Due to personal reasons, I will be moving to DC in about a year. I am currently working in Switzerland as a project manager (multi-family residential, competitions) in a well-respected local firm, and I have a total of 7 years of post-graduate experience, one of which was in a highly reputed firm in the United States.
I am aware that I am trying to break into a market where there are plenty of competitive candidates, and at my level of experience any other architect will have a great deal of local knowledge. I would like to know if anyone has any tips on what I could do during this year to make myself a more interesting cadidate. For the time being, I'm studying to get the LEED GA qualification, and researching local codes, the architectural culture, etc. All of which seems like not enough from my perspective.
If anybody here has any tips or pointers I would be extremely grateful, as I would really like to use this year to get ahead and find an opportunity in a similar role as my current one.
The LEED GA credential is a good way to get closer to the LEED AP credential, but even non-architects get that credential. So you really won’t be getting the “wows” you are expecting by getting the LEED GA.
Until you get the local knowledge and experience, brace yourself for a potentially rough transition. Someone like you might be hired to do renderings and graphics since you aren’t familiar with American Units and don’t know American codes and regulations. At some point you’ll get sick of doing that and start asking yourself why you aren’t making more money, but still not have committed yourself to actually staying in the US. You may find that this lack of commitment would be the reason for why you wouldn’t be interested in learning local codes and regulations, because why invest in something that is not applicable to where you would end up living in the future?
Competitions? Ha! Good luck with those here in the US. Very few compared to Europe.
I know this all might sound cynical, but I have met so many international folks with similar questions. The true money in the US is made in knowing about how to put a building together (“The American Way”) and how to navigate the permitting and entitlement process successfully in behalf of the client. Everything else can for the most part be outsourced cheaply to China.
Thank you, BulgarBlogger, for your honest input. While I have some construction administration experience, it is true that most of my experience,. especially as a project leader, is limited to the earlier phases. Do you think big firms like SOM or BBB or the likes could maybe have some space for a transitional, design architect role? Just to know if it's completely unheard of or if there is some wiggle room.
Oct 13, 24 4:26 pm ·
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Tips to move to the United States
Hi everyone,
Due to personal reasons, I will be moving to DC in about a year. I am currently working in Switzerland as a project manager (multi-family residential, competitions) in a well-respected local firm, and I have a total of 7 years of post-graduate experience, one of which was in a highly reputed firm in the United States.
I am aware that I am trying to break into a market where there are plenty of competitive candidates, and at my level of experience any other architect will have a great deal of local knowledge. I would like to know if anyone has any tips on what I could do during this year to make myself a more interesting cadidate. For the time being, I'm studying to get the LEED GA qualification, and researching local codes, the architectural culture, etc. All of which seems like not enough from my perspective.
If anybody here has any tips or pointers I would be extremely grateful, as I would really like to use this year to get ahead and find an opportunity in a similar role as my current one.
With many thanks,
Gonzalo
The LEED GA credential is a good way to get closer to the LEED AP credential, but even non-architects get that credential. So you really won’t be getting the “wows” you are expecting by getting the LEED GA.
Until you get the local knowledge and experience, brace yourself for a potentially rough transition. Someone like you might be hired to do renderings and graphics since you aren’t familiar with American Units and don’t know American codes and regulations. At some point you’ll get sick of doing that and start asking yourself why you aren’t making more money, but still not have committed yourself to actually staying in the US. You may find that this lack of commitment would be the reason for why you wouldn’t be interested in learning local codes and regulations, because why invest in something that is not applicable to where you would end up living in the future?
Competitions? Ha! Good luck with those here in the US. Very few compared to Europe.
I know this all might sound cynical, but I have met so many international folks with similar questions. The true money in the US is made in knowing about how to put a building together (“The American Way”) and how to navigate the permitting and entitlement process successfully in behalf of the client. Everything else can for the most part be outsourced cheaply to China.
Thank you, BulgarBlogger, for your honest input. While I have some construction administration experience, it is true that most of my experience,. especially as a project leader, is limited to the earlier phases. Do you think big firms like SOM or BBB or the likes could maybe have some space for a transitional, design architect role? Just to know if it's completely unheard of or if there is some wiggle room.
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