I was really bitter for a while about my education not preparing me for actual work in my profession. I also graduated in 2009 into the recession where the unemployment rate for architects was insane. Now that I work at an engineering firm I’ve really come to appreciate my education in a way I didn’t before, it’s kind of hard to explain. The history and theory that I learned and thought I mostly forgot are actually valuable and architecture school trains a certain way of thinking that I can’t really explain but it is very different from engineering thinking, and I’m glad we have both perspectives on our team.

However, I also had a lot of help from my parents with my education expenses and went to public university with half my tuition paid by a scholarship for undergrad, so I can see how people with more debt that me might feel differently. Grad school was pricier but the connections I made there led to great jobs, so it was worth it for that.