I'm starting my first job in an actual architecture office this summer. Just finished up my 3rd year of undergrad, but I wanted to know if there is anything I should try to pick up or look at before starting that might make the transition into the workplace a little easier.
Primarily, I am assuming I will be doing a lot of drafting and CD revision, I am comfortable with autocad, but don't have much experience working with CDs, is there and way to at least get a look at some examples of them? Is there anything else I can research that I may not have seen in school yet?
Take an extra glance through a building construction book, so that you don't seem like a total dummy about how a building's put together. Try Ching's "Building Construction Illustrated", or "The Architect's Companion" (don't remember author), or similar. I came to my first job totally clueless on this, and a couple of my coworkers got really annoyed with having to tell me basic stuff.
mmhhh my experience tells me that u should learn to say no, or top say thats not possible in that ammount of time.... we always r pushed to be slaves specially when we start at offices...this doesnt mean to apologize stupidly for not working, no no, work hard but be realistic also... oh and take ur lunch time as a religion...dont give away any minute of it... is sacred!!
Don't waste any time sitting and staring at a drawing and feeling too embarassed to ask for the help you need to keep working on it! Get over being nervous and realize that the intern tradition means that the whole reason you are there is to ask those questions. If you are facing a detail you can't figure out how to solve, take your best shot at it, quickly, print it out, and hand the piece of paper and some trace to whoever is helping you saying "OK, I'm stuck here." It is incredibly helpful to go ahead and print out what you have drawn, even if you know it's wrong, because we communicate graphically and that way you'll have a starting point to talk about what needs to be drawn.
Basically, don't be embarassed to learn. And keep a positive outlook - you'll probably go through a few terrible internships before you find one at a place you actually like, we all do.
Maybe these only apply to corporatecture, but here's what I've learned in my first 3 months in an office...
Fridays at 3 is beer-break. [Don't ask, just partake.]
Lunch and Learns are like building science courses, but with free food. [Go. ]
Make yourself a niche, and then build outward from there. [Find something they need and you are good at, and take control of it... whether that's 3D, model building, Photoshop, or whatever]
Never, EVER let yourself get pigeon-holed into that niche. [Keep working outwards, or you just become "that kid that can do 3D."]
Most people are winging it, just like you. They just have more experience winging it. [Architecture is life-long learning. You're at the beginning, their midway through, but your all just learning in the end.]
Anyway, more to come, I suppose, but that should get you on the road to becoming a full fledged corporatect... which is a good thing.... I think.
- first to get thier, last to leave (even if this means surfing the internet), give up some weekends
- ask questions (know every big project going on in the firm and be interested)
- attend zoning/historic board meetings in your town
- read the paper (real estate section)
- drink heavily
- date hot chicks
- dress better than 90% of your co-workers but not the partners
Sweaters over dress shirts are your friend. [No matter how wrinkled or dirty your dress shirt is, or how covered in sobo from studio last night, the sweater fixes it.]
Definitely be the best dressed intern. [Make the principals forget if you were hired as an intern or full-timer when they wander past]
First thing you do: Make friends with the guys in the print room. [They control your fate and can extend favors for school projects.]
Go for walks. [Need something from Plats and Maps? Need foamcore from Utrecht? Volunteer to go... you'll look versatile and busy, not to mention you'll get to walk around while other people are CADMonkeying.]
Don't be ashamed to be a CADMonkey. [There are valuable skills developed during this im, not to mention a far more in-depth understanding of a building than any Building Sciences class can offer. There'll be time enough to be super-designer-guy in studio and after licensure.]
I began working in an office in my sophmore year of undergrad and was clueless as well. You will realize that some things will make no sense because you've never seen them. But like liberty bell said, don't be embarrased to ask for help because we have all been there.
I bought a book last year that has helped me out when putting together a complete set of drawings . It's "A Manual of Construction Documentation" by Glenn E. Wiggins.
I have recommended to a few friends because it takes you step by step from cover to your last sheet and everything in between. It also includes a handful of details.
Learn the lingo. Abbreviations are used quite often and it helps a lot to know these. Always ask the question "Why?" Not only to coworkers but to yourself as well. try to learn all you can as fast as you can and as mentioned earlier, be the "go-to-guy" in all cases. Good luck.
as long as your clothes are clean, how you dress does not matter .
do not smell bad.
be anal and incredibly organized, but never throw aything away.
know everything about the project(s) you are working on.
never talk about how politics unless everyone is on your side.
stretch often.
brush your teeth after lunch.
take multivitamins.
read graphic standards and codebooks often.
work like you mean it.
"The Architect's Studio Companion", that rationalist mentioned, is by Edward Allen (who also did "Fundamentals of Building Construction", which you might have, which is equally valuable).
Hey thanks for all the help thus far. I have basically figure I'm just gonna have to wait till I start working and just try to learn as much as I can then. Might try to brush up on my Autocad before then but thats about it. I just wish they offered something like a CD course at my school, I mean you get so much theory in studio, but not a whole lot of practical experience. Anyone else have this problem? It just seems like a course in CD documentation and drawing would be invaluable to an uppper level undergrad student, yet we have nothing like that at my uni, I guess thats what the profession is for, just wish it wasn't so much of a sink or swim scenario.
I think you were absolutely right on your original question and you definetly should try to get some information before you start if you can.
Don't read a book (which might be too general). Go to the real thing. Just ask your future employer if they can provide you with a copy of their CAD standards and a sample set of drawings. Some employers might be reluctant to do this, but others will be happy to do so. And you don't even need to tell them that the problem is that you don't know anything about CD, you can just tell them that you want to learn THEIR way to do things (which varies from firm to firm more than you would imagine).
No matter what you do you will still be kind of lost at the beggining, but if you at least learn "something" before your first day, it will help you to start on the right foot.
Apr 30, 05 10:10 pm ·
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1st Office Job, what do I need to know?
I'm starting my first job in an actual architecture office this summer. Just finished up my 3rd year of undergrad, but I wanted to know if there is anything I should try to pick up or look at before starting that might make the transition into the workplace a little easier.
Primarily, I am assuming I will be doing a lot of drafting and CD revision, I am comfortable with autocad, but don't have much experience working with CDs, is there and way to at least get a look at some examples of them? Is there anything else I can research that I may not have seen in school yet?
Take an extra glance through a building construction book, so that you don't seem like a total dummy about how a building's put together. Try Ching's "Building Construction Illustrated", or "The Architect's Companion" (don't remember author), or similar. I came to my first job totally clueless on this, and a couple of my coworkers got really annoyed with having to tell me basic stuff.
mmhhh my experience tells me that u should learn to say no, or top say thats not possible in that ammount of time.... we always r pushed to be slaves specially when we start at offices...this doesnt mean to apologize stupidly for not working, no no, work hard but be realistic also... oh and take ur lunch time as a religion...dont give away any minute of it... is sacred!!
hehehehehe
Don't waste any time sitting and staring at a drawing and feeling too embarassed to ask for the help you need to keep working on it! Get over being nervous and realize that the intern tradition means that the whole reason you are there is to ask those questions. If you are facing a detail you can't figure out how to solve, take your best shot at it, quickly, print it out, and hand the piece of paper and some trace to whoever is helping you saying "OK, I'm stuck here." It is incredibly helpful to go ahead and print out what you have drawn, even if you know it's wrong, because we communicate graphically and that way you'll have a starting point to talk about what needs to be drawn.
Basically, don't be embarassed to learn. And keep a positive outlook - you'll probably go through a few terrible internships before you find one at a place you actually like, we all do.
good advice.
Maybe these only apply to corporatecture, but here's what I've learned in my first 3 months in an office...
Fridays at 3 is beer-break. [Don't ask, just partake.]
Lunch and Learns are like building science courses, but with free food. [Go. ]
Make yourself a niche, and then build outward from there. [Find something they need and you are good at, and take control of it... whether that's 3D, model building, Photoshop, or whatever]
Never, EVER let yourself get pigeon-holed into that niche. [Keep working outwards, or you just become "that kid that can do 3D."]
Most people are winging it, just like you. They just have more experience winging it. [Architecture is life-long learning. You're at the beginning, their midway through, but your all just learning in the end.]
Anyway, more to come, I suppose, but that should get you on the road to becoming a full fledged corporatect... which is a good thing.... I think.
.mm
-mmatt isn't too far office
also...
- first to get thier, last to leave (even if this means surfing the internet), give up some weekends
- ask questions (know every big project going on in the firm and be interested)
- attend zoning/historic board meetings in your town
- read the paper (real estate section)
- drink heavily
- date hot chicks
- dress better than 90% of your co-workers but not the partners
oh yeah, forgot the dress code parts....
Sweaters over dress shirts are your friend. [No matter how wrinkled or dirty your dress shirt is, or how covered in sobo from studio last night, the sweater fixes it.]
Definitely be the best dressed intern. [Make the principals forget if you were hired as an intern or full-timer when they wander past]
First thing you do: Make friends with the guys in the print room. [They control your fate and can extend favors for school projects.]
Go for walks. [Need something from Plats and Maps? Need foamcore from Utrecht? Volunteer to go... you'll look versatile and busy, not to mention you'll get to walk around while other people are CADMonkeying.]
Don't be ashamed to be a CADMonkey. [There are valuable skills developed during this im, not to mention a far more in-depth understanding of a building than any Building Sciences class can offer. There'll be time enough to be super-designer-guy in studio and after licensure.]
.mm
I began working in an office in my sophmore year of undergrad and was clueless as well. You will realize that some things will make no sense because you've never seen them. But like liberty bell said, don't be embarrased to ask for help because we have all been there.
I bought a book last year that has helped me out when putting together a complete set of drawings . It's "A Manual of Construction Documentation" by Glenn E. Wiggins.
I have recommended to a few friends because it takes you step by step from cover to your last sheet and everything in between. It also includes a handful of details.
Learn the lingo. Abbreviations are used quite often and it helps a lot to know these. Always ask the question "Why?" Not only to coworkers but to yourself as well. try to learn all you can as fast as you can and as mentioned earlier, be the "go-to-guy" in all cases. Good luck.
Never wear a tie and realize that you will learn more in the 1st 6 months than you did in school (atleast about architecture).
as long as your clothes are clean, how you dress does not matter .
do not smell bad.
be anal and incredibly organized, but never throw aything away.
know everything about the project(s) you are working on.
never talk about how politics unless everyone is on your side.
stretch often.
brush your teeth after lunch.
take multivitamins.
read graphic standards and codebooks often.
work like you mean it.
eat daily a banana with peanut butter on it. For serious. You will be amazed at your energy after 2 weeks.
"The Architect's Studio Companion", that rationalist mentioned, is by Edward Allen (who also did "Fundamentals of Building Construction", which you might have, which is equally valuable).
Hey thanks for all the help thus far. I have basically figure I'm just gonna have to wait till I start working and just try to learn as much as I can then. Might try to brush up on my Autocad before then but thats about it. I just wish they offered something like a CD course at my school, I mean you get so much theory in studio, but not a whole lot of practical experience. Anyone else have this problem? It just seems like a course in CD documentation and drawing would be invaluable to an uppper level undergrad student, yet we have nothing like that at my uni, I guess thats what the profession is for, just wish it wasn't so much of a sink or swim scenario.
we did have a CD course, but I took it after my first internship. You'll learn real quick doing redlines etc.
cvankle,
I think you were absolutely right on your original question and you definetly should try to get some information before you start if you can.
Don't read a book (which might be too general). Go to the real thing. Just ask your future employer if they can provide you with a copy of their CAD standards and a sample set of drawings. Some employers might be reluctant to do this, but others will be happy to do so. And you don't even need to tell them that the problem is that you don't know anything about CD, you can just tell them that you want to learn THEIR way to do things (which varies from firm to firm more than you would imagine).
No matter what you do you will still be kind of lost at the beggining, but if you at least learn "something" before your first day, it will help you to start on the right foot.
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