well, I could maybe help a bit. I am currently doing an internship in Barcelona, and i´m originally from Mexico. If you compare to working in the US (did an internship last summer) I could tell you that it´s not that different, besides maybe for others the barrier of language, though many of the top firms manage everything in English.
My internship, is mostly based in theries and publishing, and IT IS NOT PAID!!, at all! It is mostly an experience, and a really good one indeed. I ended up here thanks to my school, who has a special program for design and theories exchange in different firms. I have some friends working with Ferrater and in the end they will get paid the great amount of 700 euros, which as you know, for the prices of Barcelona, is merely nothing.
Another friend got an scolarship and is working fully paid in Paris, with Renzo Piano.
Basically from what i´ve heard, around here jobs can be demanding and not so well paid, specially when you are just starting.
From what I know, at Ferrater´s office, there are daily tryouts, from 3 to 5 people, and I think they pick one every couple of months!!
FOr the skills, it is almost the same as in the states, so hopes up!! it is recommended the usual, such as cad, 3d skills and some other programs you might get to learn once there..

I've never worked abroad, in fact I will only be starting MArch this fall, but I've always thought that it must be fascinating to work in either Israel or China. Two places where architecture is heavily influential to how these countries are developing and extend well deep into the nature of the places.
Is it typical to get an internship during the summers of grad school?

hey thanks for your input!

I worked in Malaysia for a 'big-name' local architect, quite famous there but unheard of globally. I was there for 8 months on a work placement from my (interior architecture) degree in the UK and paid next to nothing, although they did put me up in an empty (and quite nice) apartment that one of the staff was in the process of rennovating for rent.

My actual work experience was not so great, just CAD work and the like but I did get to see and be around some pretty interesting projects from masterplans of new capital cities, to private residential projects. Just being around people like that was a great experience at that time of my studies.

Plus, the difference in culture and climate forced me to think about architecture's suitability to location much more and although my design tasks were basic and repetitive, my experience on the whole was one that I will value forever.

It has certainly opened doors since, people recognise something about your personality that seems to present opportunities - they view you as independent, they imagine you have courage and resilience and also that your communication skills must be good to communicate with people from different backgrounds and countries.

I am now teaching in Japan and wouldn't have had this chance had I not had, what seemed at the time quite a boring placement in Malaysia.

i am from canada, worked as a design architect in japan and project architect in london, uk, and now back in japan for the forseeable future.

both experiences were positive with the largest issue being the visa/work permit thing. japan is hard, the UK not so bad, if time-consuming and a bit expensive for the average employer (meaning s/he REALLY has to want you in the office).

Work content was more or less the same as in the US/Canada, but the offices are organised differently, at least where i was. Japan is a tough place to make real advancement short of opening your own office. otherwise it is the old cliche and people move up the system based on age more than ability, and are expected to work very very very long days. I was in a small-ish 100% japanese office however and things may be different in an international firm. being a foreigner here has some perks, mind.

London office was small and a fantastic experience. Getting a licence in the UK is also less tedious than the states, and the work you do on the way (in my case) more satisfying. Wages are pretty good but London is very expensive and taxes high in the UK so it can be a struggle at the beginning. The nice thing about the UK was that I was offered positions based on portfolio and experience, not always the case in Japan, nor canada to be frank. Or maybe I have just been living in japan too long ;-)

The downside of travelling and working as an expat is that if you go home you may have to take a few steps back. things are changing but many (maybe all?) european licences are not recognised by the US or Canada. Not a big hurdle but something to think about.

Travelling (as an architect or not) is definitely fun though and i wouldn't trade my life for anything. At the very least it gives you a perspective that can't be had any other way.

hello jump,

I am interested to know where you are working in Japan and what kind of projects you are working on. You sound pretty clued up and experienced aboutbusiness here.

I'll be totally honest and tell you that I will be looking for a design job in about a years time - when my teaching contract runs out so I am starting to try to find out as much as possible in preparation. Any advice of how to find a design job in japan would be useful, I have met a few people and have a few contacts I could potentially try but is there some publication or resource that I should know about?

hi joek,

responded to your e-mail rather than publically.