LEARNING BY DOING
Architecture is a profession that is difficult to fully understand solely in a classroom. There is a huge difference between designing a project for a university brief and working on a project where decisions have real implications for a client. Working in practice has given me the opportunity to experience this.
I have been able to contribute to live projects, having genuine input due to the first hand learning I wouldn’t be getting if I was studying architecture full time. Getting to work alongside other consultants understanding the processes that sit behind the drawings and models produced is a unique experience on its own that can’t be simulated behind a desk or in a lecture hall.
Subjects that I learn at university often become much clearer when I encounter them in practice, and vice versa. Certain aspects of my studies have influenced my thoughts in practice, which has given a different angle into projects, and some areas of my day to day working life have been more than useful when dealing with every subject matter I encounter in university. The two sides of this apprenticeship constantly aid one another.
A UNIQUE UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
One of the biggest differences between a degree apprenticeship and a full time degree is the amount of time spent outside the university environment. Rather than spending all of my time working on academic projects and literature, I am also developing within a professional environment. This has helped me become more comfortable communicating my ideas with colleagues and clients. It has also given me a much better understanding of what architecture actually looks like as a career. Granted, it is a more narrow stream of the industry, but it absolutely has it’s benefits understanding specific aspects. After gaining a better insight into these responsibilities, I can go into projects with a fresh look and angles that I definitely wouldn’t have thought of if I chose a traditional route.
University can sometimes feel like a controlled environment where you are given a brief and you have develop a design with a number of variable in your peers, which can make or break an entire term. Practice introduces a completely different set of considerations. A project can change because of planning, cost, client requirements, regulations, site conditions or decisions made by another consultant. Learning how to respond to these changes is something that cannot easily be replicated within a university project.
Being an apprentice, you have an extra module in the summer for DA’s (degree apprentice’s) where you are asked to follow a project you’re doing in practice and using it for a report. This is one of the most valuable sections of the year, in my opinion. This is where a section of the year is fully dedicated, purely for apprentices, to learning in an environment which bridges education and experience the closest.
MY PREFERENCE
One of the biggest benefits in this apprenticeship is the balance between education and experience. Where I am on day release, being in university one day a week for lectures, and the rest being real time experience, I get a handful of time being at university whilst not having to be there day in, day out. I am very content with this as I still get an education alongside learning in the relevant field. It is also genuinely motivating knowing the studying I’m doing is furthering my career and will eventually be my biggest asset once done.
LOOKING AHEAD
This apprenticeship has definitely given me s much broader perspective into what is means to become involved into this field of work. It also has given me time to think about where it can take me in life in general, after looking at the bigger picture and how much weight the knowledge I’m learning actually holds is an invaluable piece of experience you wouldn’t learn at any university.
I still have plenty to learn, both academically and professionally, but having a combination of both and doing it at the same time is preparing me for a journey in a way that suits how I would like to learn. Having experienced what I have, both in the profession and during my studies, I would absolutely chose this route again.
