn’t a whole lot of “studying” in architecture school as you would in medicine or biology or an electrician course. When we mention we’re “studying”, it doesn’t mean reading or sitting back watching lectures, but putting in the hard work producing drawings, creating renders, models, presentation sheets and so forth.

14. It’s a long time before you can call yourself an architect. 5-7+ years of studying and working to be precise.

15. A lot of people aren’t fit for architecture…

… And now that I’ve convinced you not to study architecture, I’m going to switch to my positivity hat and start to fight these reasons not to study architecture to hopefully change your mind.
You might have noticed a pattern, most of these 15 things can be controlled by you, and I want to share some ideas about why these 15 reasons shouldn’t bother you. Let’s work backwards starting with number 15, a lot of people aren’t fit for architecture
15: They’ll let you know about it and try talk you away from studying architecture. It’s OK if other people don’t have good experiences with architecture and it’s not for them. This shouldn’t discourage you and you shouldn’t let them discourage you from studying it. The main thing to take away is that just because someone else didn’t enjoy studying architecture or couldn’t find a job after graduating, they will try to step on your dreams and crush them like crushing blocks of sand in your hands. It’s ok to listen to their horror stories and bad experiences but if you let them influence your own decision to study architecture, you’re doing yourself a disservice. I can tell you that not everyone has horrible experiences studying architecture.

FURTHER WATCHING

[kylesinko]

Don't just watch the first half of the video! The second half is where all the good stuff is at ;)
Thank you so much for watching <3

[ArchAnime]

I guess what Zaha Hadid said summarises this video. "If you want an easy life, don't be an architect."

[x]

I've been an architect for 27 years now. You can succeed in architecture. Work smart, not hard. Be obsessed with perfection, but don't be too careful. Disallow analysis paralysis. Don't think, move the pen on the paper, there's more paper; refine later. Let it flow from your hand. Draw what you know. I don't draw a single line until I know what that line means, so strategize and materialize. Be loose but intentional. Point, line, plane. Entry, passage, place. Form does not follow function. Function does not follow form. Form and function are collaborative. Relax your mind and remove the noise. Understand your problem at hand first, and execute second. You control the work. The work does not control you. Most importantly, architecture is called practice for a reason. It can never be mastered, it can only be practiced. NOW GO DO IT!

[esthertukana-batau]

I dated a guy who studied architecture and ended up marrying him 😂 a bonus was that I love architecture/interior design but never wanted to study it. I can somehow relate as one who has observed the processes of hubby's studying and working phases (esp. the forgetting to eat part, which I gladly remind him to do every single day 😂).

It's definitely not easy on families too but I'm so proud of my husband, he studied at Unitech, NZ, then worked for almost 5 yrs for 2 different Architecture firms here in Fiji and later started his own design studio.

The key is once you've got clear goals as a family it makes the journey worth it and keep that communication line open with your better half and child(ren) too.

Btw, I got sent this vid by hubby haha. Great video of Pro's & Con's 🙌🏾

[spatulish]

One thing I've noticed about all the architects that I've come across is that they're all very confident and seem to always want to contribute more to architecture. And also, quite open minded. That's one of the many reasons I wanna become an architect.

[MARCELDUCHAMP_o]

Cool. I still want to be an architect.

[htetaung]

I just dropped out of med school due to my country situation and thought of studying architecture in California. You just made me even more passionate and motivated to be an architect.

[madaaldeeb]

Also, I actually reeeally like arch history and theory, in my first semester I did best in it XD I love learning about history in general and so it combined my two loves, i loved learning about all these architects' visions and society and all!

[amidala]

this video was an emotional rollercoaster first five minutes, but after that, the more I watched, the more confident I became that I want to study architecture! Thank you!🥺

[majasz]

Thanks for this video! I'm in my last year if high school and still trying to decide what to do after. There are so many opportunities and I'm constantly overwhelmed and anxious about my future. While looking into architecture you find a million videos about how hard and impossible it is and how so many people don't do anything but work on projects or even have to drop out altogether. So it's nice to finally hear some encouragement :) You give me hope that maybe architecture is something for me and that it is doable!

[stevenmerino]

Been pretty anxious in planning to pursue this career, however, I have never let it discourage my desire to become an architect. After seeing your videos, I've only been motivated even more and have decided that I really do want to do this. Im currently 17 and a senior in HS, so Ive been researching about this career path and just want to thank you for these tips/ advice as they are very insightful and aid a lot in getting to know what Im heading into. Keep up the great work! :)

[meklitaklilu]

This is Awesome working 24 7 with your friends, talking, solving problems, this is life.

[lexydaine]

even it's hard i still want to take it in college hahaha

[rachellasry]

As a architecture student I think that one of the main difficulties is the fact that you have to take decision and learn by yourself…
You can sketch something for six hours, and then realise that this not how you want ur project to go ….

[gabrielamachowski]

What the hell every single one is so accurate. I have a serious love hate relationship with my degree.

[gabrielamachowski]

I related one hundred percent and I’m only in first year 😂😂

[arzubruhn]

I am glad to see the switch from negatives to positives. I am almost 25, dropped out of my first uni degree, finished a completely different Bachelor's from architecture. Now I want to study architecture and I have been worried that if I am too late. But the "reasons not to study it" part were such young and naive thoughts (which I had during my first Bachelor's), now I am thinking maybe I am not late and it is for the better. For whatever that is, architecture has always been my passion, my love.

[hboshoff]

Anti-depressants? I literally tried that the other day so I can stop panicking about my studio assignment. I thought I was the only one 😂😂 The insanity is real

[TheGravyson]

Awesome video!! I can attest to learning to love some of the unglamorous parts of the job. I love figuring out the nitty gritty of a building, thinking about construction and details, it's like a puzzle that still allows me to be creative in figuring out a solution, without having to start with a blank page.

[supercheekykiwi]

After being in the industry for 20 years just be aware there's a huge amount of paperwork and emails all the time. Chasing engineers who now have all the power. Design work is only about 5% of your time if you are lucky. Clients can be extremely demanding and unfair.... especially if they have started looking at pinterest.