Advice for High School student interested in becoming an Architect

I’m going to be graduating this year in high school and I’m interested to go to becoming an architect. Architecture and Computer aided design (CAD) are my two interests. Math and CAD are my favorite subjects which I am also successful at in High School. My counselor said I should consider Architecture and I am pretty interested in it. Can anyone help?

My advice to those in high school who ask me about becoming an architect is always the same. I recommend getting an actual job in an architects office for the summer. That's what I did between my junior and senior years and actually it extended through my entire senior year after school.

Seriously, I ran prints, went on errands, picked up the mail at the PO, made the coffee, stocked the fridge (we had free soft drinks), took the bosses car in for maintainance, etc. but I kept my eyes and ears open and asked a lot of questions. Eventually I had a "board" of my own doing drawings like reflective ceiling plans, building presentation models (which I turned out to be pretty good at), doing the press type lettering, etc.

And then of course I went to a university but had a guaranteed job every summer during my college career.

This approach does several things, all good (And this doesn't just apply to architecture, it can be valid for the law, medicine, accounting, vets, you name it).

First, I'm able to take a look at the profession BEFORE going to college and seeing if it appeals to me. Nothing worse then spending two years in design school and then deciding its not for you.

Second, I had a ready job every summer.

Third, I got to see first hand the "real world" aspect of architecture. The theoritical aspect of school is invaluable of course but experience with real budgets, real timelines and real clients (not to mention gravity and building codes) is a big benefit.

And finally fourth, as with most any endeavor, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Even though I was only 17 when I started there, contacts where made, and they went to other firms or formed firms of their own. In one case, a few years after graduation, my "interview" with a former coworker was really a formality. And the "office boy" that took over when I went to college? Got to know him better when I came back for summers and a few years after he graduated from college, we formed a partnership that lasted 20 years. When I sold my share to him (friendly split) we had a staff of 16 people including 6 architects. Turned out big things in the future started out back in the print room of that firm.