A Cautionary Tale
Emily-Jayne Harper discusses studying architecture, her experiences of work placements, and the highs and lows along the way.
I have just started the final year of my Masters in Architecture, and when it is over I still won’t be a qualified architect. Seven years is the absolute minimum amount of time it takes, in reality most of us take a bit longer. You have to know you want it; it is a torturous yet unbelievably rewarding vocation.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was at school, I just chose subjects I enjoyed; Art, Maths and Psychology. It wasn’t until I had to make a decision about university courses that I realised I had inadvertently set myself up for Architecture. It was the only thing that made sense; it satiated both my creative and my practical side all at once. Nothing else would do and I enjoyed my degree exceptionally.
As the three years progressed I made some of the best and closest friends I have, it is impossible not to when — if you worked as hard as we did- you spend 7 days a week together, sometimes 24+ hours at a time. I grew more confident in my ideas, took more risks in my projects, read more, drew more, learnt new skills, found work experience, took interest in things I never thought were relevant and realised that Architecture covers everything, I could direct it anyway I wanted. It is an all-encompassing subject and design isn’t even half of it. I may have repressed all the memories of stress, group arguments and awful critiques, you will have them in abundance, but I look back fondly on those three years and came away with a 2:1, a nomination for the RIBA bronze medal, the RSUA bronze medal and was a finalist for the WoodNI Timber awards. Brilliant. I won money.
In contrast, my first work placement was a disaster. I started applying for year-out work pretty late in the game, I thought it would be easy. It’s not easy. So get on it ASAP. Months of applications, phone-calls and rejections. You have to be tenacious. Your CV/Portfolio is very important, but it isn’t everything, a lot of success comes down to situation, timing and luck. I remember hearing a story about a practice who had an influx of applications, split the pile in two, put one half in the bin and said “well we don’t want unlucky people working here, do we?”
Eventually I got the interview. They weren’t sure they actually needed another Part 1 Architectural assistant but wanted to take me on a trial basis and we’d review my position after Christmas. In the space of a week, I’d applied, interviewed, moved, and started my new job. I was let go after Christmas; I was too quiet, I didn’t fit in, I didn’t ask for help, I did OK but not great and they didn’t have the time to teach me. I think I saw it coming when I was abandoned at the Christmas Party.
So I left the country. I got a job in Milan. It was the most incredible silver-lining to a shitty new year. One of the design capitals of the world. The language barrier forced me to ask for help, I had fantastic colleagues who valued and trusted my input and taught me well. We entered exciting competitions, I had actual responsibility and I was given my own projects, because I had the confidence and initiative to take them. I currently have shops in various parts of Asia that I designed and detailed wall to wall. I was sent photos when they opened and it felt amazing. AMAZING!
I came back to university with a fresh perspective and more confidence and conviction than when I left. I’m going wild for my Masters, it may be a few years of work before I’m allowed to be unrestrictedly creative again, so I’m making the most of the freedom. The journey has been thoroughly worthwhile so far.
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