Non glamorous side of architecture

In this world of influencers ruling the world, with their lifestyles being ones that everyone looks up to, the sad reality of many of them is the depth of luxury or the lack of it in their lives. The sad reality of architects follows a similar trail too. Flaunting to the world their style and personality, portraying just the non-nerdy artist side of things, a cloud of luxury forays their influence as an architect. But people get hit by the trainwreck of reality when it dawns on them that a majority of what an architect does is not just bubble diagrams and models, nor just babbling a way through the jury questions or even designing things out of interest with the deepest of sincerity. 

Pay Disparities and Professional Realities

Imagine you are content with the work you're doing, and the presentations you're pitching as an architect, but are you really satisfied with the pay gap that exists within the profession? While the salary difference may be astronomical if compared to professionals with the same number of years under the belt, it is head-to-head neither with MBA graduates nor engineers.

Studying as long as a medical student in university and earning maybe less than an accountant doesn't seem that great of a deal even considering the glamorous approach of an architect.

If you were told during your studies that you would be working as a call center agent juggling through phone calls about network issues to 911, it might've come as a surprise to you. But the reality as an architect would be that you would need to delegate between 100 matters that need your attention, from picking curtains to the leakage on your long window panes. 

This is of course a result of the lack of managerial skills that were taught at college and even the lack of hindsight that this profession would require this skillset. 

Employee System Realities in Architecture

Another thing is the reality of the employee system in architecture. 

It's almost like the normal Indian fairytale where they force you to lament your existence and ask that you take a leap of faith. The severity of the pay gap, which I will talk about later in detail, the eternity of hours spent either on the computer or the site and attributes that may require you to work as a layman to an event manager, the Indian working system in Architecture will push you until you seek your way of leading one. As sad as it may sound, it's got a happy ending to it, doesn't it?

Navigating the Career Trajectory

Starting work as an intern, you are blessed if you're paid to do the work. Say you get a job as a junior architect after 5 years of drafting and modeling and skimming through someone else's notes of structures viva, living in a different city with 12000 Rs as monthly income just doesn't seem enough. 

Student Lessons and Glorious Imperfections

But it's not all downfall. Working smart or maybe your ass off would get you to be an associate or even be a partner at a reputed office, but that's all. 

If you want to make some big bucks, I mean, enough to have the great Indian deal of settling at 60, you wouldn't probably be able to have that luxury unless you own a brand for yourself. 

In spite of it all, it might not be masochism that still makes people like us stay in the profession, but rather a genuine passion to create beautiful and meaningful spaces. And surely this is not the case for everyone.

One thing we as students and early practitioners must learn is the art of finding effective solutions, and that glitch in the system has been cracked by many.

But there always is a certain glamour to even tarnished wood in an architect's eyes. Let there be sunshine on the concrete and a shadow beneath.