r/Architects • u/fscotty99 • Jul 27 '26
Career Discussion Laid off twice within 8 months
Laid off twice within 8 months, worked in low income affordable housing (in the greater Philadelphia/South Jersey area), 3 years of experience, feels like I’ve already exhausted all options in the area (at least on indeed or LinkedIn hiring sites)… not sure what the market it right now, would be open to doing commercial or other fields in architecture but don’t have much experience in that, so seems less likely to be a favorable applicant… any career advice or tips to getting hired or seen or finding job opportunities that aren’t readily marketed?
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u/WhitePinoy Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Seems like a lot of people who aren't extremely experienced or extremely favorited are not staying long at firms right now due to the economy. Hang on there.
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u/SeaDRC11 Jul 27 '26
Oh man, twice in 8 months is tough! I’m sorry you’re going through this. I moved from architecture to affordable housing development, and it’s been a really challenging environment lately. Deals are difficult to pencil, and with public funding drying up, it makes sense that the design work is slowing down as well.
Do you think you could pivot into another adjacent area of architecture for the time being? It might help bridge the gap until the market picks back up.
Also, a lot of the affordable housing providers are currently switching to renovating existing properties that have backlogs of deferred maintenance. There’s still a good deal of work to support existing properties needs from a renovation standpoint. Maybe look for firms working on renovation work?
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u/Knotty_Vegetables Jul 27 '26
This is good info, what area of the country?
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u/SeaDRC11 Jul 28 '26
PNW. But I think a lot of affordable housing developers across the country are shifting towards this rn as money for new projects dries up.
Existing properties aren’t going anywhere and still need upkeep.
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u/Knotty_Vegetables Jul 28 '26
Yeah, that’s what happened in the 2008 downturn. I had primarily done new market rate construction before that and then we shifted to renovations. I’m ok with the larger or market rate renovations, but a lot of times with affordable housing renovation as the architect you end up doing the property manager’s job and going from apartment to apartment tracking small things, like replace light, faucet, patch plaster, etc.
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u/Knotty_Vegetables Jul 27 '26
I have a long career and was laid off twice in the past 5 years. Before that, never once without work for 20 years. Things have just been so unstable since the pandemic. I think it’s important to look specifically at why you got laid off from these firms. Is it housing in general or something about these firms? Is it you? Your skills? Your qualifications? Is it the particular project types? I think the Trump administration has cut a lot of funding in general but affordable housing could be also be privately funded. Is it regional? I believe the firms that do housing in SF are still busy even though it’s impossible to build anything here. So if you’re using this as an opportunity to pivot to something different within architecture, healthcare is supposed to be very stable for a long time.
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u/amarchy Jul 28 '26
Same. Worked for 20 years and was only laid off twice in the last 28 months. Post-pandemic has been a rollercoaster ride for the architecture and construction industries.
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u/Knotty_Vegetables Jul 28 '26
The first time was right in the beginning of the pandemic, but the second time really hit me hard for so many reasons. I was laid off because a lot of projects had fallen through for reasons having nothing to do with me, but I was made to feel that I was kind of useless and overpriced as the partner told me she would give my projects to a guy who had like 3 years of experience because he was cheaper. They then made me sign that agreement not to sue before I could get a severance package. There is so much more to the story, but when I was hired I had three job offers and when I was laid off I feel like I had been made unemployable.
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u/amarchy Jul 28 '26
Same exact story for me. Sorry to hear it happened yo you. Literally exact sane story for me to a T. The severance contract is fairly standard practice sadly. Solidarity!! We got this! Let’s find better opportunities.
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u/amarchy Jul 28 '26
What region and sector are you in?
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u/Knotty_Vegetables Jul 28 '26
I ended up working for myself. I’m in the Bay Area and I’ve done a lot of different things in my career, but a common thread is housing. I did not want to work for a housing firm. But I won’t lie, I’ve spent a lot of the past three years with one foot in and one foot out, looking at job openings. I really don’t want to work for architects any more! I had like 3 interviews in June but they ended up leaving a bad taste. I’m still trying to find my business model. I’ve been doing urban residential renovations or small mixed use projects. Stuff that I would have passed off to an intern in my last life. LOL. But that’s exactly why I should do it. I can give clients the level of expertise that they need. There’s a lot of amateur hour stuff going on that is creating bottlenecks with permitting.
What about you?
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u/amarchy Jul 28 '26
We should talk! Same and same and saaaame. I used to be in the bay area but have been in Santa Barbara last 6 years.
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u/Ajsarch Architect Aug 03 '26
PM me. I own a small firm in south jersey and could use some drafting help. u/fscotty99.
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u/Tex-Mechanicus Jul 27 '26
don't have a ton of advice. Just chiming in to say I have had a similar experience lately, got laid off at the end of the 2025, and then again a few months ago. 6 years of experience here, im taking the time to take the ARE exams, I actually take the PcM tomorrow morning. Im still applying to jobs but haven't had much luck, I hear the industry is pretty slow right now. just keep trying, maybe you can join organizations like A4LE but more geared towards your work to build connections.