If I have one regret during my college education is that I never worked on a construction site. Once I graduated from college, I went straight to work in an architectural office, drawing up all sorts of stuff that I had literally never seen before in my life. I managed to get along, but I was acutely aware of my lack of practical knowledge and I have been trying to make up for it over the last 20+ years. Episode sponsor: Huber Engineered Woods

The thing with social media is that there are a lot of people out there that hold themselves out as experts, and if I am being forthright, a lot of those people drive me crazy. There is a big difference between knowing what you should do and then actually being able to do it. Just because I know how to deadlift 400 lbs doesn’t mean that I can actually do it [for the record, I can’t], or that you should be listening to somebody just because they hold themselves out as an expert. Episode sponsor: CENTRIA

How much time have you spent thinking about the legal side of architecture? If you are like most architects, you probably haven’t spent enough time thinking about it. While it may not be the sexiest part of the architectural profession,  it is something that every licensed architect must consider on every single project. Episode sponsor: AIA Contract Documents

Pretty simple and straightforward sentence: “Your first architectural job is important.” Let me clarify that I’m not talking about summer jobs or internships. Those don’t really count because they have a known shelf-life associated with them. What I’m talking about is the first real job a person takes once they’ve graduated from college–the job that signals the beginning of their professional career and more times than not is a predictor for the path your career will follow. Episode sponsor: Kingspan