Our culture is obsessed with the future. Marketers have used slogans like “The future is now!” and Hollywood produced several “Back to the Future” movies starting in the mid 1980’s. There is a pervasive addiction to having the most current technology, even if it doesn’t always perform its function as well as that which it replaced.
In contrast, my father used to tell us to remember the past so as not to repeat mistakes and live for today.
I would like to propose an alternative: Live for today, but embrace the future. I do so by making myself available to mentor young people. After all, the future belongs to you.
For each of you that would follow me professionally, I would strongly encourage you to embrace and enhance the future of your career. You can do so by joining CSI (no, not the TV show, but the Construction Specifications Institute). It is there that you can network and gain much knowledge that the schools and universities don’t seem to have the time to share.
There is only so much that you can accomplish sitting in front of a computer. You can insert all the content in the world into a social media page, but doing so or viewing such a page will never convey as much information as a face to face conversation. We learn much from the things others say and do, including vocal inflection and body language. You get only words from a sterile message conveyed via the internet. More to the point, you cannot put a hug or a warm embrace onto a computer no matter how many emoticons you insert.
To further enhance your future in the design and construction industry, you need to participate in CSI’s Certification Program. Sitting for and passing the CDT exam will afford you and demonstrate to others that you have a level of knowledge of construction documentation that graduates from architecture and engineering schools often lack. I am aware of several recent graduates who immediately found jobs following graduation because of the fact that they held the CDT certificate.
So, live for today and embrace the future by becoming a member of CSI and sitting for the CDT. There are a large number of us who would welcome you with open arms and a smile. More to the point, your future career may depend on it.
Charlottesville Architect 