5 Reasons Why Architecture is Hard
Architecture is a very challenging and one of the hardest fields to study and work. It requires the highest effort, hard work, dedication, and passion. You will often find yourself frustrated even after putting in a lot of hard work. This makes architecture hard because you have to overcome this frustration and depression by yourself.
But why is architecture so hard? In the following, here are 5 reasons why architecture is hard:
Working in Collaboration:
The complexity of architecture mostly increases because it primarily involves working with human beings. Human beings are the most complex creation of the Almighty. There are no absolute right or wrong things in architecture because it deals with people’s perception. Commonly, one thing could be acceptable and unacceptable for different people simultaneously. So, what do architects do? This is the toughest thing that architects face. They have to find out, through critical thinking and a systematic approach, which one could be right for the specific context. And this finding depends mostly on their experience.
As an architect, one must accept that they cannot make all humans happy at once. There will be at least a few criticisms, no matter how much one works hard. So, it is clear that in architecture, there is no way to achieve 100% satisfaction, which increases your hunger for perfection gradually. And some lack will remain unfulfilled forever.
Time-consuming:
Architecture is very time-consuming. Just consider the course timeline; most architecture undergraduate programs take about 5 years, whereas other programs usually take 3 years. This is already 2 years longer, requiring more passion and self-motivation to continue for the additional 2 years.
The extra 2 years in undergrad are almost negligible because architects need more time to establish themselves in the field. As an architect, your value is often determined by your experience. And the more time you spend in architecture, the more experience you gain.
You can’t confine architecture within a limited time frame. You need at least 20 years of study to become a decent-level architect. In architecture, your pursuit should always be to know more about people. And knowing people takes time. This long journey of staying passionate, calm, and self-motivated is tough enough.
Required Hard Work and Dedication:
You need to put in limitless hard work in architecture. Architecture is stressful, both physically and mentally. You will often have sleepless nights and long days, working continuously. Back pain and eye strain will start from long-term work, but there is no way to take a break. What happens if you take a break? You can’t sleep because of the tension of the deadline or jury. Believe me, you will find those days in architecture like hell. Truly, there is no end to this hell. To survive, you need to be a hard worker and dedicated. Willingness to work hard helps you a lot in the field of architecture, and dedication gives you the motivation to keep working hard.
Studying Many Subjects Simultaneously:
An architect has to be aware of many different fields. In school, we have to study a lot of different subjects like history, arts, design, construction, building technology, etc., simultaneously, which increases the difficulty of architecture.
When you are under full pressure about your design project, you need to attend boring theory or math classes. Here you have to learn how to balance different subjects at a time and learn those different subjects effectively.
Need for Passion:
We talked about hard work. But sometimes, no matter how much you try or work hard, you can’t meet expectations. This can make you frustrated and force you to think poorly of yourself. You lose your inspiration for work. In the end, you just fail because of your lack of inspiration.
Your passion for architecture can save you from this situation. Passion helps you to be self-motivated, and motivation is the key to survival in architecture. The hardness of architecture is so big that no one can motivate others to do that much hard work; only you can motivate yourself to endure such struggles. It is impossible to continue architecture without a passion for it.
Architecture is very tough, it’s true, but don’t worry, because if you are passionate about architecture and enjoy the tasks required in architecture, then you will find enjoyment even in the challenges. You will literally start to enjoy architecture, and believe me, that makes you addicted to it.