Whatever you do, don't take the advice of a man named Balkins. It's coming.

Architecture degrees are pretty much art degrees, even though your degree was unrelated, with those couple of autocad classes you are actually technically more valuable to architecture firms than probably 70% of architecture grads. I've met two licensed architects who don't hold degrees and I respect them more than most others, because they substituted a bunch of overpriced self worshipping architecture classes for real world experience. 

Just stating facts, Dick.

Balkins does not hold any degree in architecture. He does not in fact have more than an associate's degree in anything. He's woefully underqualified to advise anyone on matters of education in architecture. He is a cancer on this forum (look at his post history), and a complete failure in life.

But he is right that I don't like him.

More excuses.

More delusions.

Why the fuck must you ruin every fucking thread in this forum?

OP, Work for your uncle and start logging your hours. Learn from him. Teach yourself as well with a wide range of publications from Europe and South America as well as the US. Spend a lot of time on the job sites asking questions of the foremen and the tradesmen. Take some of the money you saved and actually go visit the great buildings of the world. Keep aware of the advances and developments in civil engineering and landscape architecture and the art world. You will do fine.

So, basically, Balkins was right. Don't waste your time on the associates.

No one cares if you finish or why you haven't. We all know that it'll never happen, and I for one take comfort in the knowledge that you won't ever be an architect. 

But all of that is irrelevant here. The point, as it has always been, is that you aren't qualified to give other people advice on this subject. 

Original poster:  in the short term you might consider working for your uncle while also taking some continuing ed courses - more CAD if you feel you need that, and/or courses that would help you develop some portfolio material.  After working for a while you'll have a better sense of whether you'd be more interested in continuing in a drafter role, or aspire to be an architect.

If you want to continue in a support role you probably don't need to pursue any formal degree or certificate - though periodic continuing ed to keep on top of software developments may be useful.

If you want to pursue an architecture license then consider whether you will be ok with working in CA throughout your career.  If so, or if you're ok with being limited to other states that will grant reciprocity to someone without an NAAB degree, then sticking with your uncle until you qualify based on experience to take the licensing exams is probably the route with more earning potential as you won't have to interrupt your career for 3 years and pay tuition for an M.Arch.

If you want the flexibility to pursue licensing throughout the US then pursuing an M.Arch would give you more choices.

File your IDP paperwork, etc, for your NCARB / CA qualification sooner, rather than later.  You'd hate to have them change the rules on you.

I'm doing exactly what you are talking about and it is working. If you would like to get that A.S degree and pursue a B.arch it will work and you can get a job at a firm too if you can survive. I'm in an Pre articulated A.A working towards a B.D in architecture then I would like to pursue an M.Arch, but I'm thinking about going to University of Miami if I don't get accepted in the UCF program.......choices ......choices.

The OP already has a BS degree.  There's not a lot of value in getting an AS in that situation - he'd be better off taking individual courses to develop a portfolio and then apply to an M.Arch - it will be a shorter route and better suited for an older student changing careers.

Yes it would! A 3 year option to a M.Arch is alot better than a 5 or 6 year option for sure especially on the pocket. I'm in Orlando Fl and there is only one architecture program in central Fl, but it is extremely competive to get into the ucf program I work full time also .

^agree.  Spend a good year putting together a portfolio and then apply to a 3+ M-arch.  I would take a good look at some portfolios that were accepted first though.  

Most people jump through the MArch hoops to get an entry level job. The OP already HAS an entry level job. The difference between being employed for the next three years vs. paying tuition for the next three years is staggering. Even more when you factor in the interest on loans and the forgone 401K contributions for those college years. Not to mention he will most likely learn far more working for his uncle than he could ever get in a university setting. He already has one university degree, why continue the waterboarding?

@ gordon31991, congrats on finishing your undergrad and being able to find work that is meaningful and rewarding to you.  not a small feat not matter what anyone says.

regarding community college.  the Boston Architectural College offers individual online courses.  You do not have to enroll or apply to take individual courses.  1 or 2 may help you in the interim period before grad. school.  

regarding grad. school.  if you wish to become a licensed architect you need a NAAB accredited degree.  Check out the NAAB and NCARB website to learn about how to become an architect.

Even if you do not wish to become licensed, the graduate degree is a major accomplishment that will open up a lot of doors that would be otherwise closed to others.  In place of being just a drafter you will have more opportunities to grow and network.  

Best of luck to you.  

balkins writes: "There is other career opportunities besides being an licensed architect or being a draftsman. There is building design or residential design, interior design, landscape design, etc."  

so what do architects do?  oh yeah, design buildings and houses, and drafters help produce all the required drawings, and basically anything else needed to get things done.  balkins is blind to the arrogance of his statement, essentially discrediting three professions, architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design.  his attitude towards formal training is equally disturbing in that he has no education, and his professional experience is limited to seasonal handy man projects.  

what's the etc in his statement?  urban planner?  constitutional lawyer?  state licensing regulatory board member?  

: ( my God you guys are rippin that guy he is a building designer isn't he?

You guys sound like my professor criticing my classroom.....room filled with shattered dreams, she told me my site plan loked like a painting and told me to go redue it...lol.

I think the question might be, "which states, if any (?),  will not grant reciprocity to another state's licensed architect if the licensed architect seeking reciprocity achieved his licensure without having an NAAB degree?". It seems to deny reciprocity on that basis would be a slap in the face of the first state's licensing procedures and competence. In any event the OP could just partner with a firm operating in the state in question, of course.

interesting, so i am wrong about licensing in California.  at least from this initial post from a highly un-credible forum member.  i supposed if i really cared i could call the state myself to verify if what you say is true.  the fact is, I don't.  

i still stand by my point, without a professional degree the OP will struggle to advance his career beyond the walls of his family's business.  And you're still blindly arrogant to the value of a formally trained professional architect and the genuine need for them.

What rob_c said, especially in the post at 3:59. A NAAB-accredited degree may not be formally required in California, but your career as an architect will be severely hindered without one. Don't bother with an associates degree; it would be a complete waste of time, especially for somebody who already has bachelor's degree.

And Balkins is the last person in the universe who should be offering career advice or giving lectures about credibility.

Balkins for AIA President!

Well, in today's job environment I think it is batshit to suggest the OP forgo working for his uncle and piss away up to $50,000 a year for three years, and forgo a job probably paying north of $35,000, to go to school to learn a fraction of what he could working in an office actually doing the work. What if he gets out in three years and there is a recession on and his uncle can't take him on. He is $150,000 in debt with no job and a useless degree with no experience.  

Nobody goes to grad school to do menial entry-level drafting; they go to grad school to become architects. The menial entry-level drafting job after graduation is a step toward better things.

People who don't have professional degrees, with few exceptions, will remain stuck in menial entry-level positions for the rest of their careers. I was in that boat myself until I finished my professional degree.

If the OP currently has a decent job, then the prudent thing to do might be to stick with it until he/she has learned all they can, or until the economy takes a downturn again. Then go to grad school and get an MArch degree.

The OP plans on working for and with his registered architect uncle. He can get all the experience and qualifications he needs right there to become licensed. Why would he be stuck in a menial entry-level job if he is being mentored by his uncle? He already has an undergraduate degree and is presumably literate and well-educated. Apprenticing used to be the preferred way of gaining architectural experience. Under the OP's circumstances apprenticeship would seem to be the most effective way, economically and educationally, for him to achieve his goal. Perhaps after working for his uncle he can take over the business or strike out on his own.

He may be able to do that, and that may be fine - if the uncle's business continues to do well.  It does limit flexibility.  About half of all states do not grant reciprocity without an NCARB certificate - which requires an NAAB degree for the standard route.  Some of those will accept an NCARB certificate earned through the Broadly Experienced Architect process (which requires several years of practice as a licensed architect, an interview and portfolio process that costs several thousand dollars and usually takes more than a year, and has a 30% success rate and accounts for less than 1% of all NCARB certificate holders) - but there are several states that will not even accept that and absolutely require an NAAB degree.

As for partnering with a licensed architect in a state where he wants to work:  it's possible in some states and not others.  It depends on state specifics as to who may have ownership in a firm, how work may be supervised, whether an unlicensed person can solicit projects in the state, etc.

He can start out with his uncle and see how things go.  No reason to rush into an M.Arch immediately.

I thought I heard once that California was the "8th largest economy in the world".  Not too bad to be "stuck" with a license in "only" that place.  That's bigger than Italy, Canada, Brazil, Australia and plenty of other places.

You're opportunities are what you make of them, right Balkins? 

oh jesus christ is this another balkins grandstanding thread? 

to OP - take a look at UCLA's  and cal poly san luis obispo's programs. i've come across some students doing fantastic work from both institutions. I would suggest getting a degree as it will always open the door to other opportunities, as well as helping you build a strong portfolio - a key to acceptance in any strong firm. in addition, it will help you break out of the role of a "draftsman" and into a more design based role early in your career (which, I assume is ideal if your end goal is to be an architect). 

"Your right, I should have wrote it better."

"...it might be better to proofread..."

Jesus tapdancing Christ, Balkins.

Is there a spare one at your parents house? I wouldn't want you to be crowded.

Oh no.  You know how literal he is - now we're gonna get an essay on the layout of his parents' attic.

Hey!!!!!!! stop knocking A.S degrees I have one and it is helping me out exponentially thru my architecture education. It got me a job, I'm a step ahead of all my classmates who can't even read more or less draft a set of CD's I bet there are architecture students who wouldn't last a day in the production environment that I work in. My class talks about rainbows and butterflies, literally one girl referenced a butterfly to the Morro De provodencia...lol my boss would laugh and kick her ass out. My project focused on the art of JR and how the city struck me as a story, a story that involved a circulation of existence tormented by the pain of death and violence surrounding the city.. not a butterfly. I tried to create a linear circulation that formed an axis for an existence, an existence made up of a rhythm of elements that are formed by a interlocking never ending flow of violence ( colored pencil)...she told me it looked like a painting to hang on wall and to start over but that's beside the case.

MyDream: I have no idea whether your scheme is good. But good architects can and do design things based on paintings that hang on a wall. Look past stupid criticism and figure out what you need to do to make it work.