Wanting to get out of architecture does not mean your architecture education was wasted. It often means you need to translate your skills into a different professional language.
Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino from Out of Architecture join Architecture Social to discuss career change, transferable skills and how designers can move into other fields with more confidence.
Watch: Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino on leaving architecture
Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino discuss Out of Architecture and how architecture skills can move into other fields without wasting the value of the education.
Listen: architecture skills beyond traditional practice
The audio version gives the full conversation on career change, transferable skills and where architecture-trained people can go next.
What architecture skills can transfer
Architecture trains people to work with ambiguity, constraints, clients, systems, visuals, deadlines and complex decisions. Those skills can matter in technology, product, strategy, brand, operations, development and many other routes.
- Problem framing and strategic thinking.
- Visual communication and storytelling.
- Stakeholder management.
- Research, iteration and testing.
- Working across technical and creative constraints.
How to start the move
Start by naming the type of work you want to do next, then map your architecture evidence to that work. A generic CV saying you are adaptable is weaker than one showing where you solved similar problems already.
Common mistakes
- Apologising for your architecture background.
- Assuming other industries understand what architects do.
- Sending the same portfolio to every non-architecture role.
- Ignoring commercial language.
- Leaving without a clearer story for the next step.
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s recruiter view is that leaving traditional practice is not failure. The stronger question is whether your next move has a clear reason, credible evidence and language the new market understands.
Map your skills before you move
Before applying outside architecture, build a short evidence map.
- What problems do you want to solve next?
- Which architecture projects prove similar skills?
- What language does the new industry use?
- What proof can you show without relying on a traditional portfolio?
Next step
Use the episode as a starting point, then sharpen your CV, portfolio and application story before making a career-change move.
Add a comment