Archinect - Architectural Ellipsis

Salary Transparency Laws

2023-01-09T13:41:07-05:00

I'm seeing complaints coming up in the forums as jurisdictions are implementing salary transparency laws and companies posting jobs on Archinect are allegedly not immediately following legal requirements to disclose salary ranges on those postings. These complaints seem to focus on Archinect not doing enough to enforce these laws on the job posts they publish. I get it, Archinect could hold a lot of power here to refuse to post jobs where the posting is not written to comply with these laws, but it's not their responsibility or their job.

I think the target of the complaint is misplaced when we focus on Archinect and not the company who is actually required to comply with the law (don't shoot the messenger etc.). I'm not trying to say Archinect can't do more, but I'm saying if you want to make an effort to fix these posts, you should first be going to the companies, and/or the authorities that enforce these laws.

So with that in mind, here are a list of the jurisdictions that have ...

Which Architectural Firms Support Unions

2022-01-06T17:26:00-05:00

Unions are getting to be a hot topic these days with many workers attempting to unionize in various industries. Architecture is not left out of this discussion and recently SHoP employees indicated their desire to join and be represented by a union (read more about that here). Additionally this is a topic that comes up from time to time in the forums, and there is some good discussion there if you're so inclined.

I decided to look a little bit closer at firms to understand if any would actively support unionization or self-organization of their employees. I know the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has their Just certification for employers that includes criteria to indicate their union friendliness (v1.0 certification) or support of the freedom of association (v2.0 certification). So I decided to take some time to go through each company in the Just database to document, in perhaps a better or more easily browsable format, some of these firms and link to the policies t...

NCARB's Sunset of Indefinite Length

2019-08-30T18:25:32-04:00

Ever since I completed the AXP requirements, passed the ARE, and became a licensed architect I haven't had to deal with NCARB as much. The last time was about a year after I received my license when they reminded me it was time to renew my NCARB Certificate that they had gifted me for that first post-licensure year. It has been nice not having to deal with them, but I also know that they continue to be the source of a lot of frustration for licensure candidates. I never wanted to simply abandon the stances I took on licensure, internships, and the various architectural organizations (like NCARB) that govern these processes simply because I was past that point in my career. Rather I want to be one of the architects out there that understands these issues as best I can. The initial purpose of this blog was to advocate for that career stage, and I plan on continuing this focus as much as I am able to, albeit from a slightly different perspective.

When NCARB claimed they tackled the int...

Analysis of the Profession - Metallurgical Analogy

2019-08-26T17:01:17-04:00

A note before you get started ... this post is the result of an innocuous comment in Thread Central, a slow work day (ok, a couple of slow days), and some research a la Balkins (meaning my superficial understanding of these terms comes only from Wikipedia). This post is probably full of inaccuracies and incongruities that probably won't make sense if you actually understand metallurgy (which I don't). So don't take any of this too seriously.

... I've heard it described that architects know a little about a lot of things rather than knowing a lot about one thing in particular. What better way to illustrate that than by taking my superficial understanding of metallurgy and using it to analyze the career stages of an architect?

In many ways, the career of an architect is one of lifelong learning, of responding to new knowledge and changing things either gradually or abruptly in your process and approach to the problems you'll encounter. Even then, there seems to be a general trend in t...

2017 AIA Compensation Report

2017-11-06T16:40:00-05:00

The 2017 AIA Compensation Report is out. I don't have a copy of the report myself, as I haven't needed to purchase it yet to get a look inside. My office gets it, but the last time I asked HR for it, they wouldn't let me look at it. So, like last time, I'll contact the local AIA to see if I can look at it in their office one of these days after work. Failing that, I'll ask around and see if I have a friend that has access to it. Worse case scenario I'll just pony up the money to pay for it myself. It's expensive, but would pay for itself if I'm able to negotiate a raise. I'm not sure if this was always the case, but I did notice they have a reduced price if you only want to purchase the report for a particular region.

(source)

If you don't care about getting that detailed of a picture of where you might stand compared to others for compensation, you can check out the online salary calculator which has been updated per the 2017 numbers. It provides you with broad information about th...

NCARB to AIA: "Nice Try ... but No"

2017-07-19T17:20:00-04:00

In the previous round of the Great Intern Title Debate (trademark should probably be pending), the AIA had issued a press release about their newly revised position statements. They had offered the Institute's support for two new titles to be used for those aspiring architects formerly known as interns: "architectural associate" and "design professional." Not to be overshadowed by the AIA, NCARB responded with a blog post in May (and subsequent update earlier today), concerning the legal restrictions of each of the NCARB member boards in using those titles.

The post has an air of condescension as it points out that, "In 46 U.S. jurisdictions, the use of the term 'architectural associate' is prohibited, and in 26 jurisdictions, the term 'design professional' may be an issue." Further interpretation of the graphics NCARB provides shows that in no jurisdictions is the term "architectural associate" confirmed to be allowed, and only 7 have confirmed that "design professional" is not a v...

Follow Up: NCARB Punted the Intern Title Debate

2017-03-29T14:29:00-04:00

In May of 2015 NCARB announced that it had tackled the great 'intern' title debate. I wasn't impressed at the time. In the press release NCARB noted that they were planning a series of initiatives, which would include proposing changes to NCARB Model Law and guidelines.

NCARB vowed to "sunset the usage of the term 'intern' as a way to describe those who are working to become architects." Then President-Elect Dennis Ward commented in the full statement issued with the May 2015 press release, "Should any proposals to change Model Law surface during my presidency, they would be presented for comment next spring and for a vote of the Membership at the June 2016 Annual Business Meeting in Seattle." The NCARB Board of Directors appointed NCARB CEO Michael Armstrong to lead the effort to develop a "sunset plan" but what has happened in the nearly two years since this announcement.

To be fair, NCARB has removed 'intern' from many of its publications and program titles. I've noted that it look...

NCARB punts, AIA returns with undignified titles

2017-03-28T19:12:00-04:00

I've blogged in the past about NCARB's decision to punt the intern title debate and it looks like the AIA, of all organizations, decided to pick up the ball and run with it. A recent post on AIA's website outlined the position of the AIA with regard to the use of the title 'intern.' AIA now strongly supports two titles for licensure candidates: 'architectural associate' and 'design professional.'

First, allow me to pick my jaw up off the floor and congratulate the AIA. Of course, I have to quickly shrug my shoulders as apparently this change happened in December last year when the AIA Board of Directors updated the AIA's position statements to clarify the terminology, yet this is the first that anyone is even talking about it. I'll admit I missed it and I'm pretty hyper aware of this topic, but it never crossed my radar. Up until this post on the AIA's website, the only instance I can find that even notes the AIA's change in position is an article published on AIA Philadelphia's webs...

My Valentines

2017-02-14T11:43:17-05:00

I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. I blame the sugar-, and adrenaline-filled rush of distributing valentines out to my entire class, while carefully crafting the perfect one for the girl I admired at the time. Dreaming hopelessly about what might become if only she'd notice the extra attention I'd give her card.

(source; 2012 coffeewithanarchitect.com)

While other bloggers may be putting together clever or pun-filled cards and images to capture the mood today, I wanted to celebrate Valentine's day a little differently by acknowledging a couple of people who I have come to admire recently. They don't know me, and I don't know them. As far as I know, our paths have never crossed and we've never met, nor have we lost ourselves in each others' eyes, or laughed out loud at each others' witty remarks.

However, I became an admirer because of a couple of things that were said among many excruciatingly boring and pointless posts on the NCARB ARE 5.0 Community forum. Specifically the thread that...

ARE 5.0 Cut Scores

2017-01-19T19:14:38-05:00

Earlier this week NCARB posted an update on the ARE 5.0 Community page dedicated to updating candidates on the number of administrations currently taken and scheduled for each ARE 5.0 division. The magic number we are looking for is 600 administrations, which is how many administrations NCARB needs to establish a cut score for each division. The cut score isn't anything new to the ARE. After each update to the ARE it is necessary to establish a new cut score in order to successfully evaluate a candidate's competency.

NCARB is making a valiant attempt to be transparent about the process and why it is necessary (which is quite a change from when it was done in 2004). They've written on their blog about it, offered $100 to any candidate who is one of the first 600 people to take the test in each division, and even offered to extend the $100 offer to anyone who simply took the new exams before the end of January so you didn't have to fret about whether or not you would be in the first 6...

Can we talk?

2016-11-17T19:03:47-05:00

I'd like to talk to you about unpaid internships. I thought this was pretty much self-evident, but it keeps coming up and I'm realizing now that maybe I had given you too much credit to piece this together on your own; so let me lay it out for you.

Don't work for free.

Is that clear enough? It should be. If not, you have bigger problems to worry about. Quit architecture and seek competent medical help. You'll be better off for it. I could go find some statistics and talk about labor laws and all that to make my point but I don't think it really takes all that to convince someone of this. It is much simpler.

You see, when you work for free it affects me too. I know it may not seem like it, but it does. When you work for free, it sends a message to your employer that it is ok. They will bill their clients less for more services (if they don't why can't they pay you?). This lets them undercut their competitors' fees and win more work. This makes the competitors want to do the same so th...

ARE 5.0 and Forums

2016-10-27T13:07:41-04:00

ARE 5.0 is going live next week and in anticipation of transitioning to take my last two divisions of the ARE, I've been looking at some of the options out there for information. One of my first stops was ARE Coach's forum, where I went primarily for information regarding ARE 4.0 vignettes. However, at the time, Coach didn't have any specific boards dedicated to 5.0 content and sifting through the 'General Discussion' board was tiring. Plus, there wasn't much information anyway (mostly just people pontificating about why they wanted to, or did not want to, transition to 5.0).

In September, NCARB rolled out their ARE 5.0 Community where candidates can ask questions and get answers from one another as well as NCARB staff who act as moderators. Thankfully, they ditched the Google+ community they have for ARE 4.0 and went with something more organized for the new 5.0 community. I rarely went over to the 4.0 community on Google+ because it was so cumbersome.

The new 5.0 community requires...

Your Job Posting is Confusing

2016-10-19T12:24:48-04:00

Occasionally I peruse the recent job postings here on Archinect just to get an idea of the types jobs out there and what they are looking for. Many times I find these postings confusing and/or contradictory. Now I've posted about some of these job postings before in the forums (you can sift through my post history if you're really interested in finding them), but I thought I'd post a little more in the good ol' blog here rather than having it get lost in Thread Central.

I noticed this posting for a job at John Toates Architecture & Design for an Intern Architect (copied below because the link above will eventually be broken when the posting expires or is taken down):

John Toates Architecture & Design is looking for talented and motivated Intern Architect(s) to join a small but growing traditionally inspired residential architectural design firm based in the Philadelphia area. A minimum of 2 years of post-graduate relevant experience in custom residential design and construction docu...

"Intern" replacement coming from NCARB?

2015-07-07T15:52:18-04:00

NCARB recently published the 2015 NCARB by the Numbers report. This is the first since announcing the sunsetting of the term intern, and it looks like NCARB is keeping it's promise to not use it. Remarkably, the only occurences of the word "intern" are when it is used in the name of the IDP.

Interestingly though, depsite their claim to not have a replacement for "intern," they did extensively use the term "aspiring architect." By my count it occurs 83 times throughout the document, and occurs twice as "aspiring women architects" for a total of 85 times. They even felt it important enough to define it at the end of the report as "NCARB Record holders who are currently completing the IDP." They also use the term "record holder" though not nearly as much nor as often as "aspiring architect." It seems like it is harder than NCARB thinks to simply remove a term from the lexicon without a replacement.

By comparison in 2014, 2013, and 2012 the term "aspiring architect" does not show up once...

NCARB Punted the Intern Title Debate

2015-06-26T17:58:00-04:00

Preface: The news is out and already old. This post has gone through plenty of iterations. I've tried writing a response to the news that NCARB is sunsetting the term intern various ways and none of them seem to really sit well with me. I've tried to discount their stance. I've tried getting angry at it. I've tried determining what I think the best title for those who will be formerly known as interns. I've even tried to support it ... none of it works for me. In the end this is what I'm left with. I don't think it quite accurately describes my full feelings on the subject, but at least it continues the debate in a way I haven't seen anyone else comment on. Taking advantage of the football metaphors yet to come, I felt a lot like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football ... full of hope and excitement, then disappointed and embarrassed at my naivete in putting my trust in something I should have seen coming the whole time.

(Image source)

Despite their claims otherwise, NCARB didn’t t...

Ceci n'est pas une pipe

2015-02-07T15:25:40-05:00

I hope this wallpaper doesn't catch on. I'm all in favor of the artwork, but just don't bring it into a building as wallpaper. Leave it as part of the museum's collection.

Source

I would much rather see this instead. But I also don't hope this catches on as well.

Source

Entry Level ... with Experience

2013-07-12T12:05:00-04:00

I've been looking at job opportunities lately. I don't know if anything will come of it, but either way, I've been looking around. I seem to be noticing more and more postings that are advertising for "entry-level" positions, but have a list of requirements that makes me wonder if employers and applicants are really on the same page.

Some of the requirements don't really say that the applicant needs to have prior experience. Things like a list of computer programs that are requirements can go either way. Some people expect to pick those things up on the job with just a basic prior knowlege of how they work before beginning. Many programs can be learned during the normal course of one's architectural studies. Of course you start to wonder when they start to say things like the applicant must be "proficient" in ________.

The requirements that bother me more as they are listed for an entry-level position are the ones that reference that the applicant must have prior experience....

Keep Calm and ...

2013-07-06T12:04:40-04:00

For the last few weeks I've had my head buried in work. While it seemed to continue to pile up, I finally created a little room to breathe the last couple of days. I've been able to get a bit ahead, finish up some tasks and I have to say, it feels quite good. It has also allowed me a bit of time to contemplate how much I actually do enjoy doing this work we call an internship, but it hasn't always been this way.

I remember having a similar situation (buried in work) at my first job as an intern, but without the subsequent feeling of relief and accomplishment. The work wasn't very fulfilling and I found it quite difficult to find any pleasure in just picking up redlines and cranking out (and by cranking out I mean copy, paste, and modify slightly) the same boring interior elevations again and again and again.

There would always be a feeling of relief when a set of drawings was ready to be sent out for review, but I always knew the next project was already behind schedule so I n...

Well Hello Graduate! Welcome to the Rest of Your Life

2013-05-28T15:48:00-04:00

It's that time of year when a new crop of recent graduates is out looking for work, realizing that this summer marks the beginning of their new lives. Landing that first job can feel great, but getting there is only part of the story. My post today, in addition to the warm welcome, is an attempt to look at what you can do to make sure your first (or second, or third) job goes well.

As an intern architect I find that there is a lot to just managing the monotony of an average workday in order to feel fulfilled and accomplished. I'll get into that a little later (next post) but before that, you need to get a job first. This is the part where I would love to say that you should be very careful in accepting that first job, that you should continue to apply until your dream firm offers you a job, and that you should have the dignity to turn down sub-standard offers on the spot. However, I fancy myself a pragmatist and instead my advice is to do what you think will pay the bills (do...

Architecture ... In Your Ears

2013-04-11T00:06:12-04:00

As an intern I tend to spend quite a bit of time in my cubicle plugging away in CAD. In school, I listened to music to help pass the time and monotony of working on a project, but in the office I find my pandora station either starts to repeat the same stuff constantly, or I spend too much time skipping around trying to get some fresh sounds. Consequently, I'm listening to a lot more spoken word in the form of podcasts. They give my brain some variety to focus on while the task at hand is rather boring, and it's easier to hear what is going on in the office over words rather than music.

I have a lot of the iTunes top ten in my playlist but here are few architecture and design specific ones that you might not have heard about:

AIA - Architecture Knowledge Review (Podnet): From the American Institute of Architects, I feel like I have to mention this one even though I'm not a very big fan of it. Truth be told, I haven't listened to it in a while and it looks like the AIA hasn't u...

On Internships and Mowing the Lawn

2013-03-21T12:40:00-04:00

Spring is finally here in the US and that means that students everywhere are working on their portfolios and getting ready to apply for summer internships. Even everyone's favorite blogger-tect and twitter-tect is sensing the longer days of sunshine and dusting off old posts to help the potential interns out. However, before you read any further a quick disclaimer: this is not a post about how to find a job. There are plenty of other resources out there including some good advice on the tweeted article linked above. In fact, there are many right here on archinect (this is one of my favorites).

No, this post is not about finding a job. Instead, this post is a bit of rant on Mr. Borson's first paragraph. In full disclosure I intended to write this back when Bob first wrote and posted the article but I think the winter had me in a more melancholy and depressed state of mind less easily provoked to online ranting ... or maybe it was that fact that I was in the middle of dead-lining ...

Want to be an Architect?; Don't Learn Revit

2013-02-05T01:14:00-05:00

Before you skip the rest of my post and start flinging words around in the comments, hear me out. I think Revit is a valuable tool and that soon (if not already) it and other BIM programs will become just part of the game and you'll have to learn it. It's either that or you can become an employer and just be out of touch with reality.

Right now the majority of the employers who are looking for and hiring interns with experience in Revit are only looking to hire people to work in Revit. You may get lucky and be tasked with teaching the old curmudgeons in the office about the fancy new software, but you don't want to do that anyway. You know better, and you don't want to be pigeonholed as a Revit monkey anymore than your forefathers and foremothers wanted to be pigeonholed as draftsmen and draftswomen. You understand that it takes more than a computer and a copy of Revit to create a building and you want to find a job that will guide and encourage you to learn about what happens ...

A.R.E. Strategies

2012-12-17T00:58:01-05:00

You'll never hear me claim I know everything. A lot of my intentions for starting this blog include getting the advice and opinions of others out there (see the last paragraph here). With that in mind I wanted to reach out to the archinect community for some wisdom.

I'm looking at getting started with the A.R.E. but I'm a little overwhelmed by it all. Where do you even start? Is it a good idea to start with the harder sections or the easier ones? Are pass rates a good metric for which sections are harder? When studying for the sections what are the best resources to utilize?

There are many more questions that can be asked but rather than continue I'll just ask you for some discussion. Post links, recount personal stories, give advice, ask questions etc. I'll most likely be posting more specifics as I develop a strategy myself but for now I just want to get the discussion started.

source

Parasitic Interns

2012-12-06T10:45:00-05:00

I came across this over on Houzz (hatezz that name by the way). While I hope the series is tongue in cheek, the distribution of the intern struck me as odd:

"The Intern is a parasitic species, typically found clustered around Architects or Interior Designers, dutifully cleaning up the designs."

source

The Intern is parasitic? While I can admit that our relationship to architects is beneficial to us interns, it is in no way one-sided and definitely not parasitic. The real relationship between an architect and their interns reminds me more of, A Day Without a Mexican, rather than Alien.

Unless you cast the architect as the alien.

The only aspect of the Architect - Intern relationship that even remotely resembles a parasitic one is IDP. We interns are dependent on architects for supervising (signing off) our hours. By design there is only so far an intern can go by his or her self. Eventually the law requires that they must find a job working under the direct supervision...

Let's talk about ...

2012-11-18T13:38:00-05:00

As you might have gathered from the description in the sidebar, this blog is about the parts of the profession that we tend to gloss over, omit, or just don’t talk about; what I call an architectural ellipsis. Perhaps a few quick examples may be helpful in understanding what I mean.

An architectural ellipsis may be the way we introduce ourselves at a cocktail party, “What do I do? Oh, I’m an inter- … I’m an architect,” and hope our new acquaintance doesn’t know anyone from the state licensing board. It's not that we are trying to advertise our services as an architect, just that it's too demeaning to say we're just an intern and explain what that means. Another ellipsis could be the way we say IDP only takes three years to get your hours, but know deep down inside it will probably take five to seven years. Sure, working for three years might give you the total quantity of hours you need to complete IDP, but what if you are hired as a CAD monkey and never get away from the carpal...