Who did internships in Europe? I am looking for a minimum four month internship preferably in Paris or Rotterdam (that's where I'll have a place to live). Any firm suggestions in or around those cities? Or perhaps some others too?
I tried getting internships in Paris about 7 years ago (can't believe it's been that long!). I speak fluent French and had a masters from a French university, in addition to 2 years of a 3-1/2 year masters at Sci-arc. Lots of job offers, none of them paid. Apparently they don't pay students to work in France because they have to do it as part of their education - at least that's what I remember. I ended up doing some work for a friend who did pay me a small amount - was just opening his own office and had the cash, I guess.
So it depends if you're looking to get paid, and whether or not you speak the language... I would imagine it would be quite difficult to get an internship if you don't speak French unless it's for an expat.
i know a couple of people who worked at OMA in rotterdam -- say what you want about OMA, you'll learn a ton just by experiencing holland and europe for more than a vacation
I did the rounds of job interviews post-graduation and learned (TOO LATE) the same thing R.A. Rudolph did... an "internship" in Paris is an unpaid, student experience. If you have graduated, then do NOT apply for an internship, tell them you have graduated from architecture school and look for positions advertised for an architect.
according to my (seriously gifted) parisian friend who hates paris and the french architecture system so much he moved to beijing...
interns are indeed paid zero but when you graduate from uni you are an architect, no exams required. i think there could be a 1 year work experience requirement though. still, i can name at least half a dozen classmates who graduated in canada and got reciprocity for their degrees in various european nations merely by translating the courses and showing the school was accredited. zipbang you are a licenced architect in europe. to avoid the shittiness of being an unpaid intern you might wanna do that quicklike (ther may be a proof of resident thang to deal with, mind).
a friend at oma was paid enough to live on but not enough to LIVE if you know what i mean, however most time was spent at work so it didn't matter much... and life back in NA has been sooo much easier with that experience under the belt.
wages were good when i was in london but you will only be equivalent to a part II architect and will have to work a year or two before getting your full part III licence. the system is more friendly than in the states though and in a small office life as an architect is quite fine.
ditto the learning too late that intern/stage jobs don't pay. last I heard was that Rotterdam salary for interns is between 350 and 450 euros per month. what you also realize is that working intern jobs for the best european office isn't particularly prestigious or rare. it's kind of easy for europeans to get internships just about anywhere so long as the office is hiring.
what's more important and what nobody has really mentioned are the work permitting issues for non-EU citizens. the short version is, it's a real bitch. many of the dutch offices I applied to (I'm american) would tell me up front they wouldn't talk to me at all because of this.
the good news is that you can work legally for up to 3 months as an intern or in another position under similar auspices. even as an american, I was offered internships at mecanoo and EEA. if you're from a different non-UK english speaking country that isn't the USA (CAN, AUS, NZ, S.AFR), there is a special work-study visa you can get that allows you to work legally.
some offices, which i won't name to protect the 'innocent', have foreigners working on the black, undocumented. bigger offices (OMA is one) are generally more willing and able to get work permits for foreigners.
but I can't emphasize enough that it's really not smart to just show up in Rotterdam and start applying. figure out your work permit issues UP FRONT.
Internship in europe???
Who did internships in Europe? I am looking for a minimum four month internship preferably in Paris or Rotterdam (that's where I'll have a place to live). Any firm suggestions in or around those cities? Or perhaps some others too?
I tried getting internships in Paris about 7 years ago (can't believe it's been that long!). I speak fluent French and had a masters from a French university, in addition to 2 years of a 3-1/2 year masters at Sci-arc. Lots of job offers, none of them paid. Apparently they don't pay students to work in France because they have to do it as part of their education - at least that's what I remember. I ended up doing some work for a friend who did pay me a small amount - was just opening his own office and had the cash, I guess.
So it depends if you're looking to get paid, and whether or not you speak the language... I would imagine it would be quite difficult to get an internship if you don't speak French unless it's for an expat.
i know a couple of people who worked at OMA in rotterdam -- say what you want about OMA, you'll learn a ton just by experiencing holland and europe for more than a vacation
I did the rounds of job interviews post-graduation and learned (TOO LATE) the same thing R.A. Rudolph did... an "internship" in Paris is an unpaid, student experience. If you have graduated, then do NOT apply for an internship, tell them you have graduated from architecture school and look for positions advertised for an architect.
according to my (seriously gifted) parisian friend who hates paris and the french architecture system so much he moved to beijing...
interns are indeed paid zero but when you graduate from uni you are an architect, no exams required. i think there could be a 1 year work experience requirement though. still, i can name at least half a dozen classmates who graduated in canada and got reciprocity for their degrees in various european nations merely by translating the courses and showing the school was accredited. zipbang you are a licenced architect in europe. to avoid the shittiness of being an unpaid intern you might wanna do that quicklike (ther may be a proof of resident thang to deal with, mind).
a friend at oma was paid enough to live on but not enough to LIVE if you know what i mean, however most time was spent at work so it didn't matter much... and life back in NA has been sooo much easier with that experience under the belt.
wages were good when i was in london but you will only be equivalent to a part II architect and will have to work a year or two before getting your full part III licence. the system is more friendly than in the states though and in a small office life as an architect is quite fine.
ditto the learning too late that intern/stage jobs don't pay. last I heard was that Rotterdam salary for interns is between 350 and 450 euros per month. what you also realize is that working intern jobs for the best european office isn't particularly prestigious or rare. it's kind of easy for europeans to get internships just about anywhere so long as the office is hiring.
what's more important and what nobody has really mentioned are the work permitting issues for non-EU citizens. the short version is, it's a real bitch. many of the dutch offices I applied to (I'm american) would tell me up front they wouldn't talk to me at all because of this.
the good news is that you can work legally for up to 3 months as an intern or in another position under similar auspices. even as an american, I was offered internships at mecanoo and EEA. if you're from a different non-UK english speaking country that isn't the USA (CAN, AUS, NZ, S.AFR), there is a special work-study visa you can get that allows you to work legally.
some offices, which i won't name to protect the 'innocent', have foreigners working on the black, undocumented. bigger offices (OMA is one) are generally more willing and able to get work permits for foreigners.
but I can't emphasize enough that it's really not smart to just show up in Rotterdam and start applying. figure out your work permit issues UP FRONT.
oh but to answer your question, I didn't work the interships i was offered because I couldn't afford it. no silver spoon.
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