Get a job this summer, dont wait until you graduate (unless of course you are going to graduate this year). With a few summers' work experience, getting hired after school is much easier, and you will earn more. Plus, those who you worked for during the summer will likely hire you later.

making contacts and building relationship can never start early enough as jeremy says. should you be worried? work hard and be persistant and all should be okay. it might take you some time to get where you want to be, but anything of value does not come easy.

i graduated from Texas Tech, and i have a job. I know people who graduated with me and after me, and before me, and they have gotten jobs as well.

Do a little research to find where the construction industry is going strong. I'm in the Atlanta market, and the only firms that took a hit with the economy are the ones doing hospitality work. Hotels and convention center startups pretty much halted after 9/11. December is typically a slow time, so now may not be the best time to research. But our firm has been looking to hire continuously for the past 3 years. We are pretty picky, but our workload has certainly not slacked up. There are parts of the country that have booming commercial construction markets. Your best bet will be in the big cities in those areas I would think.

Thanks for the advice. I will be looking for an internship this summer probably somewhere in Dallas or Houston. I know a few people who know some people that might be able to hook me up with something.

The Design/construction industry in the Washington Metro area is pretty strong right now with no sight of a downturn. Lots of government spending + with the VA high tech mkt. picking up there are interesting possibilities. Most industry watchers seem to have Florida (specially south/central) pegged for a robust building boom for the next 10-15 yrs. If you can't find a job where you are at, MOVE!

Things really blew when your cousin graduated in 02. However, its much better now. It really depends on when your graduating. (I think you have 1-2 more years don't you?) Tech has a million connections in Dallas. As painful as it maybe, if you go through DD and his network he can hook you up with some firms that might be hiring. I'd really recommend participating in the Dallas Internship Program that Tech offers. You can stay on top of your ARCH classes and work at the same time. Plus, you'll be living it up in Dallas rather than Lubbock. Don't forget that Job Fair in February this year. I expect a good group of firms will be participating.

I just got an email from a friend today that a Minneapolis firm is looking to hire 3 interns fresh from college. About every other month I'm hearing of someone hiring. It's not like 1999 out there but it isn't bad. If someone who graduated in '02 doesn't have a job yet there has got to be a reason. In '02 when things weren't too good I was offered a job in Philly, a city not exactly pegging any census growth lists. There are always jobs out there....you just have to go out and find them.

Hey I just got a job today in NY!

I would say work internships during the free summers (I did not, and regret it). The job market really isnt that bad in metropolitan cities... There are a lot of projects that seem to be happening, and I would say its getting a lot better than getting any worse--i got a job, even, it should give u hope. lol
Also, be nice to your professors... they can really give u recommendations to alumni from your school that have dispersed...

I'm not trying to sound offensive or anything, but maybe your cousin didn't look for a job hard enough. Take the same hard working attitude from studio and apply it to your job search, and I think you'll be fine.

When I first graduated, the market was tough and most of my classmates had difficulty finding a job. I was able to land a job pretty fast by job hunting 6-8 hours a day. While most of my classmates just reads the classified, I was sending out 10 resumes a day, talking to people in the industry and cold calling. One firm met with my although they were not hiring, and refered me to another small local firm that hired me.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is - don't worry about the market so much, its a big town and someone's gotta be hiring. If you are patient and look hard enough you will be okay.

It all depends on what area of the country you are looking and how flexible you are. Right now in the Northeast, as far as I can tell, there should be no problems getting a job. Personally, we keep saying that if you are an architect (in my area) and are not busy, that should be a huge red flag since there is so much work right now.

We recently hired a senior level person after looking for two people (one intermediate, one intern). We interviewed people for about six months before hiring our new employee (we're very picky about who we hire).

Anyway, the advice above is good. And I would not worry about it now, because if you are good, there will always be work. You may not get exactly what you think you should depending on the economy, firm, location etc. but you should be able to find something.