So why would a career in architecture attract you?
We are living in a rapidly changing world, and so we need people with the imagination to create the buildings and cities our society needs to keep pace with progress. If you are some one who is excited by change, then you could grasp the opportunity to build the future the way you want it.
What sort of person would you need to be to become an Architect?
Architecture is much too important to leave to somebody else for it reflects the society that builds it, but it also affects the way that society develops. This means we need architects who can respond to the different needs and values of all sections of the community. However, in the past most architects were drawn from a fairly narrow sector of society. In the future it is essential we ensure that architecture represents every social and cultural background.
If you are someone with a sense of purpose, who cares about people and about the environment, then you already have the most basic qualities an architect needs. And in turn architecture has a lot to offer anyone who wishes to make a positive mark on the world.
After all, if you are not willing to put your own ideas forward, how can you be sure things will turn out the way you would like them to?
So who wants to do the same job every day of their lives?
Choosing a career in architecture certainly doesn't mean limiting your choices. The skills that architects posses are relevant to all aspects of the built environment, from constructing new buildings to conserving old ones. The range of work they are required to undertake is so varied that each architect could give you a completely different description of what they do. The one thing that is constant in architectural work is that is it concerned with people.
Want to learn transferable skills for your future?
There is no denying that architecture is a demanding profession. It deals with many of the important issues in today's society, for instance exploring new ways of living, investigating new technologies and material and ensuring that what we build is environmentally sustainable. But most of all it involves designing that people are happy to look at and to use.
This means that an architect must learn a whole range of different skills, even crossing the traditional boundaries between art and science. But this also means an architectural education is one of the broadest on offer, equipping people with talents to enter a broad range of different careers
Not only are there many different forms of architectural practice, ranging from small private firms to large public or corporate offices, but also an architectural degree can be the platform for a wide range of related careers. Some architecture graduates gain further qualifications in such specialist fields as planning, landscape or conservation, while others move onto working television, theatre or to become teachers or writers
"I started as a product designer, became an architect, and then returned to product design. I came to realise that the architect's training is wonderfully valuable even or especially for a product designer. The architect is trained not to worry is a job is small or large nor what material it is made from or how complex it is."
Alan Tyle, product designer, Hertfordshire.
" A significant percentage of my fellow students made their future elsewhere than in design of buildings. They were not the weakest students but all seemed to be questioning and intending to leave their chosen fields differently from the way they found them. I have subsequently met surveyors, solicitors, barristers and journalists who have all drawn on an architectural background for their outlook".
Mattew Wells, Engineer, London
