As the 2023/2024 academic year draws to a close, architecture graduates across the United States are preparing for the next stage in their design career, be it through employment, further education, journeys into adjacent fields, and beyond. If you are one of the many graduates embarking on this next chapter, we offer you not only our congratulations, but also a non-exhaustive collection of thoughts and advice to support your journey.
Do you have advice for recent architecture graduates beyond those set out below? Let us know in the comments.
Research has shown that those working in roles and companies whose actions and outlooks align with their own are more engaged and satisfied with their work and more content with life. If sustainability is your passion, seek out firms whose portfolios and actions align with your stances. If you prioritize social impact, look for firms who, for example, engage with NGOs, humanitarianism, or community-orientated design.
As Sarah Jaffe notes in her book Work Won’t Love You Back, which is included on our 2024 Summer Reading List, do not confuse meaningful work with sacrificing your financial needs or well-being for the ‘love of the art.’ The concepts of working in meaningful, morally rewarding work and being fairly compensated and accommodated for such work are not mutually exclusive. In the AEC industry of the 21st century, you are fundamentally a worker, not an artist.
The concepts of working in meaningful, morally rewarding work and being fairly compensated and accommodated for such work are not mutually exclusive.
When leaving architecture school, you will notice many of your colleagues moving at different paces. Some will have jobs lined up before graduation, at both new and existing firms. Others will be moving to further education, whether a PhD or research post. Some will have plans to travel, relocate, or explore adjacent fields, while others will be scanning job openings for graduate roles. It is important to remember that everybody’s lives, calendars, and circumstances are different and that your own plans or strategies should not be disrupted by the panic of colleagues landing jobs before you. Your next step after graduation can be an exciting, seminal moment in your life; don’t have it be dictated by a need to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’
If you intend to continue the path to becoming a licensed architect, do your best to remain engaged with AXP, ARE, and state requirements after graduating from architecture school. Ask potential employers about what support they offer to licensure candidates and when you do land a job, put a plan in place to keep up momentum. After completing an undoubtedly stressful, demanding academic route, there will be a powerful, understandable, and sometimes appropriate temptation to detach from licensure requirements for a year. If doing so, however, be aware that one year can quickly turn into two, three, five, or ten years as other aspects of life inevitably take over.
Your next step after graduation can be an exciting, seminal moment in your life; don’t have it be dictated by a need to ‘keep up with the Joneses’.
One of the largest divides in the world of architectural job hunting is between the ‘sniper’ approach, where one targets a handful of carefully chosen firms with bespoke applications, versus the ‘shotgun’ approach, where one sends a largely generic application to dozens or hundreds of firms with the logic that they only need to score one hit. While you will find a good case for the latter, I’m firmly in the ‘sniper’ camp. My experience is that in a scenario where an individual employer reviews a ‘sniper’ and ‘shotgun’ CV, the sniper always wins, especially in a competitive job market. The attraction of the ‘shotgun’ approach is understandable: it convinces us that we are taking action, moving forward, and building momentum, while the slower, targeted pace of the sniper approach can be unnerving. If in doubt, consider alternating between both approaches every month or so.
If taking the sniper approach, remember that how you present your work matters as much as the work itself. Study the firm you are applying to, and ask how your CV, cover letter, and portfolio can be configured to identify with their circumstance. If your firm is a prolific publisher, consider sending a physical booklet and letter instead of an email application. If the firm specializes in construction-stage work, emphasize detail drawings, live projects, or on-site experience in your samples. If the firm prioritizes innovation and original thinking, ask yourself if your portfolio can be conveyed digitally beyond a static PDF or website.
Remember that how you present your work matters as much as the work itself.
When used correctly, social media can be a useful medium for connecting with designers around the world, including potential employers and collaborators, who share your ethos and interests. Consider posting your best work on your profile, including on network groups related to architecture and design, and interact with those who do likewise. If you identify individuals of interest to you or your work, reach out to them with a connection request along with a specialized note.
When exams are finished, portfolios are submitted, and graduation hats are tossed in the air, most of us cannot wait to move on from architecture school. While it is essential to look forward, and not backward, do not do so at the expense of the network of like-minded people with whom you have shared the past several years. Keep in touch with your fellow graduates, in addition to students and professors. There is a strong likelihood that you will encounter them again.
While it is essential to look forwards, and not backward, do not do so at the expense of the network of like-minded people who you have shared the past several years with.
Over the coming weeks, months, and perhaps years, you will find yourself presenting your student work to potential employers, grant bodies, and perhaps award panels. At the beginning of our careers with little practical experience, our student portfolios are the best evidence an employer can use to gauge our interests, work ethic, and perspectives on the built environment, so being able to succinctly present it is vital. It is also possible that your final thesis work, if developed over a full academic year, will be one of the most in-depth, well-researched, and beautifully presented works of your career. Do not assume that its only value is in obtaining a degree classification.
This was one of the most peculiar, random, but effective pieces of advice I received from my MArch professor. As precious as we are over the body of work we produced in architecture school, and as much as we believe that every drawing, sketch, or photograph is essential in telling the story of our project, we can also be our own worst editors. “If you have a ten-page portfolio, and remove the worst page, you’ve made your portfolio ten percent better,” my professor noted. If you can’t decide which is your worst page, ask a colleague or tutor. They won’t be as precious.
If you have a ten-page portfolio, and remove the worst page, you’ve made your portfolio ten percent better
As noted earlier in this list, your architectural roles and responsibilities will undergo a change after graduation. In architecture school, you were likely the director, project architect, and draftsperson of your project; a sole practitioner with significant command of your work. In most cases, this will change when you enter practice. You are no longer an artist, but a worker. You will likely be required to report to a manager, take direction from a project architect, and be responsible more for adhering to a senior individual’s design vision than developing your own. Recognizing and adapting to this new landscape is important not just for your career progression, but for your job satisfaction.
While the world of practice differs from that of architecture school, try and resist the tendency to abandon the original, creative, inspiring spirit with which you engaged with your school projects. Speak up in office project reviews or design development workshops. If you see an opportunity to make your office or its output better, whether through an architectural approach or a productivity workflow, share it. As graduates, it is easy for us to defer all direction and responsibility to senior staff, but it is worth keeping two alternative perspectives in mind. First, your firm hired you not out of charity, but because they see you as a valuable part of the team. Second, what you lack in practical experience, you may make up for through a residual freedom of thought, possibility, and nerve that so many of us find in architecture school, but can lose after years or decades in the industry.
Finally, follow our ongoing Archinect Tips series for advice and guidance on navigating through your architectural career.
Niall Patrick Walsh is an architect and journalist, living in Belfast, Ireland. He writes feature articles for Archinect and leads the Archinect In-Depth series. He is also a licensed architect in the UK and Ireland, having previously worked at BDP, one of the largest design + ...
1 Comment
And don't forget the role of physical fitness, If you've graduated, then you know how tough it is. Weak bodies burnout. I take my cues from the Marines - get out there and run every day, workout and use a standing table if you can - too many of my co-workers have developed difficult to treat back issues - core exercises are key to your survival.
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