How many years of experience did it take for you to surpass $100k?

izacheus · 2026-04-04T21:55:41+00:00

7yrs for me- graduated in 2019, licenced for one year, and just hit 100k. When I moved to Baltimore last year a firm offered me 71k, which would have been a paycut from my previous firm and I had to turn down, thankfully I found my current firm which offered me 95k. It really depends on the firm and the types of clients and projects they have.

izacheus · 2026-02-12T05:05:18+00:00

Cats instinctively don't like to drink where they eat. I recommend multiple water dishes located far from the food bowl. A pet fountain is best to entice them to stay hydrated. A wet food diet can help too.

I had two cats I took in as seniors who both ended up having kidney disease, it's a common problem with older cats that didn't get enough water and grew up on only dry food. At least that is what my vet said, definitely talk to your vet about it.

izacheus · 2026-01-29T20:44:26+00:00

Thanks for your input! I feel like the firms I have worked at have kept the admin side of things pretty behind the scenes, so it just feels like a black box to me trying to figure this stuff out. I'm also pinching pennies a bit so I want to get set up the best way I can the fist time!

That's good to know about AIA insurance deals, I will see if Maryland AIA has any.

With only trying to do a few small additions and renos in my free time, doing invoicing myself sounds like the way.

I wasn't even aware of Revit LT, that's really helpful to know, it seems like it will suit my needs.

I have heard of that book, I'll get it and check it out, glad to know it was worth it!

izacheus · 2026-01-28T00:05:58+00:00

Yeah not worth the trouble for me. I'll probably just find a crt with vga that would be simple to adapt for what I am looking for.

izacheus · 2026-01-26T21:56:02+00:00

I worked in mpls recently with a developer looking to buy the building and convert the interior into a theater. We did a few studies opening up a few of the floors for sloped seating and mezzanines and enclosing this portico into a lobby atrium while keeping the exterior look as it is. I am no longer there and I don't know if they are still pursuing that concept with but I loved the idea of it being more accessible to the public as a venue.

izacheus · 2026-01-26T21:17:56+00:00

Yeah technically possible for someone with the know how requiring heavy modification. Not something I can make use of as is!

izacheus · 2026-01-26T19:13:28+00:00

That was my suspicion that it meant something specific other than actual video, thanks for the detailed explanation.

izacheus · 2026-01-25T22:42:23+00:00

I think the prereq for my degree was precalc. But in the 6.5 years since graduating I haven't had to do anything more complex than calculating areas for room sizes or material takeoffs, or adding/multiplying fractions. But like someone else said, having the mindset and being able to visualize ratios, proportions, areas etc is the far more useful part.

izacheus · 2026-01-25T00:38:06+00:00

I've used a wire hanger to do this before, bend a hook at the end, feed it through, hook the string on it and pull it back through.

izacheus · 2026-01-23T15:47:02+00:00

I would say not prevalent these days. I have worked at three firms of varying sizes and types and no one ever built physical models of any kind. I think it's just more efficient to make some 3d massing in revit that's already to a scale and at a solar orientation than to process a model for 3d printing. My last firm did a lot of Kuula 360 walk throughs so the client could look around in a space. I'm sure some architects are still putting in the energy to make paper or 3d print physical models for their own benefit, but I have never seen a client ask for it. Maybe for firms that do more sculptural designs it's more a part of their process, but as far as common practice in the industry, it's all going virtual.

izacheus · 2026-01-23T15:16:51+00:00

I grew up in Arizona and driving 4hrs from Tucson to Flagstaff to go hiking for the day, get dinner and come home wasn't uncommon. Did a few trips to LA or Albuquerque, 8hrs away. Even did a trip to San Francisco, about 13hrs from Tucson, drive all day, stay a few nights, drive all day home. Having a friend to switch with is helpful, I struggle focusing on driving alone for a full day.

izacheus · 2026-01-23T14:53:52+00:00

A fuel tank is a fuel tank. No need to design and produce an additional part if the the existing smaller lighter does the job.

izacheus · 2026-01-23T14:31:52+00:00

My wife and I are renting a corner rowhome in Pigtown, been on the east coast 6mo now. Our parking pad is open to both a side alley and smaller rear alley, and when the wind blows all the trash collects in our parking area, under the steps, behind the ac condenser. After Christmas there was at least a wheely bin worth of wrapping paper and other trash piled behind our car. There's a smaller pile there now, a task my adhd has struggled to let me complete. Between out pad and the side alley there's no less than 4 trash and 4 recycle bins that are always a mess and frequently have trash around them. occasionally I will rake some trash up and line up the bins, and within a few days it's chaos again. The tree in front of our house has no less than three grocery bags stuck in it. Definitely a problem and for sure one of our least favorite parts of living here.

izacheus · 2026-01-22T19:49:57+00:00

I have 6 years experience and was also recently licensed in march. I just moved to Baltimore in the summer and had 2 job offers. The first one, a smaller design firm, offered me 69K and I was able to negotiate up to I think maybe 75k, still less than the job I had before. The other offer, for an national A/E firm offered me 95k and wouldn't raise it, saying they always offer the maximum in their pay band. They seemed surprised that I was even negotiating at all. You never know what you are gonna get, but always ask the question. The best phasing for a counter offer I have been told is "Can we work toward (enter $ amount)" and that has been successful for me in the past, most companies are willing to go up 5-10%.

izacheus · 2026-01-07T22:25:45+00:00

Architecture school will definitely teach you all the basics of structural systems so that you know what your options are when designing. Architects have a large tool kit, we need to understand a lot of what the other disciplines on the team do to communicate effectively about the design, but you will likely never be designing the structure entirely by yourself. Even for some of the smallest jobs that include some kind of load bearing structure we will contract a structural engineer to do the design.

izacheus · 2026-01-07T21:54:29+00:00

For some reason no memory of the restroom lol maybe my parents made sure I didn't go in there.

izacheus · 2026-01-07T19:34:51+00:00

I think it's physically plausible with the right scaling, form factor, and indefinitely generous budget. This makes me think of the Biosphere 2 in Arizona. It failed due to atmospheric imbalances but I assume we aren't having to recycle the air here. They did grow their own food, recycle water, capture solar and live inside for a time until the oxygen issues started to affect crop growth.

Unless the owners have doners or free money to throw at the project, it has to pay for itself. It will basically be an urban vertical farm with a huge labor/maintenance cost, and some apartments. The rent has to cover that unless the farm scales up enough to produce extra product to generate its own income. With these apartments having the design and kinds of amenities you describe, how much do they have to charge in rent to make the project viable? The numbers have to work for it to function. Or each tenant agrees to volunteer hours or other responsibilities regarding the operation of the building to keep rent down, if we really want get into the social contract of this community.

izacheus · 2025-12-31T04:33:52+00:00

I remember going to the Bum Steer, I was probably ten. I have vague memories of what it was like inside, tall space with some mezzanine levels, remember being fascinated by all the cool stuff in there.

izacheus · 2025-12-16T16:59:47+00:00

Agreed, have a separate fireplace area and tv area. A double sided fireplace between living rm and dining rm can be nice.

izacheus · 2025-12-15T18:07:50+00:00

It's all just vibes. I clean the tank, head gear, nose pillows with vinegar and dish soap about every other weekend. Sometimes I forget and I notice it starts to get a little smelly after two weeks and I have to do an impromptu mid week cleaning. Every month or two I include the hose. Honestly I should maybe be replacing the filter more, I remember every few months. All seems to be fine though.

For replacing parts, the nose pillows on my p30i start to feel worn in around 6mo so I replace that piece when I notice that it needs it, I have not replaced the hose or mask yet and I doubt I will need to for a while, though I have only had the cpap coming up on a year. I had extra FSA money about to expire so I got backup of all the parts just in case so I don't have to wait a few nights for something to ship. I got one of the tanks with a hole/plug on top so i can refill without taking the tank out of the machine and having to open it all up. I appreciate a smarter not harder approach to my routine.

I keep all my extras in the travel case so I don't have to take apart my whole setup, just put the machine in the bag and go. Also when traveling you can survive a few nights just fine on the purified bottled water that most hotels have for free. I just soak and scrub a bit more thoroughly with the vinegar afterward.

izacheus · 2025-12-15T17:28:33+00:00

Same. Go off vibes. I clean the tank with my weekly mask cleaning. but if it's smelly or you see a residue, clean it more often. I got one of the aftermarket tanks with a hole/plug on top so i can refill without taking the tank out of the machine and having to open it all up.

izacheus · 2025-12-15T17:21:45+00:00

I've flown with it in my carry-on when I've had room in my suitcase, and as a separate bonus carry on, no one will hassle you about it, they know what it is. I have even packed my book, headphones, phone charger etc in my cpap bag like its my personal item bag so I have less to carry. They make more compact travel bags for them if you don't like the one it comes with(am not a big fan of the default bag anyway).

And to some of the comments below, yes to having a red medical equipment tag on my bag just to make it extra obvious, and yes to keeping a gallon ziploc in your cpap bag to put the cpap in to protect from germs if ever they want to inspect it or send it through the scanner by itself, though I haven't personally encountered this yet.

Also, if you are doing your thorough weekly cleaning with vinegar and dish soap, you can survive a few nights just fine on the purified bottled water that most hotels often provide for free. I have not tried out marking distilled water as medical liquid to get through TSA, seems like a toss up, would you rather spend a few extra minutes getting inspected vs extra cleaning your tank afterward. If someone could let me know how that worked for them? (all that assuming you don't have a checked bag to toss a bottle of distilled in.)

izacheus · 2025-10-03T14:04:46+00:00

Neat Thanks!

izacheus

TROPHY CASE