I applied for junior architectural professional position, the description said this position will be put into SOM's year one program. when they announced Year One the title of the position changed into SOM Year One - Architecture.
Anyway, how many interviews did you have?
Jul 31, 19 12:20 am ·
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umpalumpah
Oh, I see. I just had one interview. A friend of mine didn't get an interview at all, but they haven't rejected her either. I thought people would hear back on a rolling basis, but I guess it's all on August 12th then...
Jul 31, 19 8:53 am ·
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dingdong
I just found out someone in my batch has just started working as Junior Architectural Professional since July. Perhaps they started announce the decision recently.
I saw the marketing for this bullshit and it looked like all the things that architecture firms (and school) were already supposed to be providing.
I suppose it is a commentary on how transactional workplaces and the industry have become. If you don't have time to mentor young people in this way as part of day-to-day operations, what hope is there for the future of your firm?
Jul 31, 19 9:17 am ·
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umpalumpah
It is my understanding from personal experience with internships, and colleagues who've just started work after graduation, that firms do not provide mentorship in any real structured way. And schools don't exactly prepare you to be employable. How many opportunities are out there for people with 0 - 1 year of experience?
Jul 31, 19 2:16 pm ·
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umpalumpah
Not claiming the program is great or anything (idk really), but it is at least encouraging to go into a job knowing that you are expected to have minimal experience and are just coming out of school...and if the mentorship program is bad, then I guess it'll just be like any other entry-level job right?
Jul 31, 19 2:19 pm ·
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Fivescore
SOM's intentions seem good, and I can understand why this program would appeal to new grads - especially those with doubts about their preparation - because it's geared specifically toward them, and structured to give them varying experiences. My hesitation would be what other future employers think about it. On the one hand if my intent was to stay at SOM long-term then this might be a great way to get my foot in the door there. But if my intent were just to stay this one year and then work elsewhere, it seems like this could just prolong my being viewed as entry-level.
As an employer, if I knew that an applicant had graduated a year ago and spent a year in this program, I'd see that person as having less professional experience than any other applicant who worked in pretty much any other firm for that year. This program does seem to involve its participants in some legit assignments on actual project teams - but it also has a lot of time spent on field trips and other types of educational activities that seem like more of what the person presumably already did (or should have done) in architecture school. I'd be inclined to choose the person who graduated and embarked on their career by taking a regular job in a firm for a year, than the one who felt like they weren't ready for that yet so they joined this transitional post-grad career day camp program.
Jul 31, 19 4:11 pm ·
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umpalumpah
I see your point Threesleeve!
To my knowledge, the program takes the place of the "Junior Architectural Professional" position, and after the year, you keep working as a regular employee
Jul 31, 19 4:35 pm ·
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thisisnotmyname
It looks to me like an attempt by SOM to appeal to highly desirable applicants by offering a defined mentoring experience. Other firms may promise mentoring and training, but the delivery on those promises can be very hit or miss. Also, for any person that's really interested in working at SOM long-term, it seems like a great opportunity to make connections that may aid you in navigating the firm's legendary internal politics.
but I learned a lot - when I was there, there were no special programs, like this 1 year version of summer internship
Jul 31, 19 8:58 pm ·
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archanonymous
Exactly. That experience is infinitely more valuable than another year of quasi-school. Would definitely hire someone who had worked a normal job for a year over a "year-one" person.
Aug 1, 19 5:16 pm ·
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Flatfish
I would too. It seems like the people who would apply to this program are a self-selecting group of those who feel unready in some way for a regular job - maybe people who are unsure of their abilities, or unsure of how to get a job by just applying for jobs, or maybe people who don't feel ready for the daily grind so they'd rather take more field trips and hop from one phase and department to another, in bite-size pieces for short attention spans. I'm sure there are talented people in this bunch, and reasons other than I'm thinking of, but overall I think I'd be wary of alums of this program.
This program is just like the ones that sprung up during the few years that USGBC was requiring experience on LEED projects as a pre-req for being allowed to take the LEED exams. All of a sudden firms were registering tons of fake projects (ones that were never intended to get built, with goals of LEED Platinum in order to stuff in the most credits - and hell why not, since there were no real site constraints or budget considerations?), so that they could promise staff quantifiable experience on x number of LEED credits on y number of projects, within a time frame that would be totally unrealistic on any real project. Some enterprising companies were even charging tuition for the privilege of getting this LEED "experience" on their fake projects. This Year One thing seems like the same thing: dispense with the inconveniences of things like project schedules, and bounce interns along from one superficial involvement with a project to the next, with the goal of collecting AXP points as quickly as possible - real in-depth experience be damned.
Aug 9, 19 12:55 pm ·
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midlander
i think it's a continued fault of the AXP/IDP program that it requires a breadth of experience many legitimate career paths would not provide. outside of small practices, most architects aren't truly generalists. but to complete AXP you need to work for someone who is, or keep changing jobs.
Aug 9, 19 9:54 pm ·
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SOM's Year One
Anyone get offers yet? Or heard back at all? Especially NY. x_x
I had an interview on May 9th, send follow up email after 1.5 month and haven't heard anything ever since. perhaps they'll anounce it by mid august
wow May 9th? I thought the application opened on the 13th?
Jack Black stars in Year One.
I applied for junior architectural professional position, the description said this position will be put into SOM's year one program. when they announced Year One the title of the position changed into SOM Year One - Architecture.
Anyway, how many interviews did you have?
Oh, I see. I just had one interview. A friend of mine didn't get an interview at all, but they haven't rejected her either. I thought people would hear back on a rolling basis, but I guess it's all on August 12th then...
I just found out someone in my batch has just started working as Junior Architectural Professional since July. Perhaps they started announce the decision recently.
I saw the marketing for this bullshit and it looked like all the things that architecture firms (and school) were already supposed to be providing.
I suppose it is a commentary on how transactional workplaces and the industry have become. If you don't have time to mentor young people in this way as part of day-to-day operations, what hope is there for the future of your firm?
It is my understanding from personal experience with internships, and colleagues who've just started work after graduation, that firms do not provide mentorship in any real structured way. And schools don't exactly prepare you to be employable. How many opportunities are out there for people with 0 - 1 year of experience?
Not claiming the program is great or anything (idk really), but it is at least encouraging to go into a job knowing that you are expected to have minimal experience and are just coming out of school...and if the mentorship program is bad, then I guess it'll just be like any other entry-level job right?
SOM's intentions seem good, and I can understand why this program would appeal to new grads - especially those with doubts about their preparation - because it's geared specifically toward them, and structured to give them varying experiences. My hesitation would be what other future employers think about it. On the one hand if my intent was to stay at SOM long-term then this might be a great way to get my foot in the door there. But if my intent were just to stay this one year and then work elsewhere, it seems like this could just prolong my being viewed as entry-level.
As an employer, if I knew that an applicant had graduated a year ago and spent a year in this program, I'd see that person as having less professional experience than any other applicant who worked in pretty much any other firm for that year. This program does seem to involve its participants in some legit assignments on actual project teams - but it also has a lot of time spent on field trips and other types of educational activities that seem like more of what the person presumably already did (or should have done) in architecture school. I'd be inclined to choose the person who graduated and embarked on their career by taking a regular job in a firm for a year, than the one who felt like they weren't ready for that yet so they joined this transitional post-grad career day camp program.
I see your point Threesleeve! To my knowledge, the program takes the place of the "Junior Architectural Professional" position, and after the year, you keep working as a regular employee
It looks to me like an attempt by SOM to appeal to highly desirable applicants by offering a defined mentoring experience. Other firms may promise mentoring and training, but the delivery on those promises can be very hit or miss. Also, for any person that's really interested in working at SOM long-term, it seems like a great opportunity to make connections that may aid you in navigating the firm's legendary internal politics.
In my first year at 'Skidmore, we were thrown right in to it. 1st week, a "posting party" worked until 1am
Sounds awful.
yikes :'(
but I learned a lot - when I was there, there were no special programs, like this 1 year version of summer internship
Exactly. That experience is infinitely more valuable than another year of quasi-school. Would definitely hire someone who had worked a normal job for a year over a "year-one" person.
I would too. It seems like the people who would apply to this program are a self-selecting group of those who feel unready in some way for a regular job - maybe people who are unsure of their abilities, or unsure of how to get a job by just applying for jobs, or maybe people who don't feel ready for the daily grind so they'd rather take more field trips and hop from one phase and department to another, in bite-size pieces for short attention spans. I'm sure there are talented people in this bunch, and reasons other than I'm thinking of, but overall I think I'd be wary of alums of this program.
FUCK SOM.
Fuck 'em in the ear.
Fuck 'em in the other ear.
sounds like some people have been rejected from the SOM one year program..
yupp
This program is just like the ones that sprung up during the few years that USGBC was requiring experience on LEED projects as a pre-req for being allowed to take the LEED exams. All of a sudden firms were registering tons of fake projects (ones that were never intended to get built, with goals of LEED Platinum in order to stuff in the most credits - and hell why not, since there were no real site constraints or budget considerations?), so that they could promise staff quantifiable experience on x number of LEED credits on y number of projects, within a time frame that would be totally unrealistic on any real project. Some enterprising companies were even charging tuition for the privilege of getting this LEED "experience" on their fake projects. This Year One thing seems like the same thing: dispense with the inconveniences of things like project schedules, and bounce interns along from one superficial involvement with a project to the next, with the goal of collecting AXP points as quickly as possible - real in-depth experience be damned.
i think it's a continued fault of the AXP/IDP program that it requires a breadth of experience many legitimate career paths would not provide. outside of small practices, most architects aren't truly generalists. but to complete AXP you need to work for someone who is, or keep changing jobs.
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