I am a MAch student at the BAC (Boston Architectural Center) and I am considering transferring.
(note: the BAC is set up as a concurrent learning system where you work at a firm and attend school at the same time; ideally, one would put their school knowlegde to work at the firm, though that is not always realistic from the firm's point of view)
The reason I am considering the move is that I feel it may be more important for me to spend more time on my school work, because right now, I work on school stuff all weekend as well as evenings after work when I don't have classes. As a result of this limited amount of time, I feel my production is suffering.
Someone offering advice said to research how employers view graduates of my school versus graduates from traditional, academic-only programs to determine if the level of competition is the same.
1.) Are there any employers out there who have some input on this?
2.) Is there anyone working in the industry who might have some insight into this?
3.) If anyone has heard of the BAC (outside of Boston that is), what have you heard about it and it's reputation?
I use to work in Boston during the summer when I was going to school on he west coast. I worked with a guy that went to BAC and talked to him about the same issue. He felt that BAC was basically a Tech. school and he needed to go to Grad school if he planned to move on to become a "design" architect at a larger firm. I will be honest, he was treated like a drafts person and he had been working at the same small office for 2 years and he had applied to other offices and they basically told him he would stay a drafts person if he went to another office. It didn't look very good for him. I would recommend transferring. There is something about that school that keeps people down... just my $.02
I'm not an employer, and I don't know anyone from BAC, so I can't help you on those fronts, but I have heard/read about the BAC in a couple of magazines. I think the articles were about "alternative" types of schooling. I don't have any negative impression of the school.
A couple of things to consider before transferring.. 1. is the school accredited, because if not, you can't become registered anyway (I don't know if this is important to you or not) 2. I think if you want to stay in the area, the school's reputation may be an advantage or disadvantage (depending on the rep) but I doubt if it would make much difference if you were to move. I think most employers are more concerned with the quality of your work, your thought process, and your personality. If you think the quality of your work is suffering due to lack of time, that might be a better reason to transfer rather than the school.
Thank you for your responses, they are very helpful. I have spoken to some co-workers at the firm I work for and they all know the BAC and there is a great deal of respect for the school. They also believe an education can be more substantive at a traditional school and I've been feeling that way since I started, 3 semsters ago. There is a recent BAC grad here in the office who is drafting only, so far.
The BAC is accredited, but I do believe, as moto pointed out, that BAC grads will likely get overlooked.
This is an interesting topic as I've been involved in a few conferences where employers have complained about the "massive disconnect" between college and employment. There was a dean of an architecture college on the forum and this system was mentioned.
Not knowing much about BAC, I would say that your degree there won't necessarily be better or worse than anyone elses. To get where you want in your career you need to be agressive, and that applies to all of us out there. I wouldn't depend on the school rep for getting you where you want to go in life.
Just my 2 cents.
Apr 12, 05 1:49 pm ·
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Employment competition, academic reputation -- I have questions!
I am a MAch student at the BAC (Boston Architectural Center) and I am considering transferring.
(note: the BAC is set up as a concurrent learning system where you work at a firm and attend school at the same time; ideally, one would put their school knowlegde to work at the firm, though that is not always realistic from the firm's point of view)
The reason I am considering the move is that I feel it may be more important for me to spend more time on my school work, because right now, I work on school stuff all weekend as well as evenings after work when I don't have classes. As a result of this limited amount of time, I feel my production is suffering.
Someone offering advice said to research how employers view graduates of my school versus graduates from traditional, academic-only programs to determine if the level of competition is the same.
1.) Are there any employers out there who have some input on this?
2.) Is there anyone working in the industry who might have some insight into this?
3.) If anyone has heard of the BAC (outside of Boston that is), what have you heard about it and it's reputation?
Thanks.
I use to work in Boston during the summer when I was going to school on he west coast. I worked with a guy that went to BAC and talked to him about the same issue. He felt that BAC was basically a Tech. school and he needed to go to Grad school if he planned to move on to become a "design" architect at a larger firm. I will be honest, he was treated like a drafts person and he had been working at the same small office for 2 years and he had applied to other offices and they basically told him he would stay a drafts person if he went to another office. It didn't look very good for him. I would recommend transferring. There is something about that school that keeps people down... just my $.02
I'm not an employer, and I don't know anyone from BAC, so I can't help you on those fronts, but I have heard/read about the BAC in a couple of magazines. I think the articles were about "alternative" types of schooling. I don't have any negative impression of the school.
A couple of things to consider before transferring.. 1. is the school accredited, because if not, you can't become registered anyway (I don't know if this is important to you or not) 2. I think if you want to stay in the area, the school's reputation may be an advantage or disadvantage (depending on the rep) but I doubt if it would make much difference if you were to move. I think most employers are more concerned with the quality of your work, your thought process, and your personality. If you think the quality of your work is suffering due to lack of time, that might be a better reason to transfer rather than the school.
good luck.
moto - pencrush,
Thank you for your responses, they are very helpful. I have spoken to some co-workers at the firm I work for and they all know the BAC and there is a great deal of respect for the school. They also believe an education can be more substantive at a traditional school and I've been feeling that way since I started, 3 semsters ago. There is a recent BAC grad here in the office who is drafting only, so far.
The BAC is accredited, but I do believe, as moto pointed out, that BAC grads will likely get overlooked.
This is a great site by the way.
This is an interesting topic as I've been involved in a few conferences where employers have complained about the "massive disconnect" between college and employment. There was a dean of an architecture college on the forum and this system was mentioned.
Not knowing much about BAC, I would say that your degree there won't necessarily be better or worse than anyone elses. To get where you want in your career you need to be agressive, and that applies to all of us out there. I wouldn't depend on the school rep for getting you where you want to go in life.
Just my 2 cents.
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