Pursuing HardshipPerspective2017

Finite resources are available for any project so to achieve such results, compensation also inevitably becomes disassociated from effort.
We step out into a dark trailhead and a cool evening breeze to start our climb after the busy season. Mountain huts are inhospitably closed, we are traveling with minimal food and clothing up into the thin air, and nearly alone along the foreign trail. We reach a frigid and exposed windy summit with a rising morning sun surfacing above the clouds roughly 4km above sea level. We take a moment to watch the clouds turbulently roll past us eventually being displaced by a calm sun-soaked blanket. We then descend an endless knee-dislocating stone slope to catch a generous lift from a passing local truck driver back into town.

Our picturesque experience at the summit was rather brief relative to the duration of effort required to ascend and descend. However the trial has had an enduring value. In chemistry, a high pressure environment can over time increase an element's subsequent hardness and capacity to withstand abrasion from other elements. Similarly the exposure to difficult or stressful human experiences can be beneficial for enduring future interactions without necessarily knowing the exact challenges ahead. New boundaries can be set for our everyday activity based on the strengthening of our limits from difficult self-induced experiences.

While such durability to our human character can be desirable, navigating this subject matter is challenging when considering the workplace relative to compensation. Once someone completes their education, how should they be expected to withstand hardship since it can be pursued personally and also offered in service? Some employers and clients pay generously, while others can go as far as to expect payment for the opportunity. Furthermore, a workplace can eagerly pursue challenging unfamiliar work with opportunities for self-development or remain laid back with a steady return on repetitive work. In architecture, quality output depends heavily on a collective pursuit of solving difficult problems and there exists infinite room to develop our work in detail. The desire to pursue hardship inevitably necessitates a careful matching between the difficulty of the task and human tolerances. Finite resources are available for any project so to achieve such results, compensation also inevitably becomes disassociated from effort.
Danielson Architecture Office

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