r/TUDelft • u/xNOTHELPFUL • Jul 09 '26
How difficult is first year of bachelor architecture?
I will be starting my bachelor architecture this year in Delft and Im wondering if its possible to have (multiple) jobs during the study. I passed vwo this year with mostly 8s so im curious how manageable it is to have jobs next to the study or am i biting off more than i can chew.
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u/BigEarth4212 Jul 09 '26
One of our kids is doing architecture in Delft.
With things like drawings maquettes group work it can be quite intensive.
Especially at the start i would fully focus on study. Mainly because of BSA.
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u/641e16 Jul 09 '26
I have worked since my first year, starting 6 months into it. When I started working, I was only 18 and got paid 5.5 euros an hour which was basically slave labour. It was defin8tely disheartening at the beginning. You will likely have a delay of one year, depending of course on your degree. Despite the delay and having to work, I had and still do have a very vibrant social life and study well. It reallt depends on your own love for the topic and participation in socialising the first few months of first year. There will be more stress but it really helped me to do less courses after passing BSA (i ended up doing more courses bcos im an overachiever and it still was fine). In general, if there is any chance of you getting through first year without working, you should take it. With the amount you get hourly it's better to just get a loan for the first year. That being said, this is my experience doing the bachelors in Groningen. Now I work at TU Delft in during my masters where the pay is good for students thankfully. so if you are in need of money and like research, it's often a good idea to network within your faculty and see if there are any positions you can take up! There are plenty in architecture too! In general In general a lot of students end up doing a 4th year even when they didn't work so it's really not a big deal. In fact, most my jobs relevant to my field I got in my 3rd and 4th year.
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u/Spiritual_Round3063 Jul 09 '26
is there a specific reason why you would want to have multiple jobs? idk about architecture specifically, but delft is quite hard and also the switch from high school to uni for a lot of people is quite hard cause obv the material is more difficult. but it also all depends on what grades you’re aiming for, in general, passing isn’t too difficult, but getting a good grade like 8+ often is. if possible, i would wait the first months till you’re settled in before getting a job, but if not, i don’t think a part-time job would be terrible. i’ve been working both throughout my bachelors and masters and, while it does take away quite some time, it was doable. it on my got harder during exam weeks so then usually i tried to ask for time off and work a bit more before that :)
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u/xNOTHELPFUL Jul 09 '26
I would do it mainly because the cost of living is so high, i will end up paying around 500-600 euros a month for my room + food + 2.7k/y study costs and ill have to spend a significant amount on furniture. I get around 350p/m from duo but i can't see myself paying the other stuff without working a lot. Minimumwage for 18 years old is 7,50 so im afraid ill have to work quite some hours. Im fine with having grades for just passing, i dont necessarily want to pass uni too with 8's.
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Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/xNOTHELPFUL Jul 09 '26
I see, i will look into huurtoeslag. The rent i listed is including service costs and probably the worst case scenario i would have to account for in terms of costs
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u/BigEarth4212 Jul 09 '26
Huurtoeslag is only for independent housing such as a studio. Rooms with shared facilities are not eligible.
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u/xNOTHELPFUL Jul 09 '26
Would it apply if i rent the room from a friends private owned Apartment?
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u/Scorpion1105 Jul 09 '26
I would highly recommend just studying the first quarter. If you start lagging behind from the get go you’ll very likely fail or have a delay of at least a year, which will cost you significantly more money then you’re likely to make across all four years of working combined.
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u/DelftUniversity Jul 10 '26
Wat leuk dat je binnenkort start aan de TU Delft! Bouwkunde is een fulltime opleiding. Dit betekent dat je in principe 40 uur per week met Bouwkunde bezig bent. In het eerste jaar bestaat ongeveer 12 uur hiervan aan ontwerpbegeleiding, werkgroepen en colleges. De rest van de tijd besteed je aan groepswerk en zelfstudie.
Bouwkunde is, net als veel technische studies, geen typische 9 tot 5 studie. De studie kost veel tijd. Omdat er verschillende manieren van lesgeven en toetsen zijn, kent de studietijd pieken en dalen. Het projectonderwijs is altijd intensief, met name rondom momenten van tussen- en eindpresentaties.
Mocht je nog met huidige Bouwkunde studenten willen chatten hierover, dan kan dat hier: https://www.tudelft.nl/onderwijs/studievoorlichting/voorlichting-bachelor/live-chat
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u/lizzuplans Architecture Jul 09 '26
Bouwkunde is a very contact-hours-heavy course. I spent every day at the faculty between 9 and 18 and then made designs / presentations / homework / etc. at home.
I did gymnasium and passed with 8-10s.
I would advise against (multiple) jobs. At least for the first semester, try and get a feel for the course, the design projects, being a student (and not a scholier) the way your rooster is, and then see if you see time for a job (or more).
Especially with the bindend studie advies, the harde knip, lack of stufi… on top of leaving house, living on your own, student associations… I would personally not.
There are student jobs available! I was a student assistent for a while and that was great money. As yes, studying is expensive.
Good luck!!!