I been listening to this RoSpit album at work and the title, The Glass Ceiling Project, has made me start thinking and reflecting. Hard.
As I sit here and grind on yet another hospital project for people I've never met or even know, the realization of a few things hit me and I thought I'd share.
1. This is the business. Unless you're the man
Most of the time, in the position I hold, ill never know who I'm designing for or why its particularly necessary. And I hate it. I'm a person who needs to know why I'm doing something and who I'm doing it for. How is it going to improve their life? Does it actually work like I envisioned? These are but a few of the questions that I like to be answered at the end.
2. Getting my license is/needs to stay at the forefront of my mind and actions
Let's face it. After college is over and an AK has his or her respective degrees in architecture, taking 7 more tests and working 5600 hours is the last thing on our mind. What is on our mind (or at least mine) is food, sleep, fun, video games, friends, and women.
But the reality is that it needs to stay at the forefront of our mind. Not only does it allow me to make more money, it frees me creatively.
3. The glass ceiling is real
I didn't realize it but this thought kind of goes back to number two. You can only get so far when you don't have all the tools. Some are easier to get than others: degrees, work (sometimes) and even the air of success through outer appearance. Others aren't as easy: those business connections that make you less expendable, knowing your boss and how knowing him will make your path easier, getting the job initially and even knowing when you've hit the ceiling.
I never claimed to have the solution for any of these thoughts. There just things I've learned or knew before I started down my career path. All of these issues and situations are apart of my glass ceiling. Knowing when and how to break this is the next step.
So I haven't been on the blog in a while and I have to be honest with you all. It's a the hardest thing in the world for me to do. Every time there's something that I want to write about, I'm not in the proximity of my computer to write about it. The blog's name is Architect In Training and guess what? I been training. Hard. I have to be honest though. It's not what I expected for the past year and some change.
Since March 4, 2010 I've been working in the Architecture world and it's been a roller coaster. In the beginning, like most things, there was a euphoric, honeymoon experience where everything was awesome. I had two jobs. One where I was my own boss basically doing CAD work for a 'real estate' company in Detroit and an actual firm where I gained my REAL experience. Life was good. Two days a one place. Three at another. Money on the table. Cash on the floor. The game was good. The hustle was good. Life was good.
Unfortunately, the honeymoon is over. I had to quit the 'real estate' company because of the dangers the jobs had. The properties that I was visiting and working in honestly called for me to carry a concealed weapon. I don't want to do that so I had to go. The job is at a firm that provides me with a LOT of security and a LOT of experience. I work in the healthcare studio doing labs, hospitals, small redesigns, etc in and around Michigan. To be honest, I'm totally unhappy with where I am and what I am doing. Healthcare architecture is helping me through the recession but it's definitely not my passion. I think I have been driven even more to smaller square footages and personal interaction.
I'm determined more so than now to start putting in entries and trying to help some one navigate these waters. It's hard out here and I've seen that through this past year.
Thomas Bowman Out.
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