Architecture, as the mother of all arts, gives you an enough options to combine your artistic and science abilities while doing your professional work. • Profession of architecture gives you enormous opportunities to showcase your skill, talent and creativity by designing all kind of buildings. • By the very nature of buildings, which have life spanning over years and centuries, you can leave your footprints on this earth. • As buildings have major implications in terms of consumption of energy and resources besides generating waste, by designing sustainable and green buildings, Architects can make this world a much better place to live and work. • Since buildings make people healthy and sick, role of Architects becomes crucial in promoting healthy societies and communities. • Novelist Victor Hugo once wrote that ‘architecture has recorded the great ideas of the human race’ and, to an extent, he was right. • Architecture students can claim to be part of something great because this profession gives them the liberty of designing all kind of buildings etc with best of professional skill. • No city can be liveable and smart unless Architects are actively involved in the making of cities. • Architecture helps you to be a Change maker–Profession of Architecture is capable of making a difference and is known to impact communities and change the pattern of life of the people who live in them, by designing buildings which communities need to live and learn including schools, housing etc • Team work– Studying and practising Architecture helps you to be in the company of number of professions and professionals including construction, materials, technologies, services , landscaping, industry etc which helps students/architects to develop skills in empathy, understanding, delegation, communication and leadership. Diversity of work—Architects have opportunity to work on all kind of projects which helps them to make an impact on society. Architects build modern homes to fit the needs of growing families and are among the select few that help craft a city’s skyline through the creation of buildings that make a mark and define the personality of city ie twin towers, world trade centre, empire state building, Taj Mahal etc • Travelling and exploring–Students with flair of travelling and searching new things will find the profession of architecture much more fascinating because of the options it provide to be innovative in all professional activities. Architectural practice provide enough opportunities to travel. During travelling and looking at different places, one will have lot of opportunities to look at numerous elements , both natural and manmade at various places. Visiting various places and various buildings help him to understand the context of climate, materials, technology, prevailing culture, social setup, economic conditions of society which went into dictating and defining the art and architecture of a place and period. Accordingly, Site visits and tours of historical places and buildings of architectural importance have been made integral part of architectural teaching and learning. • Study and Research–Profession of architecture also provide numerous opportunities to study and research. Since each project is different and has different context and requirements , accordingly, architect has to study in detail the requirements for the project and prepare a project brief before taking up the designing part. In addition, profession make architects meet numerous people and groups during the course of practice ,including clients, users, service providers, professionals, material supplier, workmen, contractor, builders etc, which he has to deal with, which helps him to understand their perception, issues, ideas and demands, • Good option for Girls–Girls would find the profession of Architecture as better option because this profession gives them the liberty to work from home and as per their convenience. They can also take care of home and family while practising, because profession gives them the flexibility of work as per their convenience and the availability of time. However, they have to have aptitude for the profession. Generally observed, girls make better designer because of their capacity and capability to concentrate and focus. Therefore, girls can opt architecture as an option rather than engineering or other professions which are more demanding. • Employment–Architecture as a preferred career option can be exercised by students because India, with growing population and growing urbanisation, is required to create on annual basis building footprints amounting to 700-900 million square meters. Accordingly, with urban population becoming 800 million by 2050,there will be large enough employment/business opportunities for Architects in both building sector and urban sector in years to come. With Government of India launching missions/schemes like Prime Minister Awas Yojna, Smart Cities, AMRUT, RU-Urban, NULM, HRIDAY involving investments running into billions , surely will create enough job opportunities for budding architects. Once the local bye-laws are amended, providing that only Architects are competent to design buildings, opportunities for Architects and the profession will grow many fold in the urban sector alone. With sustainability, quality and energy becoming focus, Architects will be in greater demand in the building sector. Changing typologies, context and large footprints of buildings are also calling for the services to architects to meet the emerging needs of institutions, business and industry. • Starting Practice—This professions allows you to open up independent practice after you graduate. Lot of students , immediately after passing open their offices for architectural practice and take up design assignments. However, it will always be advisable to work under a good architect for 4-5 years, thoroughly learn the intricacies of the profession, approach to design, services, structure, construction of buildings, handling of clients, preparing contracts/agreements, preparing/floating tenders etc, before starting with the practice. Opportunities in Rural Sector–Rural sector, which houses 833 million Indians- more than 69% of country population, still remains untouched by the profession of architecture. With growing income, rural areas will also offer number of career options to architects. • Diversification–In addition, degree in Architecture also provides would provide enough options for diversification into other areas of specialisation including housing, landscaping, interior design, transportation, urban design, urban planning, construction/ project management, environment and ecology, infrastructure planning, real estate etc which have their own domain in professional growth. • However, despite these distinct advantages, architecture as a profession has its limitations also. One should opt for studies in architecture, only if student has an aptitude for learning, experimenting and creativity. One should go into profession not as a compulsion that he is to become an architect but only as a choice that student is to learn architecture. • Student must have great liking for free hand sketching, drawing, painting with an artistic bent of mind towards creativity. Students having disliking for drawing should prefer to stay away from profession, otherwise it will prove to be disaster. Persons having proficiency and liking in physics, chemistry and maths with low aptitude for drawing and creativity should avoid the profession. Architecture as a course of study and profession involves lot of study, thinking and hard working , those who cannot afford this should avoid the profession. There will be numerous instances when your best work will be negated and one should remain prepared for the worst and should have the courage and capacity/capability withstand and continue to work with passion and vigour. Money wise also students of architecture will be below par as compared to other professionals and it may lead you to high degree of frustration. You have to be mentally prepared for this in initial years of career. However, hard work, sincerity, creativity and thinking out of box can help you in becoming financially sound. Profession involves training of human faculties , accordingly students will have to concentrate in creating skill sets to differentiate between good and bad and how to promote quality structures using best of options for planning and designing buildings. While opting for architecture as a career students should opt for institutions which impart quality educations and not any sub- standard institution imparting degree in architecture. Good faculty, good environment and good supportive infrastructure can help in making learning architecture simple and effective. • Architecture is known to be such a broad subject no one can claim it to learn it all. Becoming an Architect should only be pursued if you are truly passionate about the work not because you want to have a title of .an Architect. Architecture remains, globally and locally one of the most competitive professions. It starts the second you apply to design school and it never stops..

written by – content writer : MEDIA DESK Sthapati App