Is studying architecture worth your while? Is it a good career option? Is it a good path for my Kid? Is it rewarding?.... These are the most common questions I get from most of my students and their parents. So this blog is all about the benefits of studying and choosing Architecture as a career in India.
If you are looking for the downsides, you can read it in my previous blog: https://www.zeloarchitects.com/post/situation-of-architectural-education-system-in-india-in-the-upcoming-future
First, you need to understand this : Architecture is not a course, it's a LIFE STYLE !
5 years of college doesn't teach you how to become an architect. It teaches you how to act like one! You become an architect after you finish your practical training, get out into the field and learn how to manage projects, gain some experience in the real world. That's what teaches you. Not college.
All this might seem pretty abstract to some of you. All the architects that are reading this - You know I am right!
OK .. Let me explain it properly.
Yes, Architecture is a 5 year course (Mostly 4 years of college and 1 year of Practical Training). They teach you many subjects. Building Materials, Architectural Design, Working Details, Structural Mechanics, etc., etc.,. But when you get out of college and get a job, for the most part, you wont be using any of these subjects you learned in college. Everything is new. Practical approach of architecture is way harder than studies and there is an overwhelmingly new amount of things out there to learn.
Then why study architecture in the first place? The reason is very simple - Architecture opens up paths. So many different paths. And the best part? It prepares you to take that part.
Most architecture students doesn't end up being architects. They take different career choices like Photography, editing, 3D Visualizing, VFX, Art, Sketching, Acting, Business, Entrepreneurship and many more. And proudly, they excel! They become the best version of themselves. And the reason? The architecture course!
Architecture is easily one of the hardest course to crack in the world. Most students don't even last a year. You put your heart and soul in a design project, spend countless sleepless nights to prepare the best set of drawings you can conjure out of your mind, only to end up with the lecturer tearing your sheets! And as a student, who is in his/her early 20s, that changes you. The harsh reality you face prepares you to tackle life early on.
This is not the only thing that happens. The brutal life of disapproval, negations, disagreements, criticism, back stabbings, depression and so much more aspects of reality slams you on your face when you are in college itself. If this doesn't prepare you for life, I don't know what will!
And since such treatment is very common and happens often, most students get used to it, face it and push their boundaries of creativity and thinking to submit an even better version of the design. And the cycle continues. This boosts the creative aspect and the thinking capacity of the student. And combined with all the different options you have in architecture, more students find their calling early on during the course, pursue it and choose their career.
Architecture is considered the mother of all Arts. And that saying is true to the core. The creative side of you will be polished to such an extent that the reward is, you excelling in your choice of career. Let it be photography or sketching or business or architecture itself, you will know what you are doing and you will be able to face all the challenges right on and still stay on your feet without falling hard.
And this is exactly why, Architecture is not just any course you can study. Its a Life Style that you live.
This is also why, we architects are proud to say "I am an Architect"
And lets be honest with each other...It sounds damn cool!
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