2k isn't kings wages, but you are getting paid.  i'd do it, if it aligns with your career goals.  having BIG on your resume will help land a full time job when you've graduated

IT IS ILL-ADVISED TO ACCEPT WORK IN NEW YORK FOR UNDER $50k A YEAR.

2k before tax, or after? Either way, THIS IS A POVERTY WAGE. I've been out of school for 2 years and I make 4k a month, after tax, in Brooklyn. If you take that offer at BIG, I'm making like 5x more money than you to do for the same type of projects. However, my firm isn't as prestigious as BIG and the level of design quality isn't as engaging.

They're either paying you a maximum of $24k or $36k a year. That was cool in 1995 when you got a degree from SUNY. Today, that's 50% of the market value. Chicago firms will pay you $45k+, and anyone in Manhattan should be expecting $55k+. There's no pride in living in NYC if your parents are helping you pay for it. 

I have a feeling your being helped out financially since you're even considering it. Most people would have to say no immediately due to how insulting that wage is (50%?!!!). If it's true that you're being helped out financially, you should take the offer because I had a friend who interned there and he loved it.

But, if you had a little more spunk and a little less financial assistance, you would defer the internship offer and reapply for a follow-up interview when you're licensed. At that point you'll be paid 2-4x as much as your current 2k/month offer, and by then you'd actually have significant design contributions to make rather than cutting foam context buildings for an internal massing study or putting gradient fills on marketing packages.

$2k/mo is alright if you're still in college. If you have a degree: what BR.TN said.

My very first job out of college I made ~$3200/mo. That was 8 years ago in a city with a lower cost of living than NY. There's no way you should settle for less than a decade old entry level salary. Especially at a firm as flush as BIG. They can afford to treat you better.

@BR.TN- Does BIG have a lot of openings for high level architects often?

If its only 6 months, I would say do it, especially if it's BIG. Once its on your resume, go somewhere else and demand a lot more money. I would save up so you have extra money while you're there. NYC on less than $45K is EXTREMELY difficult. 

$600/mo min food, $116 monthly metro, $800 rent, $100 utilities, $100 cell phone, $300 expend/emergency = Sad face 

Also, going out in NYC, you can spend $100-$200 without blinking an eye. Just 1 bar and 1 typical restaurant and you've broken the bank.

It will be difficult, but I think worth it. Congrats!

if you're aiming for self-sustainance, look for a second job- provided you're only working for 40 hrs/ week.But guessing since its BIG, uhm NO. I have seen some of their job postings, and the phrase" being able to work in a chaotic environment" strongly suggests you being on call to work overtime and weekends. 

I worked in DC with a much higher salary and it only amounted for a room in a condo. 

As long as your Mom and Dad will help pay your expenses then sure, why not do the internship. My only worry is that you might pick up some bad habits working for BIG. 

$12.5/hr - if that's what you're worth, sure why not - I'd be sure the health care is full coverage (401k?  are they contibuting? what amount?).  They claim to keep Euro style benefits (minimal overtime and comp time if you do).  The place is row after row of computers in a half renovated space - you will be surrounded by people who love that style of work and were highly selected, so that's a plus.  On a minimal budget you could get by on $2k even after tax; rent can be under $700/mth in a tiny room in shared places in queens/bronx, just don't assume you'll be able to afford to go out to much outside free ones (of which there are enough in NYC). It'll open some doors and close others, but if that's the type of work you want to do later, there are worse places.
 

$12.5 an hour? I was making more than that cleaning toilets and waxing floors when I was 15 years old in the late 90s.

If you are good enough, you will get a raise.

The lunch is not subsidized, only the first week. You do not get your health insurance compensated.

My experience at OMA is financially worse. Longer hours, Less pay.

SOM pays better, but terrible environment.

SANAA does not pay at all.

Herzog pays well but not interns.

If you are good enough to get BIG you can get anywhere else. Your choice what to do. Don't let other people decide for you.

I'd say it's a question of where you are in your schooling. If you don't have an accredited degree or real world experience, sure. If you do have a professional degree or real world experience, then only if money doesn't mean anything to you, and then do so with the knowledge that you're devaluing people in the profession.

One of my peers did it, although she's from a wealthy background.

If this is your only offer I would take it, you can always leave for better pay

Take it.  SANAA does it for free.  Imagine, an individual without having core competence getting 2K, that's a very good offer already.

jeeeezzz... here I am paying myself over $500/hr doing work unrelated to architecture.  No way in hell I'm returning to this profession where your work isnt' appreciated, for that minimum wage labour or even to get paid.  If I do return one day, it'll be because I love this profession.

500 per hour? dang what you doing? I'll be your intern.

I'm still in school and I already make double that, in NYC too. Don't set a standard that firms can pay us so low. If you accept you're just showing that minimum wage is acceptable pay for us. Perhaps if you just finished 1st or 2nd year take it but anything higher and you're devaluing your self worth. Starchitects are not worth it.

500/hour?  citation needed

I'd pass. This trend needs to stop. I knew someone doing something similar in Atlanta, working for pennies b/c of the firm's name. Smh

"Imagine, an individual without having core competence getting 2K, that's a very good offer already."

That's a mighty big assumption.

I thought slavery ended 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

Take it.

2k per month is already a good deal. I have seen a lot of firms paying their interns for 1k or less per month. 

...you should be thankful your husband only beats you with a 1" stick. I've seen a lot of husbands beating their wives with 3 or 4" sticks.

This race to the bottom culture hurts us all. It should be called out for the abusive, exploitative bullshit that it is.

Congrats, I would take it would be great on your resume that you worked at BIG!

It is a great deal for these offices to get other people's moms and dads to help support their offices by paying the living expenses of their kids while they work. It is a shame however that only rich kids can afford to take these internships. That is the way of the world I suppose but I don't think it is a good system.........

I know it's BIG, and you are dazzled, but seriously, this type of architectural hazing has to stop. The only way it will stop, is if people like you decline the offer and start outing firms which engage in this practice of creating essentially unpaid/underpaid internships after you account for transportation, lodging and food.

Bjarke Ingels, might be considered a great designer by some, but he is a total douchebag if he is running his business on underpaid labor.

It's creating a whole secondary slave wage economy. As other posters mentioned, only the ones with means/rich parents can afford to work at Starchitect firms and get experience.

I interview and hire young architects and designers at my firm. When I see someone's resume with a Starchitect firm on it, I might interview them if they have an amazing portfolio. If they don't, pass. 

Your portfolio and attitude are what counts, not the firm names on your internship list. I'm more likely to hire a person that has a great portfolio who also did  relief work in Appalachia or was the captain of a sports team or who worked full time while putting themselves through school versus someone who spent 6 months living in  working for a Starchitect. The former say that this individual's creativity is fueled by more than just what they learned in studio and that they have real drive and grit.

Design your life and make sure you get paid what you are worth. If you really think you are only worth, $12.50 an hour, then by all means, go work for BIG.

^ What dominiond said. Unless the candidate has a kick-ass portfolio, I generally think "self-entitled trust fund brat" whenever I see a resume with an Ivy League degree and an internship at a starchinect known for starvation wages. All else being equal, give me somebody from a public university and an employment history at firms known for doing beautiful, collaborative work that aren't a cult of personality around one celebrity architect.

After reading these comments, I must provide one more level of insight.

In terms of whether to accept a starchitect office or not, you must think of whether you want to be compensated for your talent in the short term or the long run.

Yes working at regular offices pay much better. If they didn't who would go to them? However, working at a starchitect office may give you connections which help you get into the school you want, the job you want, and eventually a senior position at a starchitect office (which by the way pays better than regular offices). Think, why do people go to Ivy league schools? Its to learn from some of the best, and build important connections. You can do all this by working at these offices. Yes you get paid less (for now), but think of it as getting paid for receiving tuition (Just like those damn lucky Europeans).

Heres an example of why working at starchitect offices are beneficial. Personally I had a crappy GPA but good portfolio. People on this forum before made fun of me saying I will never get into masters. Well overtime I impressed enough people working at these offices. I was offered dinner with an admission committee member to a great ivy league school. Although the person did not garuntee admission, I was basically told not to worry even with a 2.x overall GPA.

A lot of uses commenting how it'd be amazing on your cv however if I was a hiring manager I'd look at it like this. Most junior and entry level jobs at big corporate hardly teach you anything, why? Cause there are hundreds of people busy to teach you anything, more than anything you'd likely be doing grunt work. Why would I choose you Mr staritect grunt worker over Mr small office who has actually done proper workman's has been taught everything? I understand everyone wants to work at a big firm but that's better at higher levels.

possibility would be that Bjarke's just surfing around and eventually bump into this thread :D

To be fair David, some of us state school kids with decent resume experience want the connections an ivy league degree and starchitecture experience can provide.   It's not what you know, its who you know.

There is something to be said for having been offered the job, and if having made it the 6 months, that you were able to handle that type of stress and produce the quality expected.  In some sense it is a 'badge of honor' - and if a person is sharp enough they may have made good contacts and learned the design/work process.  That being said archiwutm8 has a point - you learn more 'typical' billable skill sets in a smaller office; I've ran across too many people that collected names on a cv and while watching their peers move up the ranks.

You don't need to attend an Ivy League school or work for a starchitect to get good networking connections. Don't get me wrong: If the Ivy League school is offering you a decent scholarship or the top-shelf firm is offering a competitive salary, then by all means jump on those opportunities. But having a particular name on your resume isn't worth starving yourself.

Of course Frank Lloyd Wright had interns pay him and many people consider Bjarke Ingels to be the Frank Lloyd Wright of our era so maybe it is worth it.....

"... many people consider Bjarke Ingels to be the Frank Lloyd Wright of our era" 

the above has been said by exactly zero people... Bjarke excluded.

at least at Taliesen - you did a lot more than cut foam

Why isn't anyone blaming our fucking college systemthat teaches us nothing practical? Why does academia rely on on firms to birdge that gap? What I would like see happen is something like a "finishing school" for architects aftet they graduate. Its not a job, just another semester of school, just focused on production. This is the only way firms will actually see value in payong someone. Why would I, as a business owner, want to spend good money on someone who doesn't know jack shit about how to put a CD set together? Does that actually make sense to you people? 

No- I don't support employers taking advantage, but stop sounding so damn entitled!

Almost every employer in every industry accepts the fact that entry-level employees will require some training. For an architecture firm to think they're somehow exempt from this expectation sounds a bit... entitled.

why would i, as an employee, work for an owner who refuses to spend money on employee development?  every industry--and i mean that, every goddamn industry, even those who hire technical school graduates--trains entry level employees.  to suggest otherwise is ignorant, and as david says, entitled.  

but josh can you teach someone to think about the CD set they are putting together? CD sets are the most important aspect of the entire process as an architect. Design is easy thats why you learn it in school. CA requires experience in the field. CD bridges this...........the low wages reflect the value of the service and supply of people willing to design.......its basic economics that your wages would be low if you work at a Design Firm (thats what BIG really is). you provide a service that is questionable with regard to actual value and a whole bunch of delusional entitled kids think they are the next big thing......carry on

Josh ++

ok guys- bust your heads against the wall.... less competition for me ;)

What are you going to do, hire only senior-level architects to build models and pick up redlines in your office? Good luck with that.

train them in SCHOOL, not at WORK. This entire conversation reminds me of people's obsession with social promotion in public schools. If a kid isn't good enough to advance to the next grade level, don't graduate the kid. There's a difference between having gained experience with permits and thermal bridges than with not knowing squat about these topics. Sorry- lack of experience does not equal incompetence.

I left school able to assemble CDs and I was already drafting very technical details. I was already working CD and CA less than a year past graduation. Everyone's millage differs.

Just don't hire fluffy chumps who think they can cure cancer with the killer design skills.

As Josh said: "I can teach someone to put a CD set together. I can't teach someone how to think."

The day to day practicalities of architecture are 1) easily taught and 2) best taught in a working environment. You learn these things by doing them a few times. No academic training is going to match the efficacy of working in an office and putting together a document set. As others have said in this thread, every industry trains its new hires. Why should we expect a young designer on Day 1 to understand the nuances of a good section detail? Why not let them learn it by picking up red-lines for a month or two? Somebody has to pick up red lines anyway, better to make it a learning experience.

On the other hand, the principles of good design are abstract and cerebral. They can't be "taught" in the same way as, say, a CD set sheet order, because there is no one right answer. A design sense has to be learned through precedent and repetition, and the time & effort for that kind of study can only happen in the vacuum of academia.

You need both, and our system as it is provides a place for both. One thing I'd love to see more of is co-op internships (Cincinnati has been doing this forever, why is it not a national model?), but until that happens, IDP (or whatever apprenticeship model replaces) it is a good thing for the profession.

It seems foolishly short-sighted and overly capitalist to expect our schools to teach more practicalities at the expense of the more abstract. You're going to end up with a generation of great detailers who churn out soulless spec building after soulless spec building. Is that what our culture should value?

This is a huge digression from the original thread but OP never came back anyway so let's run with it for a while.

^ What tduds said (and Josh before that). We go to architecture school to learn how to think like architects, and we learn the basics of professional practice while engaged in professional practice. Architecture school isn't a trade school, nor should it be.

If I wanted a college degree in drafting, I would've gotten an associates degree at my local community college and called myself a "professional building designer" or some bullshit like that. But there are good reasons why people with that type of academic background are pretty much worthless in a typical architectural practice setting.

This is why I said that there should be a "finishing school" after graduation. The course of the finishing school will be about a semester long. If you graduate from that program, you can be hired at a reasonable rate (higher than that of a current intern) because you will require less training.