Laid off? How emerging design professionals are coping

By Murrye Bernard

An informal survey on Archinect.com reveals that 51 percent of employed architects are “a little worried about their job status,” while 22 percent are “very scared.” It is easy to become consumed with anxiety even if your job is relatively secure. However, many have been affected much more directly. As you fight the urge to perpetually wear pajamas and subsist on Ben & Jerry’s, contemplate your new situation as an opportunity rather than a sentence.

Poised to be laid off after twelve years with Andreozzi Architects in Rhode Island, Dave Rizzolo was proactive: he lined up an interim job with Gardner Woodwrights, a general contractor whom he had worked with on several projects. Serving as an assistant project manager on a fast-tracked, schedule accelerated project, Dave’s experience allows him to “work as a conduit between the job site and architect since I ‘speak the language’ and can interpret the design intention in the context of constructability.” Once work picks up at Andreozzi he will transition back into his previous position as an associate. In the meantime he is “learning quite a bit about architecture from a new perspective as well as gaining new project management, estimating, bidding, ordering and sub-contracting skills that will benefit me in the long run.”

While Dave essentially maintained status-quo, Scott Gustafson of Boulder, Colorado is thinking globally. During the last three months he has sent 400 resumes to firms all over the world. He recently became a registered architect in Iceland and is planning to apply for licensure in Sweden and Palestine in addition to completing the ARE. Scott stays busy working on projects through his own business, ORION. He is collaborating with artist Jackie Sumell on The House That Herman Built, a design for a man who has been in solitary confinement for 36 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He is also working with The Cloud Horse Art Institute —a non-profit educational organization run by two members of the Lakota tribe in southwestern South Dakota­to complete a conceptual design of the campus in order to attract funding. Both projects are pro-bono, but Scott hopes they may eventually lead to paid work. In order to connect with others in similar situations, Scott formed a Facebook group for unemployed architects as a venue to discuss everything from daytime TV (Scott is particularly fond of M*A*S*H on the Hallmark channel) to freelance projects.

Nick Loeper, on the other hand, returned to where he began. After completing his Masters in Architecture a year and a half ago, he moved back to his hometown near Philadelphia in anticipation of the economic downturn. He was recently let go from his job with a small firm but fortunately had the option to move in with his parents while he contemplates his next move. Nick is organizing his portfolio, painting, and perfecting his Revit skills, as well as lining up pro-bono work, including an addition to his neighbors’ historic house. “I’m finding time for everything I wanted to do but wasn’t able to during a 9 to 5 schedule,” he explains, although he is planning to move to New York and find another job with an architecture firm.

Similarly, Karl-Erik Larson finds the free time invigorating. He attended the presidential inauguration and is now focusing on his art. He is talking with galleries in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to sell his paintings and also hopes to obtain a street vendor's license. "Not having a job and working on my own art has refreshed my creative energy," Karl explains. He is developing a website and plans to take his time to rejoin the architectural profession; carefully reworking his resume and portfolio and prepping for the ARE.

Brian Jones, who was laid off in November, heard horror stories from friends about huge lay-offs at their corporate firms while simultaneously being inundated with resumes from talented designers. Instead of joining the fray, he moved to Guatemala. “Having no real ties or large responsibilities, I decided that now would be the best time to do something like this. I felt that it was much more important to do something that I was interested in rather than ‘settle for a job’,” he explains. Brian, who is documenting his adventures on his blog is living with a Guatemalan family while perfecting his Spanish and plans to eventually work in an architecture firm in South America. “Under different circumstances, I may not have taken the risk,” Brian contends.

In some cases, it is not an issue of losing a job but rather attaining one in the first place. Jesse Duclos graduated into this rough economy last spring and hasn’t had luck finding work in Los Angeles. He has, instead, found an emotional coping mechanism: perfecting his secret recipe for a barbeque rub. He is in the process of designing the packaging and label and intends to sell the rub through a local restaurant and marketplace.

Although the prospect of no guaranteed income is a frightening one and this situation can’t be sugar-coated, these six emerging professionals prove that a temporary setback can become an opportunity to reevaluate life, career path and to accomplish goals not normally possible while working fulltime.

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