How did you get started in your profession?
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Friends,
I am interested to hear what you do and how you got started in your profession.
To answer my own question first, I worked as a Drafstman at a paper mill for a span of five years during college (I studied Mechanical Engineering for 3.5 years, then got a BS degree in English! I'm kind of both left and right brained:) Currently, I am technically an Executive Assistant to a small business owner. I primarily work for his vinyl railing & fence manufacturing company, and occasionally do work for his construction/development company. I got this job a year out of college, after doing campus ministry at the UW and in Sao Paulo, Brazil for 2 months. To more accurately describe my work (it really has nothing to do with executive assistant), I do product development and design in AutoCAD (transitioning more to SketchUp), graphic design and advertising with Photoshop, documentation/instructions/advertising/writing in Publisher, et al. I'm also the on-site IT Administrator, Web designer, resident grammar geek, and enjoy getting my hands dirty in the shop once in a while when my brain needs a break. I've always been a bit of a jack of all trades.
Which brings me to my current inquiry. I would like to do more SketchUp work, but I'm not sure how to get into it professionally. I see some potential opportunities with my boss's construction company (it seems to me the architectural realm is the greatest market for such work). This is a skill I enjoy very much and would like to master (incidentally, addressing the omitted portion of the aforementioned cliche, "...master of none").
Thanks for hearing me out, and I look forward to hearing any thoughts or experience you may have to share on the subject.
Peace,
Nick -
hi nick and everybody,
I got interested in architecture by watching my older sister go through architectural school. while I was a student at the public university in my home town I worked as a draftsman for some architects but mainly for my sister (a clear case of exploiting one's relative, hehe...).
after graduating I went abroad and studied 2 years in london (at the AA) and then 3 more in philadelphia, at penn.
coming back home I became a professor at the same school I graduated from (where I still teach) and started my small practice. my teaching job, apart from being something I enjoy doing and something that demands that I keep growing all the time, allows me to take only the design jobs that really interest me, and to take part in competitions as a way of developing my design and drawing skills.
nowadays my practice is still small but it became a two-people studio as my wife joined me a couple years ago. the good thing about running a small practice is to be able to really get into the projects I do, and also being able to do most of the drawings myself, which I enjoy enourmously even since everything was done by hand.
as I am not after the big bucks, I truly enjoy my work and almost everything that surrounds it. this forum included, of course, for the chance to get in touch with so many interesting and interested people.
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Thanks for sharing, Edson.
That's cool that you enjoy your work so much. Not everyone gets that.
I think I would enjoy the small practice scene. I would like freedom and variety in my work. -
@nick w said:
Thanks for sharing, Edson.
That's cool that you enjoy your work so much. Not everyone gets that.
I think I would enjoy the small practice scene. I would like freedom and variety in my work.I am sure one can make things come about in one's life, whithin certain limits. it is a question of paving your way to do what you want to do.
freedom is a hard thing to come by in architectural practice, as there will always be clients. but you can be free from too much pressure, disagreable clients, and the like. variety can be found if you participate in competitions. you may even eventually win one.
cheers.
edson
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my father and his father before him were Iron Workers, my mother is an Architect... so I was born into it...
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I started with my uncle. A Civil Engineer. We made a new town project that never was built.
From then I´ve been working for some townhalls, then on my own and now I am working with my youngest brother who is architect as well but does not care about SketchUp not even a bit.
In life some things happens that are unbelievable ¡¡¡I breathe when I can get in competitions and can SketchUp,
that´s life -
I started out in drafting class in high school. My teacher would leave an open desk for me because I would skip my other classes and come to drafting class. I loved to draw detailed drawings. I started out in college in engineering but soon fell in love with architecture studio. I was a studio rat I lived in studio. had a bed, refrigerator, coffee maker. Once I was evicted from my apartment because the landlord though I had dissapeared. Since I never stayed in my apartment I let the electricity, gass, and phone get turned off. I only went there to take cold showers...After graduation I moved to NYC and started working for a small firm. After about 6 years in NYC I mooved to Minneapolis. I worked for two firms for nearly 4 years before starting my own practice 6 years ago. I've had my own firm for 6 years now just my,myself,and I...It's amazing how little money you need when you work at home and don't eat out for lunch, fill up the cars gass tank, buy usless but socially appropiate cloths, etc. I've loved working for my self but do miss the comradere of other people.
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Growing up in Southern Ca in the heart of the velcro valley I always wanted to be sponsored as a professional surfer. I would kill myself for photos so I could amass a little book to show that I will "pull in" Well 2 things 1 I do not have the god given talent needed & 2 at 6'5" I am not the ideal build. But I knew that I had to be in their circles Qwiksilver was in its infancy as were basically all the burgening manufacturers. All right in my back yard. So I found myself as a lacky in the warehouse filling orders and when the trade shows came I was eventually put in charge of their exibit the set up the design etc... That led to me opening up a exibit company STREETLEVEL. It was great as a young single guy it was seasonal work and the season revolved around surfing. So I would work the months prior and then have the months after to go and surf great spots. Hawaii every November, Austrailia, Fiji, Bali, All of latin America From Equador to Northern Baja and every country in between, El Salvador, Nicaraugua, Costa Rica, Panama, All of Mexico, up to Canada, Virgin Islands, Spain, Portugal, France, Morocco, For like 6 to 8 weeks at a shot It was a dream. My work consisted of designing modular displays that can be very elaborate and costly units of VERY high quality.
Then came the family the business grew from the ASR surf market to all the cool guy shows SIA, MAGIC, POWERSPORTS. SO I was traveling for work like... 15 weeks a year. GREAT when you are young and single on the prowel but unfair to a growing family. So I put that aside and focused my shop to custom cabinetry. Took a big hit $$$ wise so I without any expierience stumbled upon a high end, high profile custom residence as a general contractor. At the time I was unlicenced. But I went for it to this day I do not know how I got through it. Only that I told everyone on the job "Please when you talk to me treat me like I am a 8 year old "show me what you know" That job led to the next and so on... I treat my work as art I keep a working schedule and DEADLINES just like in the tradeshow world can NEVER be missed.
Jimmy
poster-J1mmy
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I love art and have always been very creative. Growing up I was always drawing and coloring whenever I could. My father has two companies, one was manufacturing geodesic dome homes, and the other was a custom furniture shop. After high school, I took over managing the custom furniture and learned how to listen to client needs while incorporating creativity and art into each prototype. Once the client was happy, I would send it into production. When I wasn't working in the furniture, I was helping build the triangles needed for the dome homes and getting to understand architecture, especially from a different perspective than most (building round vs. square).
After too many years of living in Wisconsin, I moved to California and didn't know what to do, so I went to school for computer aided drafting. With every project, I added my usual touch of creativity and artsy flare and the work paid off. I was hired on as a designer straight out of school to an architectural firm and have been a sponge soaking up every bit of information I could get hands on.
I started learning webpage design while still in school for fun, which needed graphics and out of that I ended up learning Photoshop by myself starting at V5. AutoCAD at V14 in school, and SketchUp at my most recent job 2 years ago.
Now I do architectural design, exterior color schemes, graphics and modeling, each incorporating the very thing I enjoyed doing when I was 5.
People ask me what my job is, and my response is "I'm a glorified kindergardner". I just hope I never grow up or grow tired of it. I am excited every day to come to work and not many people can say they love their job THAT much...lol.
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I was middle of the road at high school...art and science. I was undecided between architecture and graphic design. The graphics won. I became an illustrator, doing teaching on the side.
I started using various 3D programs to help with the illustration and eventually found SU, which is very good for certain types of illustration...right out of the box.....that combination of outline and simple colouring.In the early days, it was quite obvious that large numbers of people were in love with the software but severely hampered by a lack of content (the basic 3D man was as good as it got), so I started work on a CD of about 130 people in different poses. All those years of life drawing classes came in quite handy.
I got a phonecall from Fred Abler who was at that time running a site called Objective Networks...a free precursor to the 3D Warehouse (but with a degree of quality control)...and Bingo! FormFonts was born.
It's very strange to think that when I was at college my present job was in the realms of science fiction. As students, we occasionally went into the Faculty of Printing next door. They had linotype machines that looked like something dreamt up by Heath Robinson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine
A linotype machine was a very complicated looking piece of mechanical design which started with a guy typing onto a keyboard (the old typewriter sort) and ended up with a pot of molten type metal being poured into a mould of a complete line of type formed by the dies of the different letters which fell into place as the operator typed.
Even in my younger days it looked like something out of the Ark.
Progress just kind of sneaks up on you, doesn't it? -
Fascinating... thanks for sharing your stories, Kristoff, Juan, Phil, Jimmy, Tod, and Alan.
Thank you all for stirring my imagination for the things I could do.
I fully intend to follow my dreams... no, Eric, I haven't had any about being naked at work...
@unknownuser said:Follow your dreams, except for that one where you're naked at work.
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I think it was built into my childhood: wood blocks, Lincoln Logs, LEGO blocks, Girder & Panel sets, Exin Castillo castle sets, and watching my grandfather in his sheet metal shop (he taught me how to read a ruler and how to bend, cut, punch, solder, and spot-weld sheet metal). In the process, he indirectly taught me about thinking in 3d in general, and imagining how something flat could be made to take a 3d shape.
My dad was an electrical engineer, so he taught me about math, computers, electricity, and chess. My mom was a teacher and musician, and taught me to read, love learning, and appreciate music. Both of them encouraged me to try new things.
Art lessons when I was young helped me develop an aesthetic appreciation and expression.
So, I think I was pretty well headed towards architecture by the time I was 8 years old.
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Ha Ha Nick.
I got started late in life in my current profession. I say late but it really was just a pause.
I started after college working for a garden center doing landscape design work. I got my degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design. I worked in that field for a few years and realized that winter was a killer financially for a landscape designer. I bopped from job to job, Blockbuster, Picture frame warehouse etc... All the while facinated with Architecture but not able to go back to school.
Then I got married and we had a daughter. I was a stay at home dad for 2 and a half years. In that time I sold some custom woodwork as well as recieved my second degree in computer drafting. When I entered the work force again it was all Architecture. I worked for a house plan designer for a year, then an Architect from home about 8 months then in an office near downtown Huntsville. 3 years later I moved to my current position at the oldest firm in Huntsville and I love it. All programs I use except for Autocad are self taught or OJT.
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When I was a small child I wanted to be a carpenter. I liked the idea of 'building' things. When I was a teen my mother had a home business making pewter & silver jewelry. Like her, I also enjoyed doing metal work but what I discovered in it was the really enjoyable part was in 'designing' vs. just 'making'. That then had me thinking about perhaps becoming an architect, thinking it was something that could combine my interest in drawing with designing. I did however have my doubts...
At the time there was a show on TV called the 'Paper Chase' about students at Harvard's Law School. As a rather lazy, unmotivated, high school student that show made me think graduate schools were only for the straight-A student. Knowing architecture schools in Canada were extremely tight with admissions, and likely tough like the 'Paper Chase' made me think I'd never get in one let alone survive. It seemed an unrealistic dream for someone not driven by academic achievement. I almost gave up the idea. Then when I was seventeen I went away for a summer job as a lifeguard. That summer I had a summer romance with a girl who was intent on becoming an architect. Believing that I was every bit as smart as her I started to think maybe I shouldn't give up without even trying. I did eventually go to architecture school and graduated near the top of my class with a Master's degree. I totally enjoyed the education and all my fears of inadequacy were unfounded. That was twenty years ago.
Regards, Ross
PS -- The admissions guy at the university I went to once told me of a study he did. He found that looking at the records of many years of architecture students, that there was absolutely no correlation between how good a student's high school marks had been and how well they ultimately did in architecture school.
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hey nick,
such amazing thread you started! it's great to know a little more about everyone. thanks.
edson
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I have always loved building and making things from a very young age. My father was an iron worker for close to twenty years. My father loved to work on cars and build stuff, so with that I was always doing the same. My father always had my brother and I helping him fix something, build something, or make something, which helped us become very good with are hands. While growing up and learning to be very handy and knowing how to use various tools I was at the same time very interested in drawing. and wanted to draw and design things. I would always design new shoes for some reason, I liked shoes.
Along the way a neighbor across the street from me got an Apple 64 that came with about 100 different games to play and I would spend a lot of time over there playing games and learning a little bit about computers. After that I was so fascinated with the computer, and that fascination has never gone away. I took graphic arts in high school for two years and just loved designing a graphic on the computer and then running it through the screen printing process to make t-shirts.
Believe it or not, I studied Criminology in college and received my BS with an emphasis in law. All along the way I took a lot of design classes. About two years into college I was hired to help in whatever way I could, design and produce theme parks and water parks and lots of other types of attractions. I have been doing this work ever since (over 5 years ago) and loving every minute of it. I'm definitely living a dream, whatever you do don't wake me up!
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I was recognized as an able artist at a very early age in public school. In grade 7 I had an art teacher take me under his wing and he taught me oil painting after school. I was also a very able student and mathematics, though boring, came very easily to me. I actually dropped math after grade 11 (when we had 13 grades in high school, not 12 as elsewhere)
My mother wanted me to be an artist. My father wanted me to be a lawyer. I wanted to be a ballerina. I knew that I wasn't a huge talent as an artist, more a technician actually. I new graphic arts was an option but in my mind that meant doing lettering and product package design for the rest of your life and I would only be happy doing ART with a capital "A". Because we had no money, I started dance very late. I was 15. I was a dance major when I entered University thinking I could be a choreographer. After a year, I could see I would be lucky if I ended up being a secretary. I was taking correspondence courses in commercial art at the same time. I had frightened myself by being impractical and I was afraid that I would disappoint my parents so I decided to enter business school. I had to pick up calculus,stats and economics. In the end I got both an undergraduate degree in business and an MBA. I kept trying to mix it with art by taking Marketing/Advertising courses and Arts Administration courses. It was not to be and I worked at Proctor & Gamble, several large Insurance Companies, at my parent's business. I realized I actually loved things mathematical and when personal computers came out I fell in love with computers and programming. I worked briefly as a Cobal programmer. I was taking a course in classsical painting and drawing when I met an Architectural Illustrator. His work sounded very enticing and he made it seem as though he was earning a nice living. I chucked my job determined to marry math, computers, art and still make a decent living. The timing was wrong. Architetural Illustration as a career for a watercolorist was on the wane, I was no youngster and not prepared to get paid nothing and nothing is what people want to pay you in that profession. I didn't want to throw in the towel after the investment in time in learning Sketchup and Piranesi and whatever else I had taught myself. Many of my illustrations had been hybrid, usind SketchUp, Piranesi and hand painted entourage which had been scanned and digitally cut out. Brian Woodward of Informatix, suggested that I should package my entourage and sell it. I would be the only one on the market selling real NPR entourage. It has been a tough "gig", and I am again in a position where the administration of the business is so overwhelming that I don't get to paint. I have contract workers in third world countries painting to my directions. I have recently added SketchUp training to the roster, being an ATC for Canada and I plan to do some Piranesi & NPR rendering courses as well. I just really want to paint though. Play with SketchUp and paint.
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