How often have we thought of our colleagues who work for municipal agencies as having “alternative careers”? How often have we asked them, “Do you think you’ll ever return to practice?” How often have we hesitated before even introducing them to others as “architects?” This sense of professional exclusivity may be part of what separates us from the community at large.

Education, training, and examination are the legal criteria that define “architect.” Nothing about this definition dictates or limits the roles that a licensed architect can fulfill. Moreover, rapidly evolving technologies and the global community demand that architects apply their education and skills in many areas outside traditional office practice. The first step, then, toward embracing architects’ many abilities, in fact, begins with us. Only by truly valuing our own professional diversity can the public, in turn, truly value us.

In this podcast, three speakers share their nontraditional career stories and answer some fundamental questions: Why did they leave “traditional” practice? How do they feel about their colleagues’ often-negative reactions to their career choices? How has being an architect empowered them to uniquely benefit the clients they serve? The discussion probes related topics, including a more accepting (in lieu of “alternative”) nomenclature; ways the profession can embrace all aspects of architecture practice; and other careers in which architects’ knowledge could become increasingly valuable.

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