Last night, a student texted me asking if Architecture was worth the hype and it took me back to a previous conversation. A few months ago, I was squeezed into a window seat on a Super Metro, stuck in that soul crushing 5:00 PM traffic on Thika Road. Next to me was a guy clutching a long, black drawing tube across his lap like it was a precious cargo. He looked like he hadn't slept since the last general election. When the bus hit a bump near Garden City and the tube nearly slid off, he apologized and we started talking. His name was Mike, a third year student at UoN just trying to get home to his bedsitter in Roysambu. "Purity," he told me as we crawled past Garden City, "everyone wants the 'Arch' title for the Instagram bio, the flex, but nobody tells you about the 4 year head start your friends get, while you're still stuck in a studio getting your assignments done." That’s the reality of the KUCCPS portal that no one warns you about. We spend weeks obsessing over whether our cluster points will hit the 39.0 needed for UoN or the 38.5 for JKUAT. We treat Kenyatta University’s 37.0 cutoff like a finish line, but the truth is, those points are just the entry fee to a six year marathon. If you didn't hit those 40s, it’s easy to feel like the door is closed, but I’ve seen some of the most talented designers find their start at Chuka, Maseno, or JOOUST, where the cutoffs often breathe a little easier between 33.0 and 36.0. I used to think there was only one prestigious way to get that professional stamp until I heard Mike’s story. He didn’t get into the Big Three Unis initially. He started with a Diploma in Architecture at TUK, spending three years on site at KIBHT learning the literal language of stone and mortar. By the time he bridged into his degree, he wasn't just drawing lines; he knew exactly how a blueprint felt in the hands of a contractor. He taught me that while a degree takes six years, a backdoor diploma might take nine, but those extra three years turn you into a technician who actually understands the ground. But there’s a quiet trap in this industry that I always tell people to watch out for. I’ve met graduates who spent six years smelling like glue and ink, only to realize their school wasn't on the BORAQS accredited list. It’s a heartbreak I don't want for you. Without that accreditation, you can't get your license, you can't stamp a drawing and you legally can’t even put Arch. in front of your name. All that Physics and Geometry your entire villain origin story ends up being for a piece of paper that doesn't let you practice. If you survive the grind, though, the world opens up. You aren't just limited to site visits at firms like Triad Architects. You could find yourself designing the next Safaricom hub, managing million shilling budgets for Equity Bank, or even returning to the classroom. A tutorial fellow or a Lecturer at a place like JKUAT starts at around 120K and the freedom to run a private consultancy on the side means you’re building your own empire while teaching the next generation. Architecture is a long, expensive journey, but the first time you walk past a building that exists because of a sketch in your notebook? That’s a flex that lasts a lifetime.

Last night, a student texted me asking if Architecture was worth the hype and it took me back to a previous conversation. A few months ago, I was squeezed into a window seat on a Super Metro, stuck in that soul crushing 5:00 PM traffic on Thika Road. Next to me was a guy clutching a long, black drawing tube across his lap like it was a precious cargo. He looked like he hadn't slept since the last general election. When the bus hit a bump near Garden City and the tube nearly slid off, he apologized and we started talking. His name was Mike, a third year student at UoN just trying to get home to his bedsitter in Roysambu. "Purity," he told me as we crawled past Garden City, "everyone wants the 'Arch' title for the Instagram bio, the flex, but nobody tells you about the 4 year head start your friends get, while you're still stuck in a studio getting your assignments done." That’s the reality of the KUCCPS portal that no one warns you about. We spend weeks obsessing over whether our cluster points will hit the 39.0 needed for UoN or the 38.5 for JKUAT. We treat Kenyatta University’s 37.0 cutoff like a finish line, but the truth is, those points are just the entry fee to a six year marathon. If you didn't hit those 40s, it’s easy to feel like the door is closed, but I’ve seen some of the most talented designers find their start at Chuka, Maseno, or JOOUST, where the cutoffs often breathe a little easier between 33.0 and 36.0. I used to think there was only one prestigious way to get that professional stamp until I heard Mike’s story. He didn’t get into the Big Three Unis initially. He started with a Diploma in Architecture at TUK, spending three years on site at KIBHT learning the literal language of stone and mortar. By the time he bridged into his degree, he wasn't just drawing lines; he knew exactly how a blueprint felt in the hands of a contractor. He taught me that while a degree takes six years, a backdoor diploma might take nine, but those extra three years turn you into a technician who actually understands the ground. But there’s a quiet trap in this industry that I always tell people to watch out for. I’ve met graduates who spent six years smelling like glue and ink, only to realize their school wasn't on the BORAQS accredited list. It’s a heartbreak I don't want for you. Without that accreditation, you can't get your license, you can't stamp a drawing and you legally can’t even put Arch. in front of your name. All that Physics and Geometry your entire villain origin story ends up being for a piece of paper that doesn't let you practice. If you survive the grind, though, the world opens up. You aren't just limited to site visits at firms like Triad Architects. You could find yourself designing the next Safaricom hub, managing million shilling budgets for Equity Bank, or even returning to the classroom. A tutorial fellow or a Lecturer at a place like JKUAT starts at around 120K and the freedom to run a private consultancy on the side means you’re building your own empire while teaching the next generation. Architecture is a long, expensive journey, but the first time you walk past a building that exists because of a sketch in your notebook? That’s a flex that lasts a lifetime.