Hi, I hold a bachelors degree in architecture from India. I have been living in usa, NJ for 3 years and working for a display firm which exhibits trade shows. I also operate CNC machine sometimes in the warehouse that we have. I have worked here for like 2 and half years as a autoCAD drafter making technical and construction drawings in 3-dimensions of booth pavillions. But now I feel like getting architectural experience in a good architectural firm, may be in newyork. I have never worked for an architect in usa. So I am curious whether I should apply at an architectural firm and leave my present job. I am basically specialized in autocad. I know a bit of 3ds max too and photoshop. I also wanted to know what level of expertise in architectural softwares is required in order to get an architectural job. And which softwares should I focus on? and what should be my salary considering the present economic condition? I am really confused about this situation. Please respond with any kind of help possible.
thank you.
Of course you should apply and now is a good time. You should apply to like 10 firms a day. Make sure to include all of these skills and abilities in your cover letter.
thank you med. for the reply. This will help. I think I should also practice enough for 3ds max and photoshop too before I join any architectural firm and update my portfolio. I have only school projects in my portfolio.
It really depends on what kind of role you want to play in a firm. Remember not many people within firms know programs like photoshop and 3ds max so it certainly isn't a deal breaker.
If you want to be a person in a firm who does presentation, modeling, and rendering work, then by all means brush up on those skills.
But Before you go off applying to a bunch of firms you need to know what it is you wish to contribute to a firm and what kind of role you want to fill -- a designer? A CAD-support person? A 3d vizualization person? A details/Spec? A little bit of everything?
You should think about these things. It's all about who you are and how you see architecture and then what you bring to the table in terms of software proficiency. Don't forget you will need to start getting work samples together and then a portfolio when you are asked to come in for an interview.
Also depends on the size and type of firm you work for ...if its a big firm, then youll probably only do ACAD or only 3d max and photoshop. If its a small firm then you might do a little bit of everything.
Revit is really starting to gain some traction now a days ...so it might be helpful to start learning it on your spare time ..i have a feeling it will be the software of choice for large buildings in the next 5-10 yrs if its not already
thanks med. and outthere....very helpful tips......are you guys architects?
I also think that Revit is getting more in demand as now I see its requirement in most of the job openings. So first thing now is to focus on my CV, resume and portfolio. M planning to make portfolio in photoshop now. or may be in autocad. I hope I do it all well. Will keep posted.
med.'s second response is really critical for you. Without having seen any of your previous work, it may be unfair to make some assumptions, but the wording of the question you posted and your previous experience does suggest that you are more draftsman/technician than designer.
My advice is to be sure what you present in your portfolio is representative of the type of work you want and are applying for. And to make sure the work your are applying for is the type you are qualified for and capable of. No point in either party in an interview wasting each other's time.
I often come across candidates who are looking for design oriented positions and responsibilities, yet they show little evidence of their design skills in their portfolios which tend to emphasize technical precision and mastery of Autocad and drafting.
If you want to design, then what you use to design with in terms of conceptualization software is pretty flexible. Sketchup, Rhino, Autocad, etc. There's always more you can learn. Hmmm, come to think of it, even pens and paper might work.
If doing the production work is what you enjoy, then Autocad is a given, with Revit becoming increasingly important and perhaps some newer tools like V-Ray for final renderings (I find 3DMax to be quite antiquated and I don't personally know many people who still use it).
Then there are presentation tools to put together your work that you've done. PhotoShop of course to touch up stuff, Indesign to desktop publish a project proposal or any multi-page document (hint, hint...you probably shouldn't be using PhotoShop to do a portfolio), and Illustrator for mocking up presentation boards or smaller multi-page documents.
There's never enough time to learn everything. I practice the 20/80 rule myself when it comes to software. Knowing 20% of how to use something gives you 80% of the results. If someone paid me to do it, I'd learn the other 80% in order to be able to do that last 20%. But no one has so far.
Mar 17, 11 12:32 pm ·
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architectural job and softwares
Hi, I hold a bachelors degree in architecture from India. I have been living in usa, NJ for 3 years and working for a display firm which exhibits trade shows. I also operate CNC machine sometimes in the warehouse that we have. I have worked here for like 2 and half years as a autoCAD drafter making technical and construction drawings in 3-dimensions of booth pavillions. But now I feel like getting architectural experience in a good architectural firm, may be in newyork. I have never worked for an architect in usa. So I am curious whether I should apply at an architectural firm and leave my present job. I am basically specialized in autocad. I know a bit of 3ds max too and photoshop. I also wanted to know what level of expertise in architectural softwares is required in order to get an architectural job. And which softwares should I focus on? and what should be my salary considering the present economic condition? I am really confused about this situation. Please respond with any kind of help possible.
thank you.
Thank you for applying, but we have no openings that fit your skills right now. Please check back again in 7-12 years.
Of course you should apply and now is a good time. You should apply to like 10 firms a day. Make sure to include all of these skills and abilities in your cover letter.
thank you med. for the reply. This will help. I think I should also practice enough for 3ds max and photoshop too before I join any architectural firm and update my portfolio. I have only school projects in my portfolio.
It really depends on what kind of role you want to play in a firm. Remember not many people within firms know programs like photoshop and 3ds max so it certainly isn't a deal breaker.
If you want to be a person in a firm who does presentation, modeling, and rendering work, then by all means brush up on those skills.
But Before you go off applying to a bunch of firms you need to know what it is you wish to contribute to a firm and what kind of role you want to fill -- a designer? A CAD-support person? A 3d vizualization person? A details/Spec? A little bit of everything?
You should think about these things. It's all about who you are and how you see architecture and then what you bring to the table in terms of software proficiency. Don't forget you will need to start getting work samples together and then a portfolio when you are asked to come in for an interview.
Also depends on the size and type of firm you work for ...if its a big firm, then youll probably only do ACAD or only 3d max and photoshop. If its a small firm then you might do a little bit of everything.
Revit is really starting to gain some traction now a days ...so it might be helpful to start learning it on your spare time ..i have a feeling it will be the software of choice for large buildings in the next 5-10 yrs if its not already
thanks med. and outthere....very helpful tips......are you guys architects?
I also think that Revit is getting more in demand as now I see its requirement in most of the job openings. So first thing now is to focus on my CV, resume and portfolio. M planning to make portfolio in photoshop now. or may be in autocad. I hope I do it all well. Will keep posted.
med.'s second response is really critical for you. Without having seen any of your previous work, it may be unfair to make some assumptions, but the wording of the question you posted and your previous experience does suggest that you are more draftsman/technician than designer.
My advice is to be sure what you present in your portfolio is representative of the type of work you want and are applying for. And to make sure the work your are applying for is the type you are qualified for and capable of. No point in either party in an interview wasting each other's time.
I often come across candidates who are looking for design oriented positions and responsibilities, yet they show little evidence of their design skills in their portfolios which tend to emphasize technical precision and mastery of Autocad and drafting.
If you want to design, then what you use to design with in terms of conceptualization software is pretty flexible. Sketchup, Rhino, Autocad, etc. There's always more you can learn. Hmmm, come to think of it, even pens and paper might work.
If doing the production work is what you enjoy, then Autocad is a given, with Revit becoming increasingly important and perhaps some newer tools like V-Ray for final renderings (I find 3DMax to be quite antiquated and I don't personally know many people who still use it).
Then there are presentation tools to put together your work that you've done. PhotoShop of course to touch up stuff, Indesign to desktop publish a project proposal or any multi-page document (hint, hint...you probably shouldn't be using PhotoShop to do a portfolio), and Illustrator for mocking up presentation boards or smaller multi-page documents.
There's never enough time to learn everything. I practice the 20/80 rule myself when it comes to software. Knowing 20% of how to use something gives you 80% of the results. If someone paid me to do it, I'd learn the other 80% in order to be able to do that last 20%. But no one has so far.
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