You Don’t Know, What You Don’t Know

I have been using this phrase to explain my experience starting at an architecture firm for a while now. I can’t remember if I got it from someone, if it is from a movie, or if I made it up. Regardless, this was the best way I could explain my perception of the challenges in my first internship at an office, as well as starting my career. The beginning of a career in architecture it can be very overwhelming, and there are a lot of things you don’t know, YET.

But don’t freak out, you will get a hang of it. Think back to when you started architecture school, you are thrown in, have to try to understand the professor, and have something back to them before next class. A career is different, you are getting thrown in but you have some architecture background now from things you have learned in college, and your coworkers are there to help you grow into the profession rather than rip apart something you spent all night on. This is just the next stepping stone in your education because in this profession there is always something to learn, to do better, and new experiences.

Now the important part of this phase is the beginning, “you don’t know”. You don’t even know that you don’t know something! You will do tasks throughout your career and be missing big pieces of information without even realizing it. It is important to ask questions and review things with your project manager/project architect/principle, whoever. Take a stab at doing that wall section with sill and head details, have questions, and discuss with your PM what you understand and where you are having trouble understanding certain parts. And most importantly, figure out WHY. There are reasons behind things and if you can understand the REASON you can implement that thinking later on to another project or have a better question next time. There experiential steps help to gain new knowledge that ultimately effects how you grow in the profession and getting the most out of a task or project.

5 Steps I’ve taken to tackle this challenge:

  • Ask questions! Do not hesitate to ask questions or ask for further information. This is how you grow as a professional and turn knowledge into valued experience. And find out the WHY behind the answer is essential because that can teach you more than you expect. Sometimes more senior professionals simply don’t remember the tasks they didn’t know how to do right out of school. It is always better to ask the question than wasting time guessing on how to do something.
  • Know your resources. Who are the PMs, who else is on the project, where is your resource library, is there library of resources on the firm’s server, and is there a specialist (engineer, product rep, internal specialist, etc.)? Each of these have their place to find the answers you need. Being able to use your resources and where to go is something that will be important throughout your whole career.
  • Study. For me I had two reasons to start studying for the Architectural Registration Exams soon after graduation. First, I wanted to be done and have a life. Second, was a way to learn more about the different parts of the profession. There have been times where something makes sense in the reading because I have a personal example from work and vice versa.
  • Notepad and Pen. Always carry with you a notepad/notebook and a pen when you go to discuss things with your PM or if they call you over to your desk. You should always be prepared to take notes or if you have a list of questions having them written down that way you can write the answer right next to it.
  • Listen and Remember. The last step is to listen intently and remember the response. This is what helps you grow and then teach others. You cannot just do exactly what the PM says and then forget about it. This will be something you will have to remember for other projects or at the very least when that subject comes up in construction you are able to answer the questions that arise on that topic. However, you don’t always need to remember every little detail, but you need to know where to find you answer. This goes back to knowing your resources: Subject your emails wisely to search later, date and subject file folders, or at least remember what types of things went into the different projects you work on. (which gets harder as time goes on)

These are just some of the major steps I have taken to adjust to starting my career. They are not full proof and there may be some other aspects that you feel will help you personally and in your particular office. Take the initiative to learn more about yourself to create your own strategy. And as you grow in the profession your strategy will change but the important aspect to realize is; there will always be new things to learn, and you should always be learning to better yourself.

Written by Katelyn Rossier

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