A number of people have discussed why architecture is a great profession, but what is the other side to the story. Is architecture as a profession as rosy as it seams? Or is there a dark side to architecture that only architects can experience? The aim of this post will be to answer this basic question.

Sleepless Nights

The first thing which comes to mind when you ask an architect the cons of the profession he/she will tell you that it is the sleepless nights that one has to spend. The reason behind this is that architecture is a creative profession and ideas do not come for days at an end while designing a building. And when they do come, the deadlines for the project (academic or real) are closer than anticipated. All this leads to many a sleepless night spent on designing buildings and completing your work in general.

Solution- Managing your time effectively and efficiently can certainly reduce the sleepless nights that you have.

Critical Thinking

Another con of the profession is that you start becoming critical about literally everything. This is both a pro and a con as this characteristic helps architects go into the detail of everything they observe. The reason behind this is that architects have to go into the detail of everything that they do. This sometimes results in them becoming too critical of things and leads to them becoming spoiled sports.

Solution-  Spending time on hobbies and leisure activities can reduce critical thinking.

Health

Health of an architect is also affected by the profession. Though architects in general keep fit due to the physical work as demanded by the profession other aspects of their health are impacted. Some of these other aspects are: 

-Eyesight is affected due to long working hours on the computer

-Eating Junk food specially during the college years is also something which leads to bad health

-Back and wrist related problems are other health related issues an architect might contract

Solution-  Doing yoga and making a conscious effort to eat healthy are just some of the ways to beat the con.

Early Struggles

An Architect’s life is full of struggle specially in the first couple of years. Though, this holds true for most professions, the architectural profession is more favorable to older architects. This is due to the philosophy of most people that an older architect will be more trustworthy when it comes to building their dream building. Some of the other struggles an architect has to face in his/her early days are low salaries, long working hours, low levels of motivation and a lesser chance of moving up the corporate ladder.

Social Disconnection

Another con of the profession is that architects many a time become socially disconnected. This is because of long working hours and the pressure of being creative. This makes architects spend longer hours in thinking about how to make their projects more interesting and at the same time makes them socially disconnected.

Solution-  Time Management, maintaining a good work life balance and going to social gatherings can be a couple of solutions to this con of the profession.

Thus, in conclusion we would like to say that though architecture does have its cons it is unto you to decide whether the profession is for you. It is unto you to decide how far can you take the pros and reduce the cons of the great profession that architecture is.