I QUIT Working as an Architect in the Netherlands - Here's Why...

Up until a year ago, I used to work in the Netherlands (Rotterdam & Delft to be more specifically) as an architectural designer & jr. project leader. Exactly a year ago, right before the crisis, I said goodbye to the corporate world of architecture in the Netherlands. I wanted to vlog my last days in the office, and talk about leaving a lot earlier. But it's not always easy when you're going through such a life-changing event. A year later, I finally am able to speak a lot more openly about why I quit working as an architect in the Netherlands. If you're curious - here's why (completely unscripted & candid).
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Have you ever left a job or a career path because it wasn't aligning with your purpose, contribution, belonging & visions for the future? Let me know down in the comments.
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[@AndreaAnua]

I feel exactly the same about Purpose and contribution on my profession!! Exactly the words you said!!! OMG 😱 Thank you so much, I feel now that I am not the only crazy person to feel that🙈

[@MakingitinHolland]

You’re definitely not crazy for asking such important questions about your purpose and contribution. If anything, all the more power to you because many people live life as a leaf and don’t question the important things. I’m happy to hear you resonated with my thoughts. 😊

[@alisonwalker1928]

I am about half way through your video and just realized how much you've really had to "prove" yourself with language alone! Your English is impeccable, and I am sure your Dutch was just as impressive. Wow. I am a 30 year old architectural designer who "gave up" on becoming an architect, but I stayed in the profession and ... well, I am just not sure I want to stay any longer. Hence coming across your video.

[@MakingitinHolland]

Hey Alison, thank you for your thoughtful comment. It's just been such an emotional roller coaster having this feeling of not being enough because of a language barrier. And, you're right in that my Dutch is actually not even that bad (although it's a bit worse than my English). It's been a mix of not fitting in, the language but also this insane profession and how unhealthy it can be. It took me a long time to finally accept that I'm "giving up" on the profession and not have that be a huge badge of dishonor to make myself like a total failure. Life did get so much better for me emotionally, spiritually & physically after I quit. Getting to the part of quitting was the most difficult.

[@MartinaCuschieri]

Couldn't agree more. I realised that I needed to get out of the NL corporate engineering world only after my burnout (and the stress related health problems)...and still took me a couple of years to fully get out of engineering. I am now a yoga teacher and studying to become a coach - my purpose is to help people to find balance and happiness in their life which is something that I could never achieve in engineering. Keep it up!

[@MakingitinHolland]

Yes! I love hearing about your journey too. Once you find a more meaningful purpose, everything changes for the better. 😊

[@nordicvolkan]

I really like your honesty & openness about your experience in the Netherlands. Lot's of bloggers KZbinrs just sugarcoat Holland as paradise( the land of Milk & honey ). Please keep making of these type of videos & always be honest & stay true to yourself. BTW I subscribed :) !

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you so much for your kind comment, very much appreciated. As long as I’m doing KZbin, I’ll make sure to keep a balanced view. 😊 Thank you a ton for subscribing!

[@somethingspecific3619]

I watched this before i got my last job and I didn't fully understand the concept of hating to work for "rich" people who don't really care about your work. I'd rather work foe regular people and clients who actually see an improvement in their lives because of my work.

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@arashka100]

Thank you for always being so honest! Lots of food for thought!

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you for watching 🙏

[@sarameneses769]

It seems that unfortunately you had a bad experience in this architecture field !!! Hope you can manage to find something is really worth to you and to your happiness 🥰 however to me architecture is my life passion !! I absolutely love this . Truly . All of the rush hours the deadlines the pressure the excitement of projecting new ideias is fascinating to me !!! I'm thinking about moving to Netherlands to have a different experience and I hope to build my assets and visualisation representation skills. Wish you all the happiness of the world and thank you so much for sharing your experience 🤩

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you for your comment! I hope your experience will be much better than mine.

[@hombreavestruzable]

your video had been inspiring. i made a change after ten year career because i felt i was going no where. i don't think it took long time to do it because i learned a lot but i am positive. change is good.

[@MakingitinHolland]

I’m happy to hear you’ve also made a change. Change is great! 😊

[@TkachenkoUrbanVlog]

I see myself here, that's crazy. There are more and more stories like this around.

[@MakingitinHolland]

I’m sorry you could relate to this. 😔

[@zuhar2526]

Oh hi Olex funny to find you here as well 😅

[@zuhar2526]

It is hard to find purposeful work in the architecture profession. I decided to keep doing it part-time and enjoy/volunteer outside of work

[@zarazalazar]

I'm going into renewable energy development, but I'm not giving up on my architecture. I love it so much. So my plan is to design houses on the side and sell the plans. However, I am giving up on the license as it's so expensive, and the liability and insurance are unnecessary.

[@TheRVSN]

14:00 The employer failed to include you in project management. They can only exploit resources created by someone else. When I was leaving project management position in DXC Technology in Slovakia after 7 years, I was handing over to and mentoring my colleague from PMO in Germany for at least two weeks in every detail of business processes specific for Client (documents, web tools, budget reporting etc.). She was very thankful for such treating.

[@somethingspecific3619]

You are so likeable and I do not usually like humans

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you! Hehe :)

[@aydaagolahmadi5999]

how can translate all my words into English and bring them in the videos?love you

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you for your comment Ayda :)

[@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88]

Thank you :)

[@ellafe5439]

Would you do architecture all over again, do you regret it?

[@jgrob64906]

Seems that architecture schools are now soft and easy, not weeding out the people not supposed to be architects.

[@claudraw6203]

No, i've learned in school which was very tough, you have burnout while studying, you are already working overtime and you have no free time, so you hope that you will find a job where your working hours will be respected, but the reality is different. and we architects are responsible for this...

[@chriskappert1365]

Welcome in the mans world , where you have to be strong and independant and competitive .

[@annagorokhova8734]

I relate so much! I am from Russia, went to an international school and then went to Hong Kong to study landscape architecture. After doing a few internships I felt a little overwhelmed with the difficulty to find the right place to work in. I worked a bit both in HK and Russia and found that regardless you are exploited and underpaid. I am admitted to TU Delft to study landscape starting this September and have been doubting whether if it’s even the right choice in terms of my career path and if I am ready to switch places again. Fitting into HK culture took a while, I can imagine how difficult it must be in NL (it gives me less international vibes). I enjoy studying landscape but I hate overworking culture. I also hate the fact that international students are more prone to exploitation just because of visa dependency (which HK showed me very well). Very curious if you find more fulfillment working in marketing? I am thinking of trying smth along UX /UI and stay in HK a bit longer if I can land a job here....

[@MakingitinHolland]

Hey Anna, I'm really sorry you're facing a similar situation. I have to say that ever since not working in architecture, I've had so much more peace of mind. I enjoy the work I do with marketing a lot more. And actually since, I've quit my part time marketing position to full time focus on my own business. This is quite a lot of work, but it's really fulfilling and I wouldn't change it to another full time job in architecture. I would say, follow your heart and go the path you want to go without "wasting" your precious time trying to make something you don't want to have happen.

[@richardcahya6747]

Hi thanks for sharing your experience Anna, actually I'm from Indonesia and this year I am planned to apply TU Delft to study Master in Urbanism, could you tell more about live experience as international student in TU Delft, either pros and cons? Thanks in advance

[@botsynth]

so how are u?

[@steffjalv1340]

I’m an architect too from Mexico City, and I had the same issue with architecture career, but I found that what I didn’t like was working at an architecture office, it’s so awful! I would recommend to work on a big company (as an architect too) or start your own firm (freelance) otherwise I think architecture career it’s so bad, I mean long hours, bad paychecks, only drawing layouts/plans on autocad 🤯😞

[@WorkandKardi]

You are absolutely right and you are brave hearth 😂❤️

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you! It hasn’t been an easy decision even though it’s actually a very simple one.

[@chrisevans9688]

​@@MakingitinHolland Chris Evans just me and now soon did you ok and cool now if you be back in my life just me and back ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@vladm.6859]

Good for you, you’re brave for sharing this story! Btw did you also study in Rotterdam, I’ve started my bsc at erasmus 2 years ago

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you, it only took a whole year to finally be able to share it. 😅 I studied for bachelors in the UK and masters at the TU Eindhoven. How are you enjoying your studies?

[@evangeliamintzai6302]

I felt like that in my previous job. Especially the part of not bothering anymore to socialize with my colleagues and edit KZbin videos instead. It sucked!

[@MakingitinHolland]

Yep! That’s when you know it’s time to move on and do something different.

[@haticebusraozturk9143]

Tam da Hollanda'da mimarlar hakettiklerini kazanıyordur diye umup Hollanda'ya göç etmeyi düşünürken karşıma çıkan video... Dürüst yorumlarınız için teşekkürler ^^

[@MakingitinHolland]

Gelmeyin sakin. 😃

[@andredsanches]

You: saying something. Me, the entire video: I want to be friends with her. Really, this is exactly how I think.

[@MakingitinHolland]

I’m glad to hear that this has resonated with you! And thank you for your kind comment. 😌🤗 Consider us virtual friends!

[@tw0million]

great video that should be watched by *all* architecture students. thanks for being so open about your experience. the dutch work culture is often praised for having a good work-life balance and I'm very puzzled (and disappointed) that this was not your experience at all. Do you think that this idea is false or is the issue industry specific (architecture)?

[@MakingitinHolland]

I think it’s the architecture industry... whether it’s in NL or anywhere else in the world, it’s a very unhealthy profession. But I do believe in NL, architecture is especially tough because it’s so competitive with the big names.

[@matuickmcgreen683]

Im Architect and feel the same in relation to the corporative world, that office world that I never wanted, but where I had to crush to work in the profession. Its a contradition, I love Archutecture but hate the office and all the fake theatre around. I hope one day gona find my place as being an architect, for what we spend years and years leaving everything apart, happens

[@jankebeatrix]

Thank you for sharing! You gave great career advice that I will definitely consider. I am almost done with my Masters (MA/graphic design and communications) and I'm interested in working in NL from South Africa for a few years because I speak a very similar native language to Dutch (Afrikaans). Could you share your experience as a Masters graduate in the Netherlands- did it give you many advantages or opportunities? Would love to know if you have any tips or insights on post-grad studies and the Dutch workplace :) looking forward to your next video

[@MakingitinHolland]

Yeah, Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch. I had a colleague in another office and she was from SA and spoke Afrikaans but it still took her longer than she thought to learn and speak Dutch. So that’s good to keep in mind, the languages are similar but not that similar (so it seems). Unfortunately, because you’re also in a creative field I would say the work atmosphere might not be the best. It’s only really very great if you’re Dutch. Personal opinion here but if you read some of the other comments here you’ll see that it’s a shared experience among many.

[@TheNaijaboy007]

Joining or setting up a small firm with your colleagues is more satisfying. It's like a family and your contribution and purpose gets fulfilled much easily. When choosing colleagues for a firm/competition/collaboration, each need to compliment the strength of the other: for instance one needs to be good with site management while the other good with Architectural engineering; one knowledgeable with managing clients while the other Project Administration. That wouldn't keep everyone in one segment. Netherlands have some of the best Schools of Architecture, so you are lucky. You can explore working in other countries or winning projects elsewhere and collaborating with local Architects: that will be really fun. It will be like work-vacation experience. Besides doing that, you could have some small side hustles when design work pauses.

[@swethasarat6978]

Thank you so much for sharing. I did quite my corporate job a year ago. Because I have no purpose as an Architect, there was only money money in this job. So quite and doing the things that I always wanted to do but never did due to my job.

[@MakingitinHolland]

It’s such a liberating feeling, isn’t it?

[@Johnsnow-pu4oo]

Hey,are you from india? Can you tell me about the scope of architecture in india? Is it good for upcoming years?

[@achinverma8578]

@@Johnsnow-pu4oo not good

[@alikoksal2705]

Genel olarak böyle mi gerçekten ya :/ Yüksek lisans yapmaya gelecektim eylülde moralim bozuldu :((

[@MakingitinHolland]

Genel olarak boyle, ve bu vidyoyu yaptiktan sonra daha da kotulesmis. maalesef...

[@L1nkn1vy]

It sounds like you just worked for a bad place. I'm glad you moved on because constant overtime like that is not right for you to go through.

[@MakingitinHolland]

So glad I left architecture and started my own thing in the world of online marketing/ business :)

[@LadyFoxHound]

Im an architect, ive been in the profession for 20 years and shes absolutely correct. i HIGHLY suggest that if there is ANYTHING else u can do that makes money and that u enjoy do that and not architecture. architecture is expensive in school and after, not good money, Long hours, years invested to “move up the corporate ladder”, toxic work environments and work ethic, additional troubles as a woman in the field, very small percentage of ur time spent on design and most spent on management meetings schedules deadlines contracts. its in many ways a soul- sucking profession. and what irritates me most of all is school and professors and many in the profession are dishonest about it and glamorize it. ive hit burn out twice and i had serious health issues because of it, my personal life took a hit. and so much more.

[@almanacar1187]

Do all these negative sides match with the interior design also? I absolutely will stay awat from architecture but what about interior architecture in Nl ?

[@TheRVSN]

17:30 So they basically dumped you instead of working with you to grow your skills. Because you have already had enough engineering experience. Being dumb they lost effort for hiring you and letting you know the company and current project. They also lost time. That was not your fault.

[@arianaamir1247]

Hei! Nice video! Thanks for sharing! I finished my studies in architecture 2 years a go in the netherland, and damn! I still haven't find a job because I don t know dutch! But, maybe, actually is good like that, because now I have a part time job in a building shop and I am having so much fun, I am not stressed, I am learning a lot about material... couldn't be better. I hope soon I can open my own studio with the value of architecture and design that that field should have💞

[@kenan1432]

Oturum kartını garantiledikten sonra ben

[@MakingitinHolland]

Hahaha, gayet mantikli. 🤣

[@edvb9]

I cannot be more agree with you. From my personal experience that I have worked in 3 different offices in the Netherlands (Den haag, Gouda, Amsterdam) and in all of them I have experience this overhead hours culture that is present. It is almost like as you enter an architecture office it imply that you have to overstay to try to prove that you are worth, plus the learning the language, and so many young professional push to reach it. I have seen how young architects working long hours, month after month, to try to make it to the next contract while their life pases over them. You can see the consequences after some time, they getting sick or they are no table to manage the stress anymore they talk really negatively about their own work an environment (that one was the most shocking for me). Later, they compromise their health and doing the possible to avoid the so called syndrome of burn out. I thought it was not real, but over the last few years I have seen people in and out, so many that the environment changes every 6 months. Its curious the story you were telling about your colleague that was all good and all of the sudden just disappear. Happened exactly the same thing in the last place I worked. Coincidence? pact with the devil? I dont know.

[@mankind5709]

The only way you truly become a project manager is if you work for yourself.

[@hinossi8160]

Thank you for sharing your story! I am an architecture student in Finland and have already entered work life too. My experience of the working cultrure in architecture here in Finland is slightly less brutal but it sure is good to keep in mind the things you listed in the video. Your channel is a perfect source of information for me, as my goal is to move to the Netherlands after graduation, to work there as an architect for a few years to get a different experience and perspective to the profession. Keep up with the good content! Also, a practical question: do you know which architecture software is the most used among offices in the NL? Im thinking either Revit or Archicad, or something else? Thanks again!

[@MakingitinHolland]

I wish you all the best when you move and start to work here. I hope your experience will be better than mine. Regarding the software it depends on the office but mostly Revit is in use from my experience.

[@farkstein1213]

if you want to make 5-10 times what a normal dutchie makes while being artsy, good fuckin luck.

[@MakingitinHolland]

It could be possible, nothing is impossible after all... But it would take a whole different level to get there.

[@nbaharhazar]

Thank you very much for sharing your precious exprience. I feel you!! :)

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you for watching ❤️💫🌸

[@Singh19able]

Long boring video, not video

[@MakingitinHolland]

you don't have to watch it!

[@veenavee7493]

Hi there, great video! Me and my husband we are thinking about moving to Netherlands cause we've heard that Netherlands 'work and life balance'. My husband he is a senior interior designer, we based in shanghai but he is British. after I've seen your video, it seems like you've got lots of overtime work too. So I started to wonder if he will have a work and life balance in Netherlands... OMG ... is it true? 🥲

[@MakingitinHolland]

I hope you'll have a much better work-life balance than I had if you end up moving. Best of luck.

[@MarjWas]

it's very brave of you to share your feelings like this. I realized I felt like this when I was studying architecture. so when it was time to search for a job, I made sure to avoid the architecture firms who are "high profile". I now work for a wonderful local firm. we design simple house extensions and new single family homes for people who saved up enough money to buy a lot. we have an 8 hour workday and rarely work overtime. our clients are just people who want to build there forever home and not this big investors. I have contact with the client themselves and the gratitude when you manage to bring their wishes to life in a wonderful design is the best feeling in the world. I'm sorry that you did't get to experience this at the architect firms you worked at. I hope you find this fulfillment in the new course you have set for yourself.

[@MakingitinHolland]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I'm so happy to hear that things are working wonderfully for you! :) It makes me happy to see that not all architects are going through what I've experienced. And thank you so much for your good wishes.

[@nadiahposthumus4893]

@@MakingitinHolland Hi Gulce! Thanks a lot for this content. I can relate with the tough architectural experience in general. I'm a graduate in architecture and I've always wanted to be an architect, working solely on small residential projects. Would you mind sharing your journey of becoming an architect from bachelor's degree to professional registration? Thank you and I wish you a lifetime of success in all that you do :-) Nadiah X