Given your technical experience and (I assume) project type experience, it seems like a logical progression.Ī lot of parallels in our stories, but I'm on the other end of it, so I logged in specifically to respond. Be the grizzled vet whom other staff, junior and senior, go to for technical advice.Īn owner's rep, as you mentioned, is a great idea too.
That way, you train others to do what you're good at without doing all the work yourself. One way out could be levelling up - that is, you still focus on your forte in developing details and level up to become the firm's technical expert in residence. Now, there is a conundrum for experienced staff - the more experienced you are at something, the more likely the firm is to entrust you with handling these tasks. The company's leadership has to be receptive too, of course. They did have to be vocal and assertive about the responsibilities they want - and then prove they can handle the extra risks and responsibilities. Much easier said than done as it requires a different skillset - salesmanship, presentation, a solid knowledge of the real estate business and economics - but I have seen some folks do it as they leveraged their management and business development skills to get out (mostly) of the production workflow.
Then you take ownership of this new business. Say, you bring a new client to the firm by smart networking outside office hours. Taking the initiative to bring in new business could be one way to expand your scope. I'm curious about the staffing structure at the firm you're at now - How come you're still doing so much CAD work? Are the junior staff inadequately trained? Is the firm under-staffed with a top-heavy structure? Is the design process distinctly broken into a 'Design' team and a 'Production' team, with neither doing the work of the other? Are you beholden to the firm by virtue of them sponsoring your work permit? I've seen these characteristics at firms where relatively senior staff are still doing basic CAD work. If that's not possible, I think for my next job I will try to work for an owner's rep.or other ideas? If I move to a larger firm, how do I explicitly assert during the interview process that I don't want to be doing any CAD monkeying and hold them to this? With 12 years of experience I don't think this is an unreasonable request.
A role where my main tools are email, the telephone and Bluebeam, and occasionally Sketchup? If I open CAD, it would be to solve a unique detail or layout challenge, rather than to crank out 20 bathroom elevations. How do I make the leap to a future role that's more in line with my interests of management, staffing, business development, client relations, space planning, and design strategy and less direct involvement in "box-ticking" production tasks, as David Graeber would say. CAD monkeying during CDs is about as fun as doing my taxes. Clearly some mid/senior level people at the various offices I've worked at successfully graduated from CAD monkeying.ĬAD monkeying during SD is more enjoyable, as it is more of a direct expression of the space and form in my mind's eye. It's making me wonder if I should find a new career, as I find it completely joyless and rote. Unfortunately, CD set creation is still the bulk of the work and the fee in the industry as we know it. In reality, I have been operating as an army-of-one, running the projects, coordinating with the clients and consultants, but also doing all of the drafting, detailing and minutia. In both my recent jobs at small to midsize firms, I was hired as a Senior Project Manager, and was under the impression from the Partners who hired me that I would be delegating most of these tasks to junior staff members. I'm finally making six figures thanks to some aggressive job maneuvering, which feels like a major win, but I'm wondering when and how I can get to the level where I don't have to spend 50% of my time dragging insulation batt lines and tagging doors and dimensioning shaft penetrations-but rather keeping an eye on these tasks from afar. I have deliberately avoided working for starchitects because of the bad pay and work life balance. Hi! I'm in my late 30s, licensed, and have two Ivy League degrees (BA, MArch I) and about 12 years of experience working in various firms large and small in NYC on everything from international master plans to brownstone renovations to corporate interiors to ground-up high rise residential towers.
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