peterlatrofa Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hello all, I recently bought the Salary Survey and noticed something about the ArchVIZ industry. The Participant Age portion of the survey shows that 43% are ages 21-29 and 41% are 30-39. There is a sharp drop off of those aged 40-49=11%, and 50-59=2.8%. I am looking for a career path with longevity. Currently working in the Game Industry and you can imagine the age range is very young. I'm 37 so this sharp drop off is a concern. Does this survey seem like an accurate representation of the industry to you? How many people here are 40+ and still working in the industry? Plan to continue or are you looking to switch out? Why do you think there is such a sharp drop off? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howelaw1 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I think it may have to do with the fact that it is a fairly new industry so most people who are working or learning it are still very young. I don't think many older people who already have established careers switching to archviz, but that's just me guessing. Maybe only time will tell if people continue working in this industry as a long term career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Many move on from production into management as they get older so may not have been counted. I do believe that there is long term prospects in this industry, as long as you are prepared to keep up or be ahead of the game as its ever evolving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlatrofa Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 I think it may have to do with the fact that it is a fairly new industry so most people who are working or learning it are still very young. I don't think many older people who already have established careers switching to archviz, but that's just me guessing. Maybe only time will tell if people continue working in this industry as a long term career Good point. That does make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlatrofa Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Many move on from production into management as they get older so may not have been counted. I do believe that there is long term prospects in this industry, as long as you are prepared to keep up or be ahead of the game as its ever evolving. Checked out your profile, looks like you've been doing this for a while and plan to continue. That gives me hope. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 way too long:) and way too much fun, sometimes its hard to call this a job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryhirsch Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 ''sometimes its hard to call this a job'' wait untill you meet our clients Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) I hope it's not too bad. You just have to pull in the reins and not take any bs and show them who's boss. They're not doing you a favor - they need your services. I just finished up a couple of jobs over the weekend and it was fun. I've been in miserable situations before and it's just not worth it. Edited March 2, 2015 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 there are other jobs in arch vis than just production. we just tend to get 99% artists on this forum and filling out those surveys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippelamoureux Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) If you are good enough and not starving, you can hand-pick the projects you want to work on. It must be such a nice situation. I guess the top studios in this industry work like that. I know that visualizing bungalows will bore me to death. I guess this is why I'm not going to leave my current job (non 3d related) even if I start my 3d studio. I don't want to rely on contracts to pay my bills. If I make money with it, it's gonna be extra revenues! Right now I'm having so much fun learning arch viz and everything related to it. I don't want this to change for the worst when I start working for clients. Might try to push it to find the clients that I would potentially like to work with instead of just waiting and take whatever comes to me!!! Edited March 2, 2015 by philippelamoureux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 you should make the jump otherwise you will never ever know! working for clients IS the litmus test for arch vis. i dont think it would ever be possible to work a full time job and run a arch vis studio. picking your jobs would be a luxury i dont know many people that can say that even amongst the elite level freelancers there are many benefits working for yourself and it can be much more profitable and rewarding than working as an employee. unless you have an insane mortgage...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippelamoureux Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) you should make the jump otherwise you will never ever know! working for clients IS the litmus test for arch vis. i dont think it would ever be possible to work a full time job and run a arch vis studio. picking your jobs would be a luxury i dont know many people that can say that even amongst the elite level freelancers there are many benefits working for yourself and it can be much more profitable and rewarding than working as an employee. unless you have an insane mortgage...... I have the luxury to have 7 hours of free time on a 8 hours shift at my current job. So much time for 3d. It's even easier to do it on my job time than at home where I'm too easily distracted. That's the reason why I'm hopefully going to be able to only work on projects that I know I will enjoy the most. I would like to work on innovative projects or new stuff. That's also why I want to explore the real-time/VR world. If I was working for an arch firm or a 3d studio, I would probably make less money yearly than I currently do at my current job. That's why starting my business is pretty much the only way to go if I want to make even more money!!! Edited March 2, 2015 by philippelamoureux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M V Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Funny thing is I was just thinking about this today. I remember hearing the same statistic in a CG School video. I think by the time you get to your 40s, you might could be burned out. I will be 35 this month and I can tell ya, if I am still doing what I am doing now in 10 years, I will probably go off the deep end. Moving on to a role of leadership and direction is where most of us should be by year 20. I had a principal at a firm I used to work at tell me, "you don't want to be a 40 year old 3d guy". I am starting to think he was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlatrofa Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Funny thing is I was just thinking about this today. I remember hearing the same statistic in a CG School video. I think by the time you get to your 40s, you might could be burned out. I will be 35 this month and I can tell ya, if I am still doing what I am doing now in 10 years, I will probably go off the deep end. Moving on to a role of leadership and direction is where most of us should be by year 20. I had a principal at a firm I used to work at tell me, "you don't want to be a 40 year old 3d guy". I am starting to think he was right. That's kinda what I'm thinking too. Would definitely like to move to more of a management role soon. Not gonna happen for me on Games. If I switched to archVIZ it would still take some time to get to management but I think I'd like it more than Games. Dilemma dilemma. ArchVIZ or go back to school for something else. Ugh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Schroeder Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Personally, I love doing the 3d. I'll lead the studio in a creative role, but I don't want to stop doing the 3d stuff all together. Client meetings, checking time cards, budget meetings, collecting bills and the general other stuff that project managers have to do? No thanks. I'll be that 40 year old 3d guy any day. Has anyone told Stan Lee that they don't want to be an 92 year old who still is fairly heavily involved in comic books? I would have told that principal that I don't want to be a 60 year old architect still doing the same 3 design ideas over and over again. Now the burn out rate in working directly in-house for architects versus working in a more creative visualizations studio, that would be some interesting facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlatrofa Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Personally, I love doing the 3d. I'll lead the studio in a creative role, but I don't want to stop doing the 3d stuff all together. Client meetings, checking time cards, budget meetings, collecting bills and the general other stuff that project managers have to do? No thanks. I'll be that 40 year old 3d guy any day. Has anyone told Stan Lee that they don't want to be an 92 year old who still is fairly heavily involved in comic books? I would have told that principal that I don't want to be a 60 year old architect still doing the same 3 design ideas over and over again. Now the burn out rate in working directly in-house for architects versus working in a more creative visualizations studio, that would be some interesting facts. How old are you right now and how long have you been in the industry? By the way, Stan Lee's net worth is $50 million. He beat the insane odds. The majority of comic book artists didn't make it and the ones that did aren't making much money. Being in your 40's with a modest salary means having a difficult time providing for your family. What if your studio doesn't promote you to lead the studio in a creative role? Not everyone gets to management level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Johnston Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I'm 41 been doing this for 16 years and I still enjoy this job, burn out can happen in any field it doesn't matter what it is. I chose being a "3d guy" over a career as an Architect because I couldn't see myself as a CAD monkey and I didn't want to draw details my whole life. Being an illustrator lets me enjoy architecture while satisfying my creative desire, I also enjoy being unique among a sea of architects, they still look at my work as magical. If you’re skilled you can make plenty of money, I've never found that to be an issue but you have to be willing to put in the work. Looking back I don't regret choosing this career, I can't imagine doing anything else and if I'm still doing this at 65 I'll be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlatrofa Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 I'm 41 been doing this for 16 years and I still enjoy this job, burn out can happen in any field it doesn't matter what it is. I chose being a "3d guy" over a career as an Architect because I couldn't see myself as a CAD monkey and I didn't want to draw details my whole life. Being an illustrator lets me enjoy architecture while satisfying my creative desire, I also enjoy being unique among a sea of architects, they still look at my work as magical. If you’re skilled you can make plenty of money, I've never found that to be an issue but you have to be willing to put in the work. Looking back I don't regret choosing this career, I can't imagine doing anything else and if I'm still doing this at 65 I'll be happy. Awesome to hear that! Congratulations to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil poppleton Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Just turned 43 and still going strong.....no complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Schroeder Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I'm in my dirty thirties and I've been doing it for over 10 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M V Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I guess what I meant to say is I would much rather be in an art director role, modeling less and being creative more. If you dont break free from that, aren't you still just a "CAD monkey drawing details all day"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Johnston Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Ha...well I haven't modeled a building in probably 10 years, I leave that up to the CAD monkeys . Actually since BIM has been adopted there's been little need for me to model anything and it really is cheaper to have an intern do this type of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 burn out is only an issue if you cant manage your time properly. Sure when the work is on and deadlines are looming then yes the hours are long, but is that is the norm then there are greater issues at hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveG Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I guess it might be time for "gramps" to chip in on this thread, seeing as it relates to age and I'm probably one of the oldest here at 51. I've been working in this industry in some form since I was in my teens, graduating onto computers within the first years. (AutoCAD version 2.05 I think - look it up) I was working in 3D as soon as the software allowed (v2.18 I think). The reason there aren't many of my age group on the survey would be manifold, but as has been mentioned there is obviously the assuming of more responsibility / seniority taking you away from the role but mainly the fact that when I started there were only a handful of people doing it - anywhere, so of course those few people then are even fewer now. God knows I nearly took myself out of the equation any number of times over the years! Unlike many I stuck to it as it was able to play second fiddle to my sport, I could dip in and dip out as suited the sporting calendar and have always been busy (ironically apart from the last few months). The only other point I'd make about doing this into your 50's is your faculties.... I'm working hard not to be wearing glasses, but hell my eye's are struggling now and the reality is if I get busy again, I'm going to probably need glasses. This is hard on your eyes after so many years. Burn-out? When I'm working, I'm usually working hard - long hours. Always to strict deadlines. That get's tiresome after a while because the number of times I hit a hysterical deadline only to have someone come back a few days later with changes BEFORE they present my work to the client! It's hard to maintain the dedication to pressure when you know through experience that most of the time it's confected. I'm slightly different to many in that I'm a designer too and prefer generally to visualise my own designs, so visualisation can be secondary, but as Justin says, it is a great job. What other job offers such a combination of - left side of the brain right side of the brain - challenges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 in relation to wearing glasses, why are you holding out? if your eyes are taking strain then you are doing more damage than good. especially if you start getting headaches etc. I for one cant work with out glasses, not that my eye sight is poor, rather I get fatigued much quicker with out them and eventually get migraines. I get my eyes tested fairly regularly and the prescription hasn't changed much over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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