I had a short email exchange with a young architect about planning a career and finding the elusive work-life balance in our notoriously brutal profession. Here is an edited version.
Yeah, it’s good to think about a long-term career trajectory. However, my career experienced a few twists and turns – none that I could have guessed a couple of years in advance. As such, I’ve learned that the value of planning is in doing the exercise. Even though the final result will not match the pre-vision, a practice of regularly contemplating “next steps” has prepared me to quickly grab new opportunities and pursue new desires that come up.
And yes, you’re correct to worry about work-life balance. My career was supercharged when I joined a corporate firm and worked two years of regular 50+ hour weeks. The more you work, the more you learn – it’s a compounding investment in yourself.
However, this textbook career path can become a long-term trap. Study hard in your off time to pass the tests quickly. Push extra hours to get promoted to associate. Once you’ve level set long hours, the team needs you to keep it up. And it doesn’t get easier once you’re principal – now you have to make payroll.
A hard push for the first few years might be a good jumpstart for a young pro without a family, but completely devoting yourself to architecture is corrosive to your sense of self and your long-term relationships. Career success is nice, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to a better life.
So how did I avoid getting stuck on this hamster wheel? Good luck and low expectations.
- My parents paid my way through school, so I don’t have any debt (luck). Also, my wife and I live frugally, so we have a low burn rate (expectations). Avoiding major financial obligations has let me pursue a career as an activity of choice instead of an endeavor to maximize income. I’m free to balance my income against the time invested to earn it.
- Maybe I would gotten stuck in the promotion trap if I stayed in Houston, but we moved to Vegas right after I was promoted to Associate. Unlike colleagues who are still at that firm, this move broke the cycle. This cross country move was spurred by a busted heater in our apartment, so I chalk this up to luck.
- Now that I’ve been doing this for twenty years, I’ve seen the sacrifice required to enter and stay in the upper eschelons. Fuck it. Aside from my two years in corporate, I’ve happily settled for a job with interesting projects, a fair hourly rate, and reasonable hours.
- I don’t love high architecture. I enjoy the job and my brain is wired as an “architect” for to spaceplanning and managing projects. However I’m not a capital-“A” Architect. Don’t ask me to come up with flashy designs. With this realiziation, my expectations have been muted – architecture is not going to be my primary means of self expression. Architecture is my path for good work to support a good life.
- Similarly, I’ve tempered my expectations in government work. Sure, it would be cool to have my name engraved on a bronze plaque outside a university building. But I have zero interest in all the other headaches that my administrator has to manage. So why claw my way up this ladder?
- Finally, I’ve got my health and my family, what more can I ask for? Why push my luck?
Have fun sorting out your career. Who knows where your career will go! Just remember that everything (good and bad) comes with an opportunity cost. Plan regularly and stay flexible.