Bok Doc # 1: First Jobs

Bok Talk # 1 was successfully held last July 10, 2004 at Starbucks Café, The Podium, Ortigas from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Six people -- Pon, Johannes, Raymond, Lems, Manny, Clarice, and Mark attended the discussion. It consisted of three parts: introduction, sharing and summary of common issues.

(Note: We had no recorder so the following is based on my notes – it’s a subjective documentation -- please correct me if I misquoted anyone, or if you want to add anything. Those who weren't able to attend, feel free to share you first job experiences. Scroll down to Part 3 if you just want to read the summary)

PART 1: Introduction
The participants introduced themselves stated their expectations.

Johannes, employed in a government office, said he expected the group to make a stand.

Raymond, self-employed/freelance architect, said that being a young architect is an uphill battle. Quoting another architect, he said “kinakain yung mga bata” in this profession. Bok Talk, he said, was a way to share one another’s experiences.

Lems, who works in a construction firm, said it could be a “support group” – tulong-tulong sa isa’t isa.

Manny, who works in a consulting firm, saw it as a friendly exchange of ideas, where people could voice out their emotions.

Mark, self-confessed bum (and planning to get a masters degree abroad soon), said “I’m one of those architecture will save the world people.” He was frustrated by his education, and wanted to be with people who cared about what they do.

Clarice, the youngest in the group, said she expected to learn from her “ates and kuyas.” “I want to save the world, but one step at a time.” She expects the group to grow.

Pon recounted how arkiboks was first formed. It was initially planned to be a newsletter-type website, but it became a blog instead, because it was the easiest to start and was self-sustaining. Bok Talk is an extension of the concept of arkiboks – the expression and sharing of ideas.

PART 2: Sharing

Johannes, volunteer moderator, asked everyone to share their experience on their first job, with the following guide questions: (1)How did you get your first job? (2)What were your expectations? Were they met? (3)What did you do on your first day? (4)What were your memorable experiences? (5)What were the lessons that you learned?

Raymond

His dad is an architect, so he was influenced early on to go into the profession. Technically, his first job was with his dad. Typical of Chinese family businesses, he was expected to work there. His dad said, “o, graduate ka na – trabaho ka na dito.” He was given a time card and assigned to do manual drafting. “Nakakaantok pag drafting…matipid kami, so naturally ventilated yung room...mainit.” The “masayang part” was going to the site. His first site visit was a residential project – where he learned how to walk along C-joists. He was going, “okay, san ako aapak?”…and he learned that you shouldn’t stop in the middle. His first lessons on the site were: mind your balance, and be alert. He says though, “if you work for relatives, you take things for granted – I realized I won’t learn as much.” When business took a downturn, he decided to work for another firm.

Lems

He got his job through texting the boss, a former professor of his. It so happened there was an opening. The boss was busy on the day he went to the office, so he got interviewed in the boss’ car. Initially he didn’t want to go into construction. “Tinutulugan ko talaga yan nung college.” He was assigned to do structural plans first. He didn’t know how to do CAD, so he had to learn from officemates. From structural plans, he got to join bidding conferences and do as-built plans. Eight months into the job, he was assigned to manage construction projects like restaurants and retail shops. He experienced eating with laborers, and sampling dishes like “pancit canton na hinalo sa mami at kanin.” He also experienced spending the night at the construction site. He grew to like construction work. He says it’s a challenge to maintain the workers and deal with clients. “Mahirap din maningil,” he says. He eventually decided to put up a construction company with some acquaintances.

Manny

After graduation, a friend called him up if he could do Photoshop work for their design firm, on a contractual basis. He agreed, but when he got there he was also assigned to do other work. After two weeks, he transferred to another design firm, the office of which was right across where he worked. He was assigned to do design schemes, which would be sent to the head architect’s house at the end of the day. The drawings would then come back to him with red marks, much like a design plate. Eventually he was assigned to go to the site. “Minsan hindi mo talaga alam kung anong gagawin mo” he says. He learned to have the initiative to do things, and be more creative. He went to the site every week, but realized later “kelangan pala magpaalam” because the boss was wondering where he was. He decided to leave because he wanted to learn more.

Mark

Mark recounted his first job working in the family’s hardware store. It was put up by his father, who studied architecture in Mapua. His father would give him Sir Banister Fletcher’s “History of Architecture” to read during his free time, as if it was a pocketbook. “After five minutes, lumuluha na yung mga mata ko!” Because of his experience in the hardware store, he entered college with knowledge of materials – but not how to put them together. During his summers in college, he apprenticed with some prominent architects. In one firm, he was “tagakutkot ng print sa tracing paper.” There was also a span of two months where he did nothing but schedules of beams and girders. He also worked for a planning firm, whose head he wrote an article about, as a “visionary.” He was happy to be in the firm, especially since he got to work with a bunch of people who really loved their job. He was disillusioned in a major way, however, as he realized that the ‘visionary’ he admired was really a fraud – “a profiteer pretending to be a prophet.”

Clarice

She got her job in a large architectural firm through referrals by her dad’s friends. Her first lesson: “contacts are important, but at the end of the day, you want to feel that your worth is based on what you can do.” She described the firm as “very corporate.” She felt it was mostly a production firm, however, whose bread and butter was doing working drawings for design consultants. For three months she was assigned to do CAD. “I have a short attention span. After three months, burn-out na ako sa CAD.” It happened there was an opening for a specs writer. She took it, because people said “specs writing was not for everyone.” (In other words, “no one else could take this shit.”) For another three months she stared at MS Word, day in and day out. She did learn a lot about materials, and got to establish contacts with suppliers. She was expecting to learn about all the aspects of architecture, so when she heard a design team was going to be formed, she asked her boss if she could join it. Her boss said yes, but it took a long time to materialize, so she decided to quit. She transferred to a landscape architecture firm. It was not as exciting as architecture, (“kasi halaman, di ba?”) but she tried to learn as much as she could about landscaping, even memorizing the names of some plants. She was happier there. “A big firm will give you the prestige, but a small firm will give you the training.”

Pon

She wanted to have a “transition” job, so she chose to work in a government office because it would be more “relaxed” compared to a private firm. The boss assigned her to do the drawings for a new school building. This project enabled her to experience the whole architectural process from design to construction. The 8-5 schedule of the office (with no overtime) also allowed her to do other things like learn how to do websites, take up a sculpture class, and enroll in a few units for a postgraduate course. What she missed, though, was brainstorming design as a group, like what she did in college, since their design team rarely met. When the school building was done, she decided to try other things, and applied for another job in a magazine.

Johannes

He went to work for a design firm he had really high expectations of. He lasted only six months however. “I wasn’t really happy…isa lang ang kaibigan ko.” He was assigned to do drafting, with little design work. He was looking for a master-apprentice relationship. His expectations were crushed. “For the first six months, I saw the boss only once.” He tried to look for other mentors in the company, but the head architect was a “really cranky guy,” and there was this specs writer who “had her own kingdom.” He realized “wala na yung ok na tao dun” that he had heard of before. He did learn a lot, but felt he couldn’t grow there and decided to transfer to another office. In this office, most people had families, and the culture was different. “ Walang B.I.” He was also a draftsman, but he also got the opportunity to do design – as well as learn the different trades like plumbing, electrical and mechanical aspects. He also got to go to the site and talk with clients. He still works there.


PART 3: ISSUES

1. The experiences shared were diverse – from a working in a big corporate firm, a government office, a small firm, to working for your father. Surprisingly, no one brought up pay. Everyone acknowledged that the first job is not really about the pay, but of experience and how much you can learn. It was taken for granted that you can’t really expect much at the start. Somebody did mention that in some cases, people can get exploited – some apprentices have to work for year before they get paid.

2. Is it better to work in a big firm or small firm? In a big firm, hierarchy is more established. Some small firms tend to be family firms. Participants agreed that it’s good to experience both. It really depends on the person: Some feel more comfortable in a hierarchy that they can ascend step by step, and some feel more comfortable in a small firm, especially if they like the people. In a big firm, if you hate your boss it’s easier to avoid him. In a big firm, the work tends to get more specialized, while in a small firm, you need to know all aspects. It depends on the bosses, but big firms sometimes do delegate design work to junior architects or draftsmen. The culture of firms also tends to be based on the management style or personality of the owner.

3. Most expressed their desire for finding a good mentor. What is a good mentor? Someone who actually cared about your progress as a designer; someone whom you are accountable to and vice versa. Someone who was open to suggestions, encouraged you to think, and would ask you questions like: are you challenged? Do you need room for growth?. Someone who would say “I want to see what you can do with this,” not “do it this way.” Someone who did not want to stop learning themselves. Finding a mentor is a process of finding someone you have a connection with, with similar interests and goals. Establishing rapport, trust, and open communication is important. Someone voiced out though that “it’s hard to find credible mentors.” Participants agreed that a mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be a boss; he or she could be a coworker. Maybe a mentor doesn’t even have to be an architect. He doesn’t even have to be a genius, or be that good – you might even learn from his incompetence. What if you can’t find a mentor? You have to fend for yourself – learn from experience, read a lot. You can establish a sense of credibility for yourself , some form of accomplishment, because in time you might become a mentor yourself. At some stage, you might outgrow your mentor.

4. On learning: one said that in order to learn “you really have to find it for yourself; if you only take what’s coming then you're not going to get it.” One needs to try different things, and take risks. You might lose something along the way, but you’ll learn. It’s ideal to experience a project from start to finish, dealing with all the aspects, rather than just focusing on drafting or specs writing. When projects become large in scale however, it’s difficult to achieve this. One big project can easily stretch to five years or more, and as an employee you might come in at different stages. A house might be a good first project, because of the smaller scale.

5. How did their experience in their first job change their perspective? For some, it made them want to do more. ‘If you can’t get somebody to do it right, then do it yourself.’ It was a challenge to become better. One said he wanted to try to make the business system more efficient and effective.

6. So how do you make the most of your first job? Some thoughts: “earn your self-worth and know what’s it’s worth.” “Know what you want.” “Go where you are most comfortable.” Even if it’s the smallest task, do it well and try to find a sense of dignity in what you are doing. “Live the life.” If you choose to be an architect, know the risks and what’ll you’ll get (like low pay). “Find your niche.” “Design is overrated -- if everyone was a designer, would anything get built?”