The G.C. Affect

I've been taking time off of work these last few months in an effort to reach a life long personal goal. A goal that has been on hold for the last 4-years due to all kinds of things that I won't go into for this blog entry. My goal is that of becoming an ARCHITECT.

As I've said before this profession is tough...it's demanding...it's intense...the hours are often long...weekends don't exist...outside relationships are difficult to maintain...The pay is often very low considering all that goes into the making of a true necessity in life that is Architecture. Benefits?--ha! In most firms, benefits don't exist...it's simply a fortunate "pleasure" being allowed in the business...you're lucky if you have a job, and you're damn lucky if there is any long-standing security in the job you have--it means you and the firm you work for are doing something right in most cases.

Why we choose such a profession is a blog for another day...sufficed to say, becoming an ARCHITECT and practicing ARCHITECTURE is not the easiest thing to do. There's the minimum 5-years of schooling just to get a bachelor's degree (I suppose you could theoretically complete the 160 hours in less time if you were so motivated). If you make it through that, there's the mandatory Intern Development Program that takes about 3-years to get through. Then there's the EXAMS...nine to be exact. It took me 18-months to get through 5 of them, which by most standards is flying through them. Needless to say, it's a long and difficult journey to become a real registered and licensed ARCHITECT. It's a journey that most in the profession take very seriously...

...I'm ready to go back to work, so yesterday I decided to do a search to see what (if any) Architecture jobs were out there...There were many...but not a single one related to the field of Architecture. The hits were coming up with computer-related jobs (?)..."IT Architect"and "Software Architect"...I was taken aback a bit...G.eorge C.ostanza really does exist, and there's more than one...there's hundreds and thousands G.eorge C.ostanza's claiming their "architects"....

The words "Architect" and "Architecture" are NOT euphamisms for something, nor is it simply a title one can effectively type on a business card and have it mean anything...I don't care how all the dictionaries in the world may define it...Being an Architect is earned through alot of blood, sweat and tears...and a whole lot of trying years. The words have meaning...let's not DE-VALUE it by mere proclamation...find another "title"...DOCTOR perhaps?