A Career Path?

[dark_jubei]

Hey Everyone,

 

 

I’m just looking for a little advice before I make a big decision. Basically, I’ve recently finished my architecture degree (part 1) and am struggling to find a job. So after a year of frustrating job searching I’ve decided to do a masters degree in architectural visualisation at Kent University, as I find modelling and rendering in 3Ds max the most enjoyable part of architecture.

 

 

The problem is, the course is very expensive and I will have to pay up front, so I need to know if this would become a worthwhile venture. I’ve been searching around to see if “Architectural Visualiser” is a legitimate and rewarding job, and this website seems like the best place to ask this. I would gladly pay the expensive course fees, just as long as I can be sure that the industry for this is prosperous and I would be in demand. I really want a stable job at the end of this.... is architectural visualisation going to provide the goods, and be worth the costs?

 

 

I should stress I already know somewhat about Rendering/ modelling with VRay, using HDRI’s and materials etc, with a year’s guidance, I think I could be very good at this. But is it going to lead to an uphill struggle? Is it a freelance only gig, or are there stable office type jobs for this?

 

 

THX a lot, a speedy response would be appreciated as I have to start the course soon lol

[Brodie Geers]

There are a lot of freelancers but there are specific archviz firms which would be the preferable route if you're looking for something more stable. Fortunate for you many of those seem to be in London. What I would recommend is finding those firms, calling them up, and asking them your questions. They should be able to give you a very real feel for how the market is in London as well as what their requirements are. Maybe they are lower than you think and you can get in with the knowledge you have now and save yourself the money. On the other hand maybe the only people they hire are those with 3+ years of industry experience in which case you'd need to figure out how to get that experience and if the time/money spent at university would be of any help.

 

Overall, I'd say that the consensus seems to be that the architecture industry is hurting and so the archviz industry is hurting. If you're afraid that there's nothing out there for you in the architecture field right now, don't expect the archviz companies to be clamoring for more help.

 

-Brodie

[dark_jubei]

Hey Brodie,

 

Thanks alot for your reply man, i think i am going to contact some firms, seems like a good idea.

 

Out of interest Brodie, is ArchVis something you do as a career or freelance? or are you an enthusiast? coz your stuff is pretty cool

 

 

Thanks again for the reply

 

Dan

[Brodie Geers]

Dan,

 

I started out as an architectural intern for a large hospital design-build firm who, at that time, had it's own archviz guy in house. His technique involved a very simple sketchup model which he'd paint over in Photoshop extensively (many of his files have over 100 layers). A few years after I got here he left to spend more time with his newborn and start a sort of graphic design business. I had produced a couple sketchup study models in the past and based on that was asked to take over. Soon after, I was given the green light to pursue a more photorealistic style.

 

I basically had to start from scratch. I'd never done any rendering before so we bought a bunch of software and I just started feverishly trying to figure it out. I tried a lot of stuff but couldn't give up Sketchup's modeling capabilities and speed. 3ds Max and revit were just too clunky and overengineered for me. The biased rendering engines used too much specialized lingo that I couldn't, then, begin to wrap my head around so I ended up with Maxwell Render, an unbiased engine with more common language and parameters that I could understand. I've mostly stuck with that setup although I've incorporated 3ds Max more lately and have been working on learning Vray for animations.

 

That's more than you asked but that was my career path and I've been in this for a few years at this point. I'd like to work in an archviz firm (most firms seem to go with 3ds Max and Vray, so that's another good reason to learn those programs) next to get a better idea of how others work and how the industry functions. You don't really get a sense of those things by working alone and producing renderings that don't have a price tag. Eventually, then, I'd like to try freelance.

 

My lonely image in my gallery was from a competition awhile ago. I can't post my day to day work because it belongs to my employer but it's quite different. It's your typical commercial archviz stuff I guess. More or less an idealized photorealism where nothing's really dirty, it's sunny with a few clouds, and you can see the whole building in one well placed shot.

 

Here's a link to the WIP thread from the competition. You should go back to the main thread and look through others' entries. Ronen's WIP style competitions provide great insights into how some amazing archviz folks think.

 

http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/hover-challenge-submissions/559-brodie-geers.html

 

-Brodie

[Devin Johnston]

It's a difficult question to answer but looking at the industry as it is today I'd say you're going to have a better chance of finding a job as an Architectural intern. The Viz industry is much smaller and as a result there are fewer jobs, while these jobs usually pay better than Architecture you're going to have to fight even harder to find that job.

[Scott Schroeder]

The answers you seek are impossible to tell. Not one of us has that grand crystal ball to tell the future. If this is your passion, then just jump head first and you'll eventually find your way.

 

If you are seeking a masters degree, check with your university first to see if they offer graduate assistantship courses. Most major universities should offer these, and what they are is either assisting doing research or teaching lab sections of courses. The good part about them is they offer up to 95% tuition coverage and a small, but college style livable, monthly stipend. Paying for graduate school isn't like paying for undergrad. Your masters program is only a year long? Something sounds fishy about that. Most of them should be 2 years full time.

 

One thing to watch out for is that in this field, with no real world experience, a masters degree may hurt you more than it helps you. Many times a potential employer will falsely assume that just because you have a masters degree, that you'll want more money. If you are looking for viz work, outside of an architecture firm, your portfolio is the key. Most viz houses are fine with just a bachelors degree, if even that. Architecture firms are a little more old school and really look at the degrees, most in the US are now requiring masters degrees, but your portfolio is equally important with them as well. So your degrees, your education, play second to your portfolio.

 

Your struggle to find a job is nothing related to your education, it's more related to just the way things are these days. Have you taken notice to what's going on in the global economy? Even us seasoned vets struggle to find employment. I've got almost 8 years working experience, 5 at an arch viz studio and 3 as a freelancer, plus a masters degree and I'm finding it a struggle to land solid employment outside of freelance gigs. But even getting my foot into the freelance door was tough simply because companies a wary of taking a risk with a new freelancer.

[dark_jubei]

Wow, Ok guys, thx for your responses.

 

 

 

That's a lot to think about, and I'm working through it lol. Basically, the problem I think I have is that I came out of University without a great portfolio, and nothing really to set me apart from the pack when applying for jobs and going for interviews. I was hoping that a year's tuition in archviz would give me an impressive portfolio, and potentially give me SOME industry insight that I wouldn't be able to learn on my own. As I said, I know some about photorealistic rendering in 3ds max etc, but I don't really know if I would ever be able to learn enough on my own to make a worthwhile career from it.

 

 

Anyway, thanks again for the responses and thx to Scott S. for the info on assistantship courses, I'm DEFFO going to look into that one, ive never heard of that before!!

[M V]

I would not shell out any money to get a degree in arch viz. The degree in arch is worth more than you may think. Your best bet is to invest a few bucks in taking some courses online (CG School is great) to learn advanced Vray and better your 3D skills. 2: Master SU because every firm uses it and would love to have someone on board who is fast and can take it to the next level. 3: Be a master of anything and everything that you can in an arch office. A firm would hire an intern that can design and do some CAD when 3D work is slow over a viz person who only knows MAX and has no arch background. It's all about value. Firms have huge pools of talented people to pick from these days and they want the most bang for their buck.

[Jonathan]

I considered that particular Masters programme last year and instead opted for a broader digital Masters programe encompassing areas such as web design, interactivity as well as 3d. The course also provided a rich source of inspiration and influence through a diverse group of students. Im so pleased I took this approach and I certainly wouldnt be in this position if I'd focused purely on arch-vis. You can work on that in your own time.

[timillustrator]

Hi Dan,

 

For a more British perspective try posing in this forum:

 

http://www.sai.org.uk/forum

 

There are a lot of people who are successful in visualisation in the UK on there. I would say that getting work experience in an architects office (there is not much in the way of formal architectural internships over here) could be of some use but there is vast competition for the few places and you are just as likely to end up drawing door schedules as do any visualisation work.

 

Tim

[xEndlessxUrbiax]

In my opinion: don't spend the money for graduate school, spend your free time learning the software on your own, especially since you already have a pretty solid base. Build up your portfolio and keep applying for jobs in the architecture field. If you go to graduate school and specialize in visualization then the jobs you will get once you get will be for that only, and chances are you won't get really exposed to the other aspects of the profession. If you get a job at a mid-sized firm, you'll probably get to work on all aspects of the projects including the visualizations. Just my thoughts. Good luck, it's tough to find a job, try and contact people you know for references.