Is this fair? 2/2 i understand my position in this industry and know that im in no place to argue with him. i understand that im green and in need of a lot of experience. i know that reputation is very important in this industry so i tried to be humble and told him he could pay me any amount he wanted i just really appreciated the experience. he took what i said and basiy paid me about $4 an hour. at the end of the day i said if he thinks im not good enough i could just stop working for him but he told me he wanted me to continue there. so i got home, sat down and started thinking... is this fair for me? is this how the industry works? i have worked so many other jobs before and a lot of them i had no idea how to do at the beginning. i was never treated like this before and i always thought after years of hard work at school and earning a good grade at the end i would get some better respect from the field that im passionate about. that's why i can never understand how i ended up in this position. before this job, during school i did a lot of contract jobs related to the industry. i successfully designed and obtained building permit for a parking lot for an industrial company, i did so many drawings that were used to be submitted to the city hall. none of them had any problems and i honestly thought that was what my career was gonna be like. i have after all put in my effort, earned my knowledge with literally blood, tears and sweat in the hopes that i could have a better life, be a better person. but $4 an hour? and he made it sound like everything was my fault, he was doing me a favor by paying me at all.... so what should i do? or am i doing the right thing at all? i have lost so much confidence in myself and the industry... i don't know whether i should continue working for him or continue working at all. i don't want to be a quitter and i want to prove to him that i am more than capable for this job, but i doubt that's ever gonna happen... im sure he would always find a way to show me that he's better than me in every way and im basiy just trash compared to him... anyway thanks for reading.. if you happened to read this much at all... i hope that nothing happened to me happens to you.

you did that to yourself your situation is because you told this guy to pay you whatever he felt like paying you. You need to learn to negotiate and stand up for yourself. There is no earthly reason he is going to suddenly say to himself he needs to pay you better, you know? He just won't and he'll let you continue to be a sucker as long as you are willing to be a sucker.

I don't understand just look for an entry-level job in your field until you get one. What you did for that guy should just be listed on your resume as an internship/apprenticeship.

either you're pathetic.... or the program you went through was pathetic. I've been in the Architectural profession for 30+ years and any intern who would accept $4.00 per hour just to get his foot in the door would be laughed out of the interview. I suspect your whole story is BS and if it isn't then I suspect you are. I've worked with a couple of graduates out of BC and none ever had to stoop so low. Maybe you really need to consider another career if you really are an architectural graduate (which I doubt) cause you're not going to make it in this field.

you do have a point here maybe i am too soft. i have never done anything im proud of in my life and when i found out architecture was the profession that i loved i was more than happy to jump in as much as i can. i got paid $14 an hour for designing a parking lot before i even entered my second year, my final project was among the best and my team actually won the competition. i have established a very good relationship with everybody that i worked with or worked for, mostly because im very cautious that i shouldn't burn any bridges, especially at the very beginning of my career, with this very pessimistic economy. but i think you are right. i worried about my future too much i have completely lost my dignity. my work done before this current one proved that i am capable of what the industry requires, and if not, i am always able to learn. $4.00 an hour was definitely a slap on my face and only because i refused to ask for help from my parents, that actually put me in this situation where i had to stoop so low. i had to take the money or i won't be able to make rent lol. anyway your words are very nasty, i think you may be a nice (and old) person in real life but from what i read you are just a mean old jerk. but i appreciate your reply as it did help me see myself more clearly. and my story isn't BS, neither am i. and lastly, screw you ill quit my life before i quit architecture.

No, you're pathetic So you're a licensed architect? My professional aesthetic judgement is that you're a pile of crap. That's not a personal insult, by the way. It's a professional artistic opinion.

Architects are assholes I've been licensed since 1991, and I've come to realize that this profession is run by assholes. The folks who run the businesses are complete jerks, especially the members of the Authentic Institute of Assholes. A pack of lying, self-important, arrogant turds, and unless you are one, you'll not ever make it. Find another line of work soon. I did well in school many years ago, and have since realized that the jerks who run architecture schools are just there for the money, too.

You paid some dues, now on to the next round of your professional career. Sounds like you had a tough go your first time out of the gates. Don't let that frustrate you. If you love what you do and are good at it, there are plenty of opportunities for quality people. Make sure you write down all the good things that you did for that guy, what problems it solved and how it made an impact on his company. You'll want it on your resume to help you break into the industry. Forget about the money and the negative just chalk it up to experience. You might want to try some advice interviews. They work great at finding unpublished job opportunities in specific niches like architecture. Advice interviews are where you make a list of all the people you know or that others may know that they may be able to refer you to, and you them and ask if you could get together for a few minutes to ask them for their advice. I wouldn't tell them I was stressed out because I was laid off or out of work, I would tell them I was in the middle of a career campaign and was exploring different careers and wanted their advice. Nobody turned me down. At this "Advice Interview" I would start off asking them to tell me all about what they did in their position and how they got into it, what their goals were, etc. If I was interested in that I would ask how someone like me could get started in a career like that. Or, if I knew them pretty well, I would tell them the careers I was considering and ask for their advice about whether they thought it was a good fit for me. While they were giving me their advice, I was actively listening. But I was also planting seeds with each contact, letting them know I was looking for a job or a new career WITHOUT SAYING THAT OR ASKING THEM FOR A JOB OR IF THEY KNEW OF ANY OPENINGS. Most people will offer you advice and want to help and they'll have an idea of what you're doing. At the end I would always ask if they knew anyone else I could talk to about the career I was interested in and get a referral from them to keep my advice interviews flowing. Hope this helps. I would love your input on a new course I'm putting together to help people with questions just like these. If you could ask a former CEO one question about the inside secrets to getting a job, what would it be? Post your question to www.resumetriplesinterviews.com and I'll try to answer for you.