ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the qualifications for career advancement of design technology specialists, including leveraging your talent for technology on building design projects, leveraging your architect status for a role in technology, and leveraging your talent for technology on managing people. The career paths of Superusers vary, but they do have commonalities. Challenges of some Superusers include how to keep one’s hands on the technology, or the building design, while minimizing the management of people. Others accept the role of managing people, budget, and schedule as an inevitable part of becoming a firm leader. No matter the specific roles they play, this chapter looks at how Superusers become the next generation of the profession, and looks at what stands in their way: the career risk journey of design technology specialists. Computational designers, by not following the traditional path, take on a lot of risks career-wise, the professional trajectory becomes more of a risk journey rather than a career path. Finally, we’ll look extensively at the career provenance of Superusers – including emerging, mid-career, and firm leaders; the IT path, BIM manager path, and internal consultant role – through career path case studies.
