Archinect
anchor

Do we count grad school as work experience??

medwards

I imagine this is a reoccurring thread but I could not find it. 

The big question: Do we count M.Arch grad school years as work experience? 

I ask because I am trying to figure out where I land on the AIA compensation survey (in an effort to figure what kind of salary I should be looking at).

I am thinking that classes don't count for much, but perhaps the 5 semesters of teaching do count? 

Thoughts? 

 
May 29, 15 10:28 am

No. Teaching experience is not practice experience.

May 29, 15 10:32 am  · 
 · 
Non Sequitur

No.

May 29, 15 10:40 am  · 
 · 

I mean, you can elaborate on your resume the skills that you developed teaching as they might be applicable to a practice scenario; it's not like you didn't learn and grow from that work. But in terms of salary relative to work experience, you only want to count time spent in a firm.

May 29, 15 10:44 am  · 
 · 
natematt

What Donna said, but I do think most people would put that under their work experience category on their resume, but that doesn't mean the same thing.

May 29, 15 11:50 am  · 
 · 
BulgarBlogger

Why in God's name would you ever consider Grad school experience actual work experience?

If an M.Arch grad would get work experience as a grad student, I would want work experience as a B.Arch student since an M.Arch and a B.Arch are practically the same thing... 

May 29, 15 3:53 pm  · 
 · 
SpontaneousCombustion

I list all the courses for which I held teaching fellowships or assistanships in grad school in the separate section on my resume called "Teaching Experience".  I've since taught in a few other places, so the grad school stuff is all at the bottom of that category.

But when I write "I have 21 years of experience" I mean in architecture firms.  I don't count academic time in that 21 years, though I do count all my 6 full-time summers and many part-time jobs during semesters worked in architecture firms over my 7 years combined undergrad and grad school - cumulatively I count that all as adding up to roughly 2 years of experience.

I've noticed that firms routinely find ways to count student years in their staff bios in proposals and marketing materials - for instance the last firm I worked in would always credit me with "more than 25 years of experience" when they filled in that question in responses to RFPs, because they were counting from the start date of my first architecture firm job, which was in the summer after my freshman year of college.  Nonetheless, I don't claim that myself.

May 29, 15 3:54 pm  · 
 · 
tamranthor

It is called dishonesty and is considered padding your resume. Poor form. Can get you in enough trouble that word will get around and you won't get any offers at all.

Try sticking with what you have and what you know. Employers prefer honesty.

Jun 1, 15 12:56 pm  · 
 · 
notgeorgecostanza

It's similar to the architecture student who calls oneself an architect, you're not an architect until you pass the exams as you wouldn't want a med student telling people he/she is a doctor. But exactly why I didn't chose grad school. I value the real world experience over a peice of paper saying I just got myself in a lifetime of debt

Jun 4, 15 2:00 pm  · 
 · 
BR.TN

^obvious troll

Jun 4, 15 4:55 pm  · 
 · 
zonker

I only count the time I have been actively employed by firms since earning my M.arch

also there is the matter of progressive vs static experience - 6 years of production w/o an increase in responsibilities = 1 - 3 years exp. tops

Jun 5, 15 4:19 pm  · 
 · 
Aluminate

Agreed.  One of the most aggravating things in hiring is getting cover letters that claim "20 years of experience" followed by resumes that show that the person is a serial job hopper with 14 production drafter stints, most of which last just long enough to qualify for unemployment again.

Another annoying variation are the ones that claim 8 or 10 years of "architecture education" - but it's 8 or 10 years of community college CAD drafting and adult continuing ed art and architecture history courses.  There's nothing wrong with these courses, but it's like imagining that learning 10 different "Beginner Piano" books somehow adds up to 10 years of progressively more complex training.  For the odd natural virtuoso it might - but for the guys with 14 jobs drafting window details and a pile of CAD certificates it rarely does.

Jun 5, 15 5:06 pm  · 
 · 
curtkram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDIvdZK5YY0

Jun 5, 15 5:07 pm  · 
 · 

Block this user


Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?

Archinect


This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.

  • ×Search in: