63: What mindset do you need to work in architecture? (guest: Jake Rudin – Out of Architecture)

This is now of the most eye-opening episodes I have recorded. Its alternative title or subtitle would be: CAN ARCHITECTURE BE A 9-5 JOB?

Some time ago, one of the biggest architecture studios posted a job offer, with one of the requirements being: ‘no 9 – 5 mentality’.

It got a lot of attention in social media and made many people question the current working ethics. One of the loudest voices of this discussion belongs to Jake Rudin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6832783241913745408/ (LinkedIn post)

Jake is a strategic thinker and designer and member of the Adidas Advanced Creation Technologies team. He is also the co-founder of Out of Architecture — a career consulting firm started by two Harvard-educated professionals interested in exploring the value of their skills both in and out of the architectural profession.

His main point (according to my understanding) is that all architects & designers, especially the young ones, should be fairly paid for the work they do. They should value their competence, knowledge, years spent at the university education and vast palette of skills.

He summarized: I’m so disappointed in architecture. I love the art, I love the work, and I love the people. The profession as a whole needs to be corrected. I can’t save the profession, but I can help individuals.

It reasoned with me a lot — good working conditions and people centered approach is something that is important to me. And I do agree, that we, young professionals, should value our skills. The end result of my thinking is this episode.

We discussed:
? architecture industry working ethics and mentality
? unpaid internships
? concept of architecture being a 9-5 job
? avoiding early burnouts
? the abundance of career possibilities within architecture
? the right mindset for the profession

What is your opinion:
What mindset do you need to work in architecture?

Jake’s book recommendation:

Creative Confidence
by Tom & David Kelley
https://www.creativeconfidence.com/about/

You can follow Jake and Out Of Architecture at:

Jake:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakerudin/

https://jakerudin.com/

OoA:

https://www.outofarchitecture.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/out-of-architecture/