How hard is it or someone who was educated/licensed in the US to move to Europe and practice there? (assuming language is not a barrier.) Are American architects and their degrees/qualifications often recognized abroad? Or would it be smarter to go to grad school (currently undergrad at Wash U) in Europe if I plan on living there?
normally american degrees are not recognized in europe. i guess it depends on the european country, but as a generalization, europeans do not trust that much in american education (of course there are exceptions).
i´d say it´s just a matter of different approaches to architecture, and if you are asked to do in europe something you have not been educated for, you are not going to be able to manage in the same way an european could manage. exactly the same for an european going to the us. the ways europeans and americans work are a bit different, but if you are able to adapt yourself, i´d say there wouldn´t have to be any problem at all. so a grad school could be a good option.
i´m talking about the way of working mainly. i´ve worked both in the us and in europe and i´ve noticed differences, i believe it´s based in the education. however, it´s kind of difficult to express it with words, but to give you an idea, work in the us is more "pragmatic", while in europe you are maybe more theorethical (for sure the final aim in both continents is to get a project built, but the path you go through to get it built is different). of course it´s not the same at every office, it´s like the impression i got.
another thing would be the idea of "work in a group", which i think it´s better understood in the us. in europe (not in all countries of course, i´ve worked just in three countries in europe) people are organized in hyerarchical systems, and if you are young, even if you have a lot of ideas, your opinions are considered "to be revised". in the us i´ve noticed the other way round, you are listened, and if what you say makes sense, it doesn´t matter if you started working at the office one month ago. this is changing in europe, but the rythm of changes is slow.
if talking about skills, my impression is that americans are better to " know HOW to do sthg", while europeans are better to " know WHY to do it".
Hm. I didn't know that an American education has such a low status in the world! Does anyone know if there are specific grad programs in the EU or if I would have to start as an undergrad again (or the equivalent)?
you can get your US education evaluated by your target country so you can get licensed there. I did this in the Netherlands and after a year they let me register. They look at both education and work experience. Being registered in the country you want to go work in can alleviate the potential employers' nervousness about your American education.
hello oxygen, i worked in Paris for a good year working for a firm. Mainly cad work and such there is great need for architects who have experince in such programs. Not the most exciting job but it was nice to be away from the states. Hope this helps.
oxy, i am not so sure the european/NA experience is that different. I went to school in Canada but assume it is more or less the same as the States. The office I worked for in London had 2 people from the Bartlett who were incredibly good graphic artists but not particular deep when it came to architecture as response to program (the Koolhaas-ian method) and also very poor at details and reality. My school in Canada was based on taking a stance and then defending it logically so we didn't really learn to be graphic artists, but we certainly learned to make cool but functional buildings.
anyway, my education was more than enough to work in London so wouldn't worry about it. getting your licence is a pain though.
May 30, 05 9:12 pm ·
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us educated architect in europe
How hard is it or someone who was educated/licensed in the US to move to Europe and practice there? (assuming language is not a barrier.) Are American architects and their degrees/qualifications often recognized abroad? Or would it be smarter to go to grad school (currently undergrad at Wash U) in Europe if I plan on living there?
the degree is fine, but the general lack of education is not.
I keed I keeeed! :)
I have no idea, but I would have thought attending a european grad school would be a very good idea.
Best of luck!
honestly, I was kidding ;)
watch out for that nasty Stendhal syndrome if you go!!
normally american degrees are not recognized in europe. i guess it depends on the european country, but as a generalization, europeans do not trust that much in american education (of course there are exceptions).
i´d say it´s just a matter of different approaches to architecture, and if you are asked to do in europe something you have not been educated for, you are not going to be able to manage in the same way an european could manage. exactly the same for an european going to the us. the ways europeans and americans work are a bit different, but if you are able to adapt yourself, i´d say there wouldn´t have to be any problem at all. so a grad school could be a good option.
polipop,
what would you say are the things unmanagable to an american in europe and a european in america?
are you talking skills, or general conceptual ideas?
i´m talking about the way of working mainly. i´ve worked both in the us and in europe and i´ve noticed differences, i believe it´s based in the education. however, it´s kind of difficult to express it with words, but to give you an idea, work in the us is more "pragmatic", while in europe you are maybe more theorethical (for sure the final aim in both continents is to get a project built, but the path you go through to get it built is different). of course it´s not the same at every office, it´s like the impression i got.
another thing would be the idea of "work in a group", which i think it´s better understood in the us. in europe (not in all countries of course, i´ve worked just in three countries in europe) people are organized in hyerarchical systems, and if you are young, even if you have a lot of ideas, your opinions are considered "to be revised". in the us i´ve noticed the other way round, you are listened, and if what you say makes sense, it doesn´t matter if you started working at the office one month ago. this is changing in europe, but the rythm of changes is slow.
if talking about skills, my impression is that americans are better to " know HOW to do sthg", while europeans are better to " know WHY to do it".
Hm. I didn't know that an American education has such a low status in the world! Does anyone know if there are specific grad programs in the EU or if I would have to start as an undergrad again (or the equivalent)?
Thanks
ood,
i don´t think it´s in the whole world ! just talking about europe (and this is another generalization, so do not worry).
what do you mean with "specific" grad `programs? there are grad programs all around the us, but don´t get why you need them to be "specific".
you can get your US education evaluated by your target country so you can get licensed there. I did this in the Netherlands and after a year they let me register. They look at both education and work experience. Being registered in the country you want to go work in can alleviate the potential employers' nervousness about your American education.
hello oxygen, i worked in Paris for a good year working for a firm. Mainly cad work and such there is great need for architects who have experince in such programs. Not the most exciting job but it was nice to be away from the states. Hope this helps.
oxy, i am not so sure the european/NA experience is that different. I went to school in Canada but assume it is more or less the same as the States. The office I worked for in London had 2 people from the Bartlett who were incredibly good graphic artists but not particular deep when it came to architecture as response to program (the Koolhaas-ian method) and also very poor at details and reality. My school in Canada was based on taking a stance and then defending it logically so we didn't really learn to be graphic artists, but we certainly learned to make cool but functional buildings.
anyway, my education was more than enough to work in London so wouldn't worry about it. getting your licence is a pain though.
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