DELA TORRE, GLYRAH MARIE S.

ARCH 592 - R2
BSARCH 5

The Challenges of Starting a Career as an Architect

The profession of architecture is noble. It is a profession that benefits both the

environment and the people. It embraces vision and reality as well as creativity and
practicality. The public sees architecture as merely an aesthetic endeavor, yet there is
more to it than meets the eye. It's not just a noble occupation; it's also challenging. Before
contemplating it as a profession, it is a pursuit that one must first ponder about.
The difficulties of beginning a career as an architect begin when one is a student
of architecture who enrolls in a Bachelor of Science in Architecture program has to spend
five years in an architectural school. A student of architecture must fulfil the requirements
given by the instructors as part of their training inside the confines of the institution in
order to complete the five years of the degree. Before being sent into the professional
world, architecture students must be shaped over the course of five years in school.
The Architalks event held on March 1 entitled "The Challenges of Starting a Career
as an Architect" featured a guest speaker who stated that architecture is, in fact,
challenging, diversified, and full of pressure. The future holds a lot of competition,
therefore it's inevitable that one may experience negative emotions like doubt brought on
by criticisms, ambiguity, burnout, insecurity, fatigue, and other unpleasant sentiments that
could impair one's thinking. It's a struggle and part of the path to become an architect to
experience those kinds of emotions. But if one is truly passionate about continuing down
the path, one may overcome challenges and criticism and eventually thrive.
The guest speakers' discussions of their experiences after graduation are what I
will never forget from the Architalks. They discussed their struggles and urged students
not to take any of the lessons they gained in college for granted because they would help
to mold students into effective architects. After graduation, as everyone is aware, there is
a requirement for an apprenticeship. During the 2-year apprenticeship, one will be fully
immersed in the field, and it is likely that the knowledge you get from it will show up in the
Architecture Licensure Examination. Apprenticeship will serve as a supplementary
instruction in order to truly mold oneself before entering the professional world. Going to
a review center has an advantage as well, and as the guest speakers mentioned, one
should always be resourceful and time-conserving because they are useful in preparing
oneself for the board examinations, which is one of the greatest fear of an architect's life.
The event was in fact very insightful, motivating, and entertaining. Ar. Anino, Ar.
Caminero, Ar. Alonso, and Ar. Vega really taught us a lot of insightful things that will be
useful to us in the future. It was indeed one of the university events that really opened my
eyes and made an impact. Architecture is a challenging profession, but I've come to the
realization that no profession can be attained easily unless one has the desire to learn
and grow in it. If one has this passion, success will naturally follow, and everything will fall
into place. Failure is a necessary component of success, and one shouldn't let it deter
them from trying. Without failure in one's life, one cannot develop.
As a fifth-year architecture student, what I need to really put into practice right now
is to gain as much knowledge as possible in college, learn and appreciate every subject,
accept criticism well and use it as an opportunity to get better. I also need to learn as
much as possible, always be curious, and maintain a positive attitude towards my work
and the people around me. In architecture, building design is just one aspect. It is a
norm in the profession that architecture is indeed challenging. It’s a complex world out
there and undoubtedly being an architect will never be an easy career. However, if one
only has faith in oneself, everything will just work itself out.