Reflecting on the Past Year

As I write this, it’s been exactly a year since I graduated from the University of Greenwich with a 2:1 in BA Architecture. The journey from that point has been a rollercoaster ride ??. As someone who is terrified of rollercoasters, I can tell you it has not been easy.

With the pandemic affecting so many graduates, I have begun to understand that perhaps I had it easier and was lucky enough to been able to hand in my final portfolio or attend graduation ??. But the road of employment remains the same. I found that as I stepped out of education, there were many struggles ahead. The first one being that I just assumed I would find a job by September 2019. I would complete my year out as planned, gain lots of experience within the field and return to studies the following year.

Some of my peers were already on this track and as I kept sending out application after application and attending interviews, the months went by. Luckily, the idea ?? of starting a blog was already in the back of my mind. Since I wasn’t entirely sure when exactly I would be starting a new job, it was a project that kept me busy and allowed me to give back to fellow students in the form of weekly advice articles or short tutorials.

I was never one to socialise or network during university (something I regret). But by simply writing from my own experiences on Dealing with Design Tutors or creating a tutorial on How to Make Maps, it opened up a certain window in the archi-community that let me see that there were others in the same position I was once in. Over the past 11 months, I’ve not only interacted with students from other universities, but spoken to a range of professionals and content creators in this industry.

The past year has also allowed me to build and learn a lot of skills. I learnt how to design a website ??, understand CSS and what makes a good website. I improved my writing skills ??, became a freelance graphic designer, got obsessed with productivity, effectively learnt Rhino and Sketchup and set up a treat box business ??. I’m not saying current graduates need to follow the same path, but it is crucial to be bettering yourself and learning something new every day.

Although Covid-19 has given us lockdown and a general sense of uncertainty, it’s allowed me to appreciate my surroundings and the fact that I can jump on a Zoom call ???? from the comfort of my home without worrying about many things.

:scale blog has flourished into something I didn’t even imagine. I’ve interacted with some exceptional people, been featured by the RIBA, and banded together with some like-minded individuals to create the MAD collective. The blog was a great talking point, which led to a couple of interviews too. It’s also become a collective project in the form of a digital publication where I’ve worked with students from around the world to create :scale mag.

In terms of employment, the best advice I can give to current graduates is to not give up. Learn something new and show it off. Turn your hobbies into skills that employers will commend you for.

The past year didn’t go as I had originally planned, but it gave me so many more things that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn otherwise. The next few weeks and months will still be a rollercoaster for myself as I prepare for the launch of my magazine, a collective and a new role in September.