In the first architectural office I worked in, a guy taught me how to make beer.
He was a real top chap, had a part time furniture building wife, a few kids, a couple of lovely dogs and went on his bike everywhere. At the time I wondered why he wasn't an associate or something, he was definitely old enough, extremely popular, approachable and knew quite a bit more than the guys technically above him in title. It wasn't till years later in this last couple of years of recession that I realised what he was doing.
You see he started his career late, so by the time he was making okay money he was already well in to the real life of mortgages, marriage and the social pressure of sending birthday cards. When the economy dipped last time it pinched him and his wife and they spent ages, like lots of people then and now and next time, haplessly flopping about. Until they decided to fuck it and to bought brewery. Yeah, a bit left field, a bit 'what about your careers?' but they never stopped working or building or creating so when the economy returned he had all this extra life experience and self awareness that his single line focused peers didn't have making him an exceptional designer.
I like to think he never took any of those positions on idealistic grounds but I know that is not how business works and that I sometimes worry that I will be the same, lagging behind my peer group because I haven't clocked up enough on my time card. But he got to pick and choose his projects and in 4 years I never saw him stressed or ever having to pay for a pint.
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