As someone that decided by the age of 10 that I wanted to be an architect…I thought I would take a break from the serious marketing strategy posts for a humorous look at the differences between life as an architecture student and life as an architect.

So I offer you my top ten list of differences:

School: Everybody assumes you are great at math because you’re an architect.
Work: Engineers assume you have never taken a math class ever because your design ideas just aren’t possible in their eyes.

School: You learn about architecture as one of the most revered professions in world history, along with doctors and inventors.
Work: Some days you feel like most clients would probably just try to do your job themselves if they knew CAD.

School: All-nighters were the norm and after a long night of work, you had peers and professors critique your work and offer feedback.
Work: All-nighters are still the norm, but the next morning you hear that the deadline has been moved because of changes in scope and you have to do everything over again…tonight.

School: You sketched, drew, water-colored, made silk screens and modeled to flesh out your design ideas to enhance the inhabitants’ experience.
Work: You sketch, draw and model to figure out how to fit the extra bathroom stall needed for code requirements.

School: Your friends all thought you were going to make tons of money when you got out of school.
Work: Your friends still think you make tons of money, but you just don’t buy anything because you’re into modern, minimalist architecture.

School: You hoarded and read oodles of books on architectural theory and the design process.
Work: You forgot to return those books to the architecture school’s library, so you still have them on your shelf at the office.

School: You took few, if any, tests in your design studio and graduated with five letters after your name, BARCH.
Work: You take a huge series of exams, and if you pass every single one of them, you get to add two letters, RA.

School: You added angles and features and unique materials because they helped express the design or addressed a societal need.
Work: You VE every unique material and non-90 degree angle out of the design because it doesn’t fit the budget.

School: You used words like evoke, express and feeling.
Work: You use words like budget, zoning and code.

School: Your friends in other majors were out to dinner and partying while you were in the studio working to meet a deadline.
Work: Your friends in other professions are out to dinner and partying while you are in the studio working to meet a deadline.

Please, feel free to add more in the comments!