Be careful what you wish for

Me and my big mouth.

I was kvetching about how quiet work had suddenly become. Then I remembered that I really haven't had that many Friday afternoons off this year because my project(s) had actually required 40 hours a week, and I got excited about taking Friday afternoon off and hitting the grocery store, then cleaning the house a little, snuggling with Maddy (who had a rough few days where all she wanted to do was curl up in the bathroom, but she's acting more herself again), and doodling around...

...and about 11am on Friday, just as I was doing a little light filing, here comes Ephraim, one of the project managers in our office. Ephraim looks like a character on a children's show and has the sweet and beguiling personality to match, but evidently back in the day he was a super bad-ass in the Navy or Marines, like a sniper or special forces or something. It's kinda flattering when Ephraim, a short, round version of Beaker from the Muppet Show, talks to you. "Pixie, I hear you're available...?" he inquired.

"I am indeed, for a couple of weeks. What's up?" I responded.

Ephraim went from gently assuming to gleeful and amped. "Aw! Man! We could so use your help for the next four days..." He went on to explain that the rather large-scale multifamily apartment building/multiuse building that his team was working on had CDs due on Tuesday, and they really needed someone to do some roof details. He then said that the partner in charge of the project had approved up to 16 hours of overtime for me to do the work. It took me a second to realize that when he said they needed me for the next four days, he didn't mean Friday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, he meant Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Tuesday.

So I ended up working a full Friday plus ten hours this weekend on the roof details, and I'll be working the first part of this week on the project too. Funny, though, I actually felt bad for only working ten hours of overtime on the project. As Guy and I walked to one of our neighborhood watering holes after I arrived home at 7pm Sunday night, I asked him if that was lame of me. Guy, of course, scoffed. "No. Don't feel guilty. You did your part," he said.

He went on: "They asked you this on Friday. What if you'd had stuff that you had to do this weekend? It's their fault for not getting you on board sooner. And look, ten hours--I can't get the people that work on my project full time to do ten hours on the weekend, much less someone I roped in at the last second. So, no...don't even worry about it."

There's a reason I lurrve my Guy so much.

So anyway, the house is still kinda grody and my nails are left undone, but maybe I'll take Wednesday off or something. Or save it for a full day next Friday. Whatever. As I age, I'm finding that I prefer time off to overtime money.

Are my ears ringing or is it just quiet?

It occurred to me this afternoon that I haven't been really unbusy for a long time, for most of 2009 in fact. This is a good thing, really. For the vast majority of the year, I've been either just busy enough, decently busy, or almost crazy busy. And suddenly, I find myself barely busy enough. And it feels weird.

Last week I wrapped up two deadlines in the same week: TCMC and FCH. On TCMC, we finished the DD drawings, so we're not working on the project at all until the contractor has priced the drawings and Avanta Health has approved of the design, all of which should be completed by early November. The day after the TCMC deadline, Intern Kimmy and I wrapped up the partial DDs and handed them off to Contigo Architects, who will be the architect of record on FCH. They'll complete the DDs and CDs and then oversee construction of the project. Hence, we won't be working on that project at all after last week. The deadlines, as you may recall, came at a great time, as the day after FCH went out the door, my sister flew into town and I was able to take off two full weekdays with her--epic squee! But after the quiet few days I've had, I'm wishing I'd taken three days with her--I ran out of stuff to do today.

Architecture, as I've commented many times here on WAD, is a cyclical bidnazz. Sometimes we're crazy busy, other times we're mostly or partially idle. I was able to help Prudence, the head of interiors, with a small project that needed to go out the door--a two-page permit set to move a door in a clinic--but that ran out this afternoon, and I suddenly realized that the volume of work that had allowed me to bill between 36 and 40 hours for nine months was suddenly gone. What this also means is that the cash flow problem that has been plaguing many of my colleagues has not been a problem for me until now. I know, I've been pretty lucky.

I always get a little freaked out when I'm idle, but I'm sure it won't last. Sven will eventually have something for me, Prudence will need a little help over here, and TCMC will come back and need finishing. Meanwhile, I just have to take a deep breath and be patient. Which is not my strong suit.

Architect pay, professional pay...same difference

A reader recently emailed me to ask if the pay for architects is truly as abysmal as it sounds. The succinct answer is yes, it sucks for the first few years, but getting licensed and/or changing firms can help increase your income. However, everyone getting out of college for the past several years—regardless of their major—is getting paid crap compared to the cost of living. It just hurts architects more because of a) the professional costs of continuing education and professional dues and testing and so on and b) the business costs of all the special software we have to buy and insurance we have to have in order to practice. I have two previous commentaries on what architects make here and here.

Another question I received recently regarded how much it’s worth slogging through architecture if the pay is crap and you have behemothesque student loans. First, let me say that again, like everyone else, your student loans are out of scale with your out-of-school income. Again, it’s the whole cost-of-living thing. Second, and more importantly, how much it’s worth it depends on what you put into it. There is indeed some luck involved in how well you do in your profession; for example, if you get out of school and join a firm that lays you off after six months and you spend the next fifteen months on unemployment (which happened here in Denver a great deal), then you suddenly find yourself behind in the game with regard to getting experience so you can get licensed faster. But that’s if you even come back to the profession at all—this economy is going to make architecture lose some pretty good people. But if we set aside luck and the nature of the economy, you really only get out of architecture what you put into it. I’ve seen interns and architects thrive and do well in nearly the same environment as other interns and architects who are barely hanging on and self-medicating every night at home out of misery and disappointment.

So, the short and simple (but not easy) answer about architecture as a job, a career, and a profession is: it depends. Which is probably true of a lot of professions. Is it true of yours?

Squee!

I know, I know, I haven't posted lately. Bu my sister is here until eeeeaarrrllyyy Wednesday morning, and we're making the most of the long weekend. My deadlines on TCMC and FCH last week left me in a good place to take Friday and Monday off, and so I am. We've spent the weekend shopping, reading a plethora of cheezy-poof magazines she brought from Georgia, telling obscene jokes, and just goofing off in general. Very good times.

This is why architects drink.

I think I've had this conversation before with an owner.

Happy birthday Dad!

If my dad were still alive, he'd be 63 today. I rather think he'd be proud and glad of the way that my life has turned out. I think he'd rather like Guy as well; they'd have likely gotten along quite nicely. Usually on Dad's birthday, I like to celebrate a little with a nice dinner and a glass (or two) of wine and watch some comedy. This year, however, the celebration will have to wait til later in the week: I have a DD deadline on TCMC on Tuesday and the handover DD deadline on FCH on Wednesday. Intern Timmy and I spent Sunday in the office working on TCMC, and Intern Kimmy has been spending lots of late nights and lunches getting FCH in shape to pass off to Contigo Architects so that they can finish the DDs and CDs on the project. And after those two deadlines, my sister is coming into town for her Fall Break. I'm really looking forward to seeing her, but I have hardly had a chance to a) get excited and b) clean up the Happy Kitten Highrise in anticipation of her arrival.

So, I have a few more days before I can clean up and rest. The good news about all this overtime I'm about to have to pull is that I can take some time off right afterwards. Kitty's visit is timed just right for me to take a day (or more) off. So, please be patient, my peeps--I'm not gonna be able to post much this week while I slog through these deadlines, but all will be well again in a few days.

Okay, so here's the deal...

Let me just say that I've been invited to an industry conference to speak about the intern mentorship I do at Design Associates. This is highly highly cool on many levels: I've thought about doing this kind of thing for several years, but only now do I have the experience to speak on his topic; I'm excited to speak to my industry on behalf of interns, who often get ignored; I like talking in front of groups and am not frightened at all by doing so; and I feel like I'm finally in a place where I have some authoritah, or at least some cache and leverage at my company and in my field.

As I've watched my office's population dwindle and my colleagues walk out the door one by one with two weeks' severance and all their stuff in a copier box, I've wondered how it is that I continued to dodge the bullet through four-plus rounds of layoffs. You bet your sweet bippie that as soon as I got the email saying that I was accepted to present at the conference, I sent out word to all the partners and higher-ups at DA to tell them about it. (I won't hit them up for a travel stipend until a couple of months before the event--I want to see how the office's finances look, but see here, they're getting free publicity and I'm doing all the work, so somebody need to peel off some cabbage roll for a Shorty.) I wanted to remind them that the work I do around there isn't just limited to the awesomeness of my daily work on projects, and it's not just limited to the clients that literally ask for me to be on their projects, but it's also the extra things that make me valuable.

It's also a little something in my head that gives me some comfort as I tolerate the occasional bad bit of behavior from a manager or colleague. I realize, slowly but surely, that if I confront someone on their particular brand of assholery, no one's going to fire me. I'm not the kind of person who blows up at people--I know how to confront without being confrontational--but even the thought of setting limits with others (especially those in charge) in this crappy economy has nearly driven me to drink because I kept thinking that I shouldn't be rocking the boat. But that, it would seem, is hardly the case. First of all, there's plenty of evidence in my office that you have to really suck to get fired. Second, I'm still here because I'm valuable to them in some way or another. And third and most recently, the very value that seems to have kept me employed has now gone a step further what with speaking at this conference, and that value would look very good on my resume, whether it's my resume at DA...or another firm, if they were foolish and petty enough to fire me/lay me off because I dared to set limits with someone's unreasonable requests or unprofessional comportment.

Even though I have two deadlines next week, I feel better already.