In this post, we will see a series of tips for those who are considering studying architecture master in Europe or for future architects who are still in the classroom.

This survival KIT is designed for all those who are studying architecture, but also for those who are going to start their degree soon.

It is made up of 10 tips that will help you become an architect, but also to enjoy and take advantage of every minute you spend in college because despite being a tough career, it is also one of the most enjoyable.

We hope you find it useful. There they go:

10 Tips if you are going to study architecture

1. Don’t believe it

I remember a teacher who first told a whole class, full to the brim, that we were already architects, that from the moment we had set foot in school we could already consider ourselves architects: ERROR! If something is missing in architecture schools, it is humility and camaraderie.

You are not architects until you are given a degree that proves it and not even that, it will take a few years to understand what it is to be an architect and others to consider yourself one. Remember it and be humble. Feet on the ground.

2. Accept criticism

During the architecture career, you will receive a multitude of criticisms. The reviews are good. They have accustomed us, even allowed us, to reject criticism and take it as something bad and condemn the teachers who direct it to us.

Criticism makes us grow. Even those that are not constructive we must take them as a motivation to prove that person that he was wrong.

Criticism should be your fuel, it will make you improve and learn faster. Consider them a gift and preparation for the real world.

The university is to make mistakes, correct and advance.

3. Be smart

With this, we do not mean that you cheat, that you cheat in the exams, that you take the simplest electives, that you choose the easiest teachers to pass (or maybe yes …).

The architecture career is very time consuming, you will know that if you are already inside. For this reason, we recommend that you become an expert in guessing what each teacher wants and how they want it. This is an art that will save you hours and hours of your life. Don’t make the partridge dizzy and get straight to the point.

Your client is your teacher, learning what they want and giving it to them is one of the most important skills you’ll need as an architect in real life.

4. Read architecture books

When you finish your degree you will remember much more than three or four books that you read than 70% of the things that you were taught in other subjects. I’m not telling you that you only read architecture books, far from it.

But it would be nice if you read at least one architecture book every year. You will be happy in the future. Reading a book by one of the best architects in history is as if they gave you a private class exclusively for you.

5. Prioritize

It is incredible how many different subjects the architecture career has. Each of them has a utility (or not) for something related to the profession. Give the maximum in which you like, save the ships in which you are crossed and do not let projects (or workshops) absorb all your time.

I know it is difficult, but if you can keep that beast tamed, it will cost you much less to deal with the rest of the herd. Set goals for yourself. Get organized.

6. Learn the programs

If there is one thing I regret not having done during my degree, it is to spend more time mastering programs other than AutoCAD and the basics of Photoshop and Sketchup to keep going.

Once you finish it is possible that you will get your first job because you know how to manage a program that nobody knows about in that study and nobody wants to learn. Look for comparative advantage.

If you already master AutoCAD, I recommend that you jump into one of BIM (Revit, Archicad, Vectorworks … ) it is the future and you should not be left behind.

7. Study languages

Seriously. They will have told you a million times. You know it’s true. In the same way that you know that you are not studying them. It is not worth seeing series and movies in VOS, we know each other.

Study. English first. Then those who come. But finish the degree with the B2 or the First Certificate at least. And the subtitles always in English!

Depending on the country in which you are going to work as an architect, you will need one language or another. The most common are English and German, with those two languages ​​you already cover a large number of countries.

8. Make friends

It seems like a truism but it is so. Many students do their workgroup the first year and with them, they go to the end.

This has its advantages and will make things much easier for you during the race, but you will also miss out on meeting other interesting people along the way.

Don’t be afraid to mix and fall into groups where you don’t know anyone. You are sure to have a surprise.

9. Go further

As if that were not enough, only with the career, now we ask you to go a step beyond what is taught in schools.

I explain why: When you leave school you will realize that you lack a lot of knowledge that is not given during the career and right now it is very important not to settle for simply obtaining a degree, but to look for new opportunities among which highlight.

Find what you like and make it your competitive advantage.

10. Enjoy

Do not forget to live. Don’t let the race consume all your time. Your college years are and will be the best of your life. Take advantage of them.

Travel, meet people, do sports, go out … live.

We hope that with this KIT you can face the career of architecture or what remains of it. Wear it burned and you’ll be happy when you’re done.

Share it on your networks so that your friends can also survive architecture and if you think we should add something else to the “package” leave us a comment. Thanks for reading.

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