In the history of one’s adolescence, there is probably no more complicated and demanding question than the one about one’s choice of profession and career plans. Parents ask their children from an early age, what they would like to do and whom they would to be when they grow up. Usually, parents are trying to prepare children for what they think would be the best for them. It does not mean that parents do not want their children to follow their dreams; they just try to adjust children’s dreams to the limitations of reality – competitive nature of market economy world. While in the old societies the choice of profession was conditioned by family tradition or predisposition of an individual to a certain type of work, nowadays, an individual needs to take into account various factors of the external environment, which might not be directly connected with one’s predisposition to a career or even talent. The aim of this research paper is to analyze the complexity of architect’s career and stages on the way of its achievement. The pay addresses the personal interest in this career, preparation for this career, relevance of experience, compensations and outcomes of this career.
My personal interest in this career is conditioned by my childhood fascination with design and marvels of a building industry. From a very young age I was interested in the construction aspect of skyscrapers, the diversity of shapes and heights. I was fascinated by how a man can create such things. Only because of my fascination with buildings I became interested in math and physics of design and construction. Gradually what seems to be just a curiosity became a hobby and began thinking of my own designs of buildings and how they could fit existing urban plans. Therefore, it can be argued that my interest in a career is due to my childhood passion rather than a logical decision of choosing a profitable job which would provide a high standard of living. Of course, nowadays money aspect is vital because, because nothing comes for free and in order to achieve a dream one need to be rational about what is achievable and what is a fantasy. Therefore, this research paper is of particular relevance to have a more realistic view on my career preference.
In order to prepare for this career, it is essential to understand the required skills and competences for this type of profession. From a first glance, it may seem that architecture is about design, shape, form and creativity. Therefore, good grades in school art courses would help. In fact, creativity and artistic vision of work are important for this career, but they have to be based on a profound knowledge of math and physics (Billes 54). In this regard, the before any application for a college or university a successful candidate needs to have a strong grades record in sciences, particularly physics and math (Foster 43). Some schools offer a wide variety of courses that are aimed at preparation of pupils for a certain type of careers and finding talents. In such cases, taking courses in design and introduction to construction planning would increase both one’s competence in the subject matter and competitiveness (Wilson 59).
Except for a good school grades in the mentioned above subjects, practical experience in the target filed would be of a great benefit in CV. In this regard, it is advised to try to find an internship or a part-time job in one of the architect firms (Billes 55). Although the essence of this job might be making coffee or paper delivery, it would still give an individual an idea of how the company works and the atmosphere of architecture business. On the other hand, different scholars have different ideas regarding when it is better to get an internship in the chosen field of interest (Wilson 61). Some argue that in the high school, interns would not be able to appreciate all benefits of an internship and that it contribute only to the general acquaintance with the subject. So they suggest that having an internship as a Bachelor student while at university would have the experience more fruitful, because students would have more theoretical knowledge on the subject and would be more curious about its practical verification in the architect firm (Foster 25). While other scholars agree that experience from internship is different while a high-school student and an undergraduate, they suggest that internships at vital in both cases and advise to have as many as possible, in order to get acquainted with the subject and gain valuable experience for CV (Gregory 89). One thing academics do not argue about is that practical experience in an architect field is essential for the improvement of skills and understanding the career.
There are some careers where one can have a talent and not need anything else. One can just start working in the industry if he has enough of practical experience or required skills. However, the career of an architect like a doctor is something that requires time and perfection, which can only be achieved through studies. In this case, having just a Bachelor degree would not be enough, so a Master degree would be required as well (Gregory 88). In this case, there are two options. First, if one knows which type of architecture to choose, then he/she can enroll for a five-year program directed towards a single orientation. For instance, there are landscape architects, architects oriented towards a construction of particular buildings, varying on sector of industry and environmentalist context (Billes 53). Thus, when one knows what exactly he wants to do and does not want any extra courses to distract from the target job, the combined five-year program is the best solution. On the other hand, when one is not sure about which type of architecture to choose, the best solution would be to have a Bachelor degree first and then decide on a narrower direction of specialization (Gregory 87). In any case, it is essential to choose a higher education institution, which is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. Therefore, the best thing to do is to check which universities are accredited by this organization and the price of studies in a certain type of architecture (Foster 37).
Another important aspect to consider is whether a certain university has strong ties with the local and national architecture business. In other words, it is not just enough to have great grades from an accredited university but also to ensure the possibility of advanced internship and actual beginning of a career (Waldrep 97). In this regard, unlike an acquaintance internship, university-established Master-level internship can be a ticket to the first job and further career building. Thus, choosing a university with strong business ties would be particularly advisable in this career path (Foster 36). Having the opportunity of getting into a business environment with good diplomas and the right set of skills still is more of a chance rather than a guarantee. In order to secure an effective experience during an internship, a successful candidate will need not only to fulfill his direct responsibilities but to show that he is a proactive member of the team (Waldrep 98). In this regard, job consultants suggest that in the field of architecture and general sector of big private firms in order to get the most from an internship it is vital to be active, inventive and have some of your own ideas and projects to present (Waldrep 112).
While students who are not sure about their career path are often thinking about experiences as preparation for a job and a future career, job consultants suggest thinking in advance and always having some on-going projects to demonstrate (Billes 54). It does not mean that they necessarily should be finished or fully thought, but there should be something one would want to demonstrate and maybe make a name on it. In this regard, the best advice for a beginning architect student is to think about creating a portfolio (Wilson 62). Regarding this matter consultants have two different ideas. From one perspective, they suggest that making a professional portfolio of a business standard, which would show professionalism and candidate’s readiness to work in the business environment (Foster 25).
In such situation, one of the hazards might be standardization of all portfolios with further decrease in their originality and creativity. In the recent years, one of the difficulties in candidates’ selection process was that most of the portfolios had a tendency to be alike, which could not say much about candidates rather more about professional help they had in the preparation of their projects (Waldrep 72). Consequently, the second perspective on this matter is that a personal portfolio needs to show what kind of architect is behind it and how creative he or she is. So, in this regard, it is advised to create one’s portfolio with a diversity of ideas exactly as one sees it. Therefore, originality, creativity and personal touch would be of a greater value in showing one’s talent and capacity of creating new projects. Personalize portfolio also demonstrates one’s ability of project management and organizational skills (Billes 60). Taking into account two approaches to the creation of a portfolio, one consideration needs to be taken into account. A future architect needs to decide in which sector he wants to work. If he decides to work in a big corporation and concentrate on corporate or manufacturing facilities, then it is better to create a uniformed portfolio which would correspond to the corporate standards. On the other hand, if the candidate is willing to work in a more relaxed and flexible environment of a private firm oriented towards new technologies and eco-constructions, then a creative and personalized portfolio would be more suitable for this type of specialization (Wilson 63). Although these considerations are useful for candidates in their choice of specialization, at the early stage of studies and career development, it is difficult to decide on which path to take. So, one of the most useful advices is to have two different types of portfolios and think carefully to which firm to submit them (Foster 22).
Having gained excellent diplomas and relevant experience in the filed still would not be enough to submit one’s application for a job offer. Except having a prominent academic and practical record in architecture, contemporary architect firms require official recognition of qualifications and skills. One of the easiest ways to get official recognition is to have an internship established by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCAR), which would last two-three years, after which a successful candidate can pass the Architect registration Exam. The successful passing of this exam provides the person with a certificate of being an architect (Billes 61). If internship and institution were not validated by NCAR, then the procedure of validation and recognition is required and only then the exam can be taken.
The next step in a career building is getting a license for practicing. In this regard, there are also a few aspects to consider. First of all, a person needs to get a general license for practicing in their state. After that, he can obtain another license to work on a national level in different states (Leavitt). If this will not be enough and the person wants to work on global architecture market then he would also need to look into specific licenses required in target countries. After gaining official permission for a practice, the candidate actually gets the title of an architect. So, the next step is actually to apply for a job. By the time of the application the candidate should be clear about in which filed of architecture he wants to work, and which type of buildings he wants to work on. Consequently, he needs to be clear in his choice of companies he applies for. According to recruitment agencies and private sector firms, the main mistake potential candidates make is that they do not pay attention to whether their profile and their experiences fit the company’s specialization (Leavitt). For instance, as it was mentioned before, creative portfolio can be ideal for an eco-construction company or landscape design, while would be a complete disaster for an international corporation building skyscrapers.
In order to apply for a job of an architect, one must collect a package of documents. Except for the usual copies or originals of diplomas, certificates, licenses, CVs and professional portfolios, references from previous employments and internships are of a particular relevance. References from previous internships and employment are crucial when employers have to evaluate candidates with relatively the same qualifications and diplomas. This is where strong ties with a business environment become an asset and career developer (Billes 61). According to the recent findings, many corporate firms are becoming keen searching for talents through school and university programs. In this context, they are eager to take new talents as interns and hire them in the end of their internship, which makes the process of investment into labor more cost-effective in a long term perspective (Waldrep 43). Thus, for the future candidates, competition for the job starts already on the stage of getting the right internship and use it correctly in order to succeed.
In terms of the preparation for an interview, an interview for a job of an architect is slightly different. It does involve the usual part, meaning that an interviewee needs to comment on his experience, diplomas and inspiration sin work. He also needs to explain which skills he has in terms of project management, leadership and time management (Waldrep 42). Very often interviewers are interested in the reasons for choosing this profession and this particular company. Thus, it is essential to know company’s profile and history. This is where the usual part of interview ends and the actual self-presentation starts. An interview for the position of an architect also includes a presentation of one’s portfolio and one’s potential fitting into company’s vision (Reese 23). In this regard, it is advised to make sure what you want to tell the audience and which aspects of your project correspond the most to what employers are looking for. It is essential to be clear about ideas and simple in explanation of a technical part of the project. It is also beneficial to be realistic about achieving this or that idea, because although the idea can be brilliant its implementation might be time-consuming and too expensive from a profit-making perspective (Reese 25).
Another important consideration is making a digital presentation which would show professionalism. Power Point presentation also is a good means of visualization and demonstration of material implementation of ideas (Reese 24). Although the profession of an architect is still largely dependent on paper schemes and planning of constructions, they are becoming more and more digitalized and knowledge of the most recent applications and programs would be beneficial in the job application process. The use of digital features in a presentation can demonstrate this knowledge. Thus, a well-prepared presentation can also speak for its creator and his potential.
Taking into account all mentioned above, it can be concluded that the career of an architect is far from the easiest to start. Before even making the first job application, it will take up to eight-nine years to get required degrees, internships and qualifications in order to be even considered as an architect. Thus, the question is whether this career is worth of time and efforts spent on it. In other words, what are the benefits of this career in terms of compensations and working environment? In fact, it is worth of all of the efforts. On average, an architect earns around $80,000 a year. The top architectures earn more than 120,000 a year (Foster 28). These figures are largely conditioned by the type of company an architect works with and his personal career development. In this regard, although, as any qualified profession, architecture industry is highly competitive. It might not be as competitive as a stockbroker environment or financial sector, yet it is not deprived of ambitions and people with diverse experiences and good-quality diplomas (Billes 58). However, unlike many other careers, in this industry success is achieved by those who have a talent and strength to approach their dream. Therefore, it is all about one’s ability to create construction projects in a unique way or a way that a certain company is ready to pay for it (Wilson 63). In other words, it is largely about balance of creativity, inspiration and business considerations.
The overall working environment might be stressful and could require working against the clock, but is not always the case. Certain corrections or unexpected circumstances can occur, but it does not mean that an architect should resolve all of the problems, he would have to work in a team and delegate duties. Thus, although an architect is the one to manage a project, he is not alone in its execution. Regarding the general perception of the job in the society, it is a well-respected profession and is categorized as qualified and intellectual type of job (Bianco 17). Overall, from my personal perspective, it is a very demanding career, which requires lots of efforts and concentration in approaching; however, it is totally worth of it.
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