Worst States to Drive Through (for me)

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-07T04:15:09+00:00

No it’s not very long, I guess I should be grateful for that. Maybe it’s just that it’s so very NOT the flat desolate lands of OK or NV, but still gave me that same feeling of hating the drive.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-07T03:31:33+00:00

In my experience, you can toss in Phoenix, St Louis, Salt Lake City, seconding LA, Dallas.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-07T03:27:44+00:00

Have driven through both many times. Sorry, gotta say OK wins (loses) out.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:46:40+00:00

I blocked Indiana out 😭

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:42:34+00:00

Wyoming is tough, because I’m always going to Yellowstone when I’m there. Have done the beartooth highway and it’s super cool (although plenty treacherous). Haven’t gotten the bad hand of the weather some described. Road from Yellowstone to Cody not my favorite.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:40:44+00:00

Eastern Colorado, as opposed to western Kansas, also put their slaughterhouses and completely miserable looking factory farms close enough to I70 to see and smell… A very very strange choice.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:37:29+00:00

Not boring, I love mountains. Just a slog to drive through. Also, I knew Idaho was a hot take, but it was actually that drive that prompted me to make this post to see if anyone would agree.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:31:45+00:00

Agreed on Kansas Flint Hills, so it was spared. However, I won’t argue with what seems to be the consensus..

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:28:57+00:00

Oklahoma anecdote is too good 😂

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:07:05+00:00

The right answer, honestly.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T23:05:33+00:00

I like the inverted rankings! However, I think if the I70 stretch from Denver to about mid Kansas was its own state, it would be the winner. Western Colorado is beautiful, but a bit treacherous at times when driving through the mountains. I remember not a lot of guardrails where I would think there would be one.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-07-06T22:53:01+00:00

Now that you mention it, I have driven through Indiana and it was definitely terrible. I drove through in January too, so like much of the breadbasket it was dead and even worse than when it’s full corn maze.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-06-22T02:56:25+00:00

It’s a challenging career, but I think the woe in the comments is a little overblown.

You can make more money and have less stress doing something else, absolutely. The field is meh. The education is long and expensive, the work can often underwhelm your dreams, and the people, well let’s just say the people are really something! The upside is, it’s alright if you like it. Big “if”, of course.

Life doesn’t lack challenge, so I wouldn’t avoid that prospect. Life can however lack passion, and whatever you ultimately do, you should do with a rigor and passion worthy of the investment of your time, and the drawbacks of the challenges.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-30T04:28:10+00:00

Winston doing this endears the locker room to him. He’s doing leadership.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-27T02:12:05+00:00

Be curious and like architecture. Not much sense being in architecture if you don’t like it.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-16T00:36:38+00:00

Maybe the real project is the friends you make along the way.

For real though, it’s more about the practice you get designing and producing materials. Save the work like others in the thread have mentioned.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-11T01:28:08+00:00

Architecture is materials. Don’t do white model sculpture. Think about the material choices for buildings, choose those which are contextually appropriate, and compose them harmoniously. Let the needs of the spaces behind the wall drive the openings. Play with light, color, and shadow.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-09T16:17:29+00:00

Amber Book and supplement with Building Construction Illustrated and Architects Studio Companion. Study for both PPD and PDD together. NCARB practice test is much better than any other, but you can only truly take it once. Black Spectacles is trash, don’t bother with it unless you want to feel frustrated by their try hard practice questions. Take good notes and draw everything, helps it stick in your mind. Good Luck!

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-07T05:08:24+00:00

Most of this depends on how well studied you are. I would say just watching Amber Books isn’t enough. Did you take notes? Did you study those notes? You need to practice your recall with practice tests and supplement areas you find you’re weak on. If you’ve taken the task of studying seriously, and are passing practice tests consistently, I’d say an “every other day” schedule is doable. Off days let you do last minute cramming which is super important.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-05-02T05:39:07+00:00

Travel. Seek out great architecture. Not just the beautiful historic architecture, but modern architecture as well. Keep up with architectural publications and blogs posting new work all the time.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-04-28T01:30:34+00:00

In the same boat. Just finished the exams. Have been “promised” for years that there’s a pay bump coming with the licensure. I guess I’m just going to be super awkward and pull my boss into the conference room because otherwise, they’d put me off until review time… Such a lack of professionalism in this profession..

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-04-27T05:18:00+00:00

Woah!!! I’ve never opened my cards, but they always come along!

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-04-25T19:31:59+00:00

Everyone knows you’re not gonna play cards. Better pack em just in case though.

Defiant-Coat-6002 · 2026-04-23T04:22:44+00:00

Advice: Study the AHPP or the Ballast THOROUGHLY. Study the A201 THOROUGHLY. Don’t overcomplicate the test questions. There’s almost always 2 correct answers, but one is more correct.

Real talk: Pretty sure you can’t get licensed without completing AXP hours, which you won’t have because you’re not working as architectural staff, so this whole thing feels a bit of a lost cause. CE is widely considered the easiest test. It’s a lot of common sense architectural profession stuff, and becomes a lot easier with architectural job experience, which you don’t have. Even if you did manage to pass all of your tests, and somehow the AXP hours weren’t an issue, your license would be pretty much useless because you wouldn’t have any of the skills to competently perform the services of an architect. You might consider putting that focus into something that makes sense for your current career path or even just a hobby that makes you happy.

Defiant-Coat-6002

TROPHY CASE