The Unexpected Wait

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Administrator
 – April 11, 2010Posted in: Architecture
The Unexpected Wait

by Paula Griffith

Paula Griffith first chronicled her unemployment in the Washington Post: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/story-lab/2009/12/dear_journal_my_days_are_no_ea.html

Architect Paula Griffith - Photo Source: The Washington Post

Time is the only thing that will release me from this limbo.  Ironically, time is the thing I am supposed to have lots of, but I seem always to need more of: to find the means to pay bills, to resolve issues and to make decisions on the next move.  I am supposed to be preparing for what comes next; it is hard to know what that is and nothing, except the first of the month, comes fast in this economy.  For the last ten months, my days have been filled with researching jobs and sending out resumes, doing my mommy duty, regrouping and answering collections calls (I am practically on a first name basis with everyone in my mortgage company collections department).

In the ideal world, I would enjoy this time being a stay-at-home mom rather than an unemployed architect.  I would go to self-improvement classes, re-learn a language, fine-tune my skills, re-do my house and travel.  Unfortunately, depending on unemployment benefits means there is little income to take care of the basics far less take on new adventures.  So, I wake up each day, with the sole mission of finding a job, any job, not necessarily work as an architect.  Because, I am a single mom and the sole income earner in my family, I have to be pragmatic.  I have considered putting my daughter to work selling lemonade or coffee at a bus stop.  I have looked into renting a room in my condo.

In this economy it is impossible finding even part time or consulting work in architecture.  And the reality is I have to assess what the future holds for me, June 2010 will be one year that I have been out of work.  The profession has changed so much that I don’t see myself working as I have been for over a decade.  I am redefining what I do; I am looking at my skill sets and discovering alternate professions to market myself to.  I consider myself a creative solution-ista: someone capable of addressing a problem and finding a creative solution.  But my question is: where will I fit in now?

We can berate the unfairness of the profession and our situations while we try to exorcise our demons.  But in reality, change is a constant, and the profession is going through a major transformation.  Staffing requirements are uncertain, at the end of this period we really don’t know where we will stand.  And being a black woman in architecture, despite my strong abilities, I have always been at the low end of the totem pole.  Defeatist perhaps, but I cannot afford to fight the fight or take on the risks anymore; I have to dramatically diversify to survive and that may mean dropping the title “architect”.

I firmly believe that I will eventually find the balance between the exhilaration I feel working in the creative milieu and my need to bring in a viable income.  As time goes on, I may not be presenting myself as simply an architect anymore, but the training and skills acquired in that profession will take me into my next chapter.  Only time will tell.

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Paula Griffith is a Maryland based freelance creative soul.

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Black Design News Network (BDNN) is a news bureau, an online publication, digital library and 'workspace' hub for designers. African Diaspora, BDNN focuses on creating awareness of black design, distributing news and information about Architecture, Interior Design, Product Industrial Design, Fashion/Textile Design, Communication and Graphic Design. BDNN is the 411 of the Black Design Diaspora.