- It seems that every other business sector is doing better these days, is the construction business still in the weeds or have you noticed any signs of revival?
Regarding job openings for architectural designers (1-3 years experience) -
- Is Los Angeles lagging behind the rest of the US?
I just recently applied to over 40 firms in the LA area, thought I would share my experience. I have been done with undergrad for 2 years and just moved to LA after living in Beijing as an assistant designer there. I did get about 20 of the firms to reply to me, and about 10 had positions available, the problem is they were all unpaid. Living in LA for even a room in an apartment with a roommate can be about $600-1000 so working for free wasnt really an option.
keep in mind though I applied to all pretty boutique specialty firms (mainly firms headed by sci-arc faculty) so the economy hasn't really picked up for them yet. i didnt apply to any conventional commercial firms, so i cant really tell you how those firms are doing.
my advise if you have an option to move and work, move to china. almost any good firm keeps an office there, and they are all busy as hell. they cant find enough people to fill positions really and pay seems to be about $2000 a month for someone in my position. which goes a long way considering a one bedroom apt in beijing is about $400 a month!
Thanks for the info. I have also noticed the free internship gig is really popular here in LA.
I have done a few of those in Europe for minimum wage, but it seems that here paying you for lunch is considered a great deal.
By working in china, do you mean at foreign firms with a sateliite office in China? stararchitects ? How do you bypass the visa issue and no mandarin knowledge?
I would be very interested to hear your experience and why you moved back.
Ask dad for your first two year's salary. That is your only guarantee. Architects love to NOT have to pay salary. That's how you'll get a job these days.
From speaking to a few (entry level) friends on the engineering side, it seems that they are busiest on infrastructure, transportation hub, and healthcare design. If you are looking for immediate work, you may consider researching some firms that have a focus in one of those areas.
Granted, it isn't "capital-A," but it is work that may have some tangential relevancy to your interests that also pays the bills. It may rub you the wrong way to work for someone like AECOM, but they have a ton of work right now in LA- even if it is only giving the children of dictators guided tours of the USA (I kid).
I think the question is, what do you have an interest in? Are you looking for *any* work, or are you holding out for a specific area? No wrong answer in either, but it will give some of the commentariat a better idea of where you are coming from.
2 year ago I wasn't even thinking about applying at companies like AECOM, Gensler, SOM, NBBJ etc. I was working for a small construction office that did standard work and helped pay the bills. Bored from the work, I was constantly applying at small/medium offices with interesting work (morphosis, mmaltzan, diller + scofidio, clive wilkinson, OMA, and others), but they were not really hiring.
So my initial post was questioning if these types of offices begun hiring again. I have been unemployed for 5 months now and do not want to waste more time waiting for an opportunity that might still be far away.
Forced by the recession, I have tried with gensler, nbbj, aecom a few months ago, but it seems that new positions for junior architects is still very difficult to land (without knowing anyone from the inside).
I also believe that more experienced architects (5+ yrs) willing to get paid less, are getting pulled to the work force before junior architects (1-3 yrs).
I will add that I hold a diploma from a good school and an impressive portfolio demonstrating high 2d/3d software skills and technical 2d drafting..so I can't really blame myself for being incompetent, or holding a poor resume/portfolio.
Also, being older (34) than the average entry level architect has some benifits for the employer. If it does hold some bonus points, I am considering handing my resume personally at offices posting job offers, so they can see my 'grey' hair. Not sure yet if that is the best thing, or just mention it in the cover letter. I might be wrong here about the age too, don't know yet.
I concur with Token AE, and will only add that your age whilst possibly unimportant to many folks here in the states (vs abroad, etc) may possibly catch the eye of someone that is in charge of hiring. I personally love the idea of the european CV because you can post your picture and your age. Whereas here in the states things are subjugated to a point that one must worry about the personal documentation cause it may offend someone, and worse yet, someone might decide to sue you! (sorry....perhaps that's taking it a bit too far, but not uncommon I say).
Essentially, I suppose you will have to decide if working for the larger/less known (from a design point of view) firm will be good for you. My opinion is that in light of things as they have been and continue here in the Southern California job market, that a job that pays well, no matter what you are doing is a good job.
Not sure if that will help you in your endeavors, but it's kind of the way I am approaching it. Unfortunately I've been out of the profession for over 2 years now because of the economy (1 year w/o any work, and current year working in Engineering).
Whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck mate!
from what I have gathered and experienced in speaking to fellow designers, etc., one potential way to return to experimental/innovative architecture would be through enduring the trials of competitions. A firm will not give you that unfortunately. Not here in the U.S.
perhaps a firm abroad may do that (speaking from experience) but, my fear is that one here (esp. in los angeles) and in this economy.....most likely would not occur.
hey sorry, i never really replied back. I moved to LA back in dec because the company i worked for in Beijing was a nonprofit urban research think tank and we lost our funding.
I stayed in LA for 5 months, no luck finding paid work (several good firms offered unpaid internships but i really couldnt afford it) so i moved back to Beijing in May. Beijing's architecture scene is exploding, We'e all pretty close, most people from every major international firm (OMA, Zaha, MAD, OPEN, Steven Holl, UFO ...) all seem to know each other and once youre in the group its fairly easy to switch between firms or find out when they are hiring.
Even if you dont know anyone coming in its really easy to get started here, especially if you have no previous experience, my roommate for example came here with out a job, and had three offers in a week - hes only been out of school 2 years and worked a one year internship.
The trick with most of the international firms here is knowing Rhino, Grasshopper, Digital Project or Revit. the toughest thing is just getting your foot in (as elsewhere in the world) - MAD for example gets 100+ emails a day for their job postings - i was told they just randomly pick three each day and see if they find something - not real reassuring if you seriously want to work there, im sure all the major firms are absolutely flooded with applications.
the salaries very - greatly - depending on you're experience, school you graduated from, and your skills. my first job was only like $300 a month, I now make roughly $1500 a month (I am 2 years out of school with a bachelors degree from the U of Minnesota) - once you have your masters and a few years experience you can expect to make $3,000-4,000 a month. Still a little low compared to EU or the US - but you have to remember this is China, a beer is $0.14, rent is $300 and you can live like a king each week for $200 a week or so.
Hey great post, Andrew. As a recent graduate (BA in Arch) I'm also considering relocating to Asia to find some work as the job market is seriously bleak here in the SF Bay Area where I am. I had been thinking of applying to firms in Japan as I can understand and speak basic Japanese, but I am beginning to think about working in Korea or China also. Would you say not speaking Chinese is a huge disadvantage for foreign applicants and is it actually required in your experience? Also, did you start applying even before you moved to Beijing or did you move to the area first before putting yourself out there? I guess I am asking if it's realistic to expect anything by applying from long distance without even organizing housing, any visa issues, actually getting there, etc.
Los Angeles - Employment Question
- It seems that every other business sector is doing better these days, is the construction business still in the weeds or have you noticed any signs of revival?
Regarding job openings for architectural designers (1-3 years experience) -
- Is Los Angeles lagging behind the rest of the US?
- Are there currently more opportunities in NYC?
I just recently applied to over 40 firms in the LA area, thought I would share my experience. I have been done with undergrad for 2 years and just moved to LA after living in Beijing as an assistant designer there. I did get about 20 of the firms to reply to me, and about 10 had positions available, the problem is they were all unpaid. Living in LA for even a room in an apartment with a roommate can be about $600-1000 so working for free wasnt really an option.
keep in mind though I applied to all pretty boutique specialty firms (mainly firms headed by sci-arc faculty) so the economy hasn't really picked up for them yet. i didnt apply to any conventional commercial firms, so i cant really tell you how those firms are doing.
my advise if you have an option to move and work, move to china. almost any good firm keeps an office there, and they are all busy as hell. they cant find enough people to fill positions really and pay seems to be about $2000 a month for someone in my position. which goes a long way considering a one bedroom apt in beijing is about $400 a month!
best of luck
a
Thanks for the info. I have also noticed the free internship gig is really popular here in LA.
I have done a few of those in Europe for minimum wage, but it seems that here paying you for lunch is considered a great deal.
By working in china, do you mean at foreign firms with a sateliite office in China? stararchitects ? How do you bypass the visa issue and no mandarin knowledge?
I would be very interested to hear your experience and why you moved back.
Working for free should NEVER be an option.
or $24,000 a year
Ask dad for your first two year's salary. That is your only guarantee. Architects love to NOT have to pay salary. That's how you'll get a job these days.
talk to Tony
Is it possible to get real helpful advice on this forum? I graduated 2007 (34 yrs old - roughly 4 yrs. Experience).
I agree with med. Anyone who has graduated and has experience should never work for free.
@ Justin Ather Maud. The whole "ask dad" sentiment is a little played out. Don't you think?
da_la,
From speaking to a few (entry level) friends on the engineering side, it seems that they are busiest on infrastructure, transportation hub, and healthcare design. If you are looking for immediate work, you may consider researching some firms that have a focus in one of those areas.
Granted, it isn't "capital-A," but it is work that may have some tangential relevancy to your interests that also pays the bills. It may rub you the wrong way to work for someone like AECOM, but they have a ton of work right now in LA- even if it is only giving the children of dictators guided tours of the USA (I kid).
I think the question is, what do you have an interest in? Are you looking for *any* work, or are you holding out for a specific area? No wrong answer in either, but it will give some of the commentariat a better idea of where you are coming from.
Thanks Token AE for the advice.
2 year ago I wasn't even thinking about applying at companies like AECOM, Gensler, SOM, NBBJ etc. I was working for a small construction office that did standard work and helped pay the bills. Bored from the work, I was constantly applying at small/medium offices with interesting work (morphosis, mmaltzan, diller + scofidio, clive wilkinson, OMA, and others), but they were not really hiring.
So my initial post was questioning if these types of offices begun hiring again. I have been unemployed for 5 months now and do not want to waste more time waiting for an opportunity that might still be far away.
Forced by the recession, I have tried with gensler, nbbj, aecom a few months ago, but it seems that new positions for junior architects is still very difficult to land (without knowing anyone from the inside).
I also believe that more experienced architects (5+ yrs) willing to get paid less, are getting pulled to the work force before junior architects (1-3 yrs).
I will add that I hold a diploma from a good school and an impressive portfolio demonstrating high 2d/3d software skills and technical 2d drafting..so I can't really blame myself for being incompetent, or holding a poor resume/portfolio.
Also, being older (34) than the average entry level architect has some benifits for the employer. If it does hold some bonus points, I am considering handing my resume personally at offices posting job offers, so they can see my 'grey' hair. Not sure yet if that is the best thing, or just mention it in the cover letter. I might be wrong here about the age too, don't know yet.
Any advice would be highly appreciated.
da_la
I concur with Token AE, and will only add that your age whilst possibly unimportant to many folks here in the states (vs abroad, etc) may possibly catch the eye of someone that is in charge of hiring. I personally love the idea of the european CV because you can post your picture and your age. Whereas here in the states things are subjugated to a point that one must worry about the personal documentation cause it may offend someone, and worse yet, someone might decide to sue you! (sorry....perhaps that's taking it a bit too far, but not uncommon I say).
Essentially, I suppose you will have to decide if working for the larger/less known (from a design point of view) firm will be good for you. My opinion is that in light of things as they have been and continue here in the Southern California job market, that a job that pays well, no matter what you are doing is a good job.
Not sure if that will help you in your endeavors, but it's kind of the way I am approaching it. Unfortunately I've been out of the profession for over 2 years now because of the economy (1 year w/o any work, and current year working in Engineering).
Whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck mate!
Cheers
thanks for the reply.
Is there a 'way back' to experimental/innovative achitecture after working for companies like AECOM?
da_la
from what I have gathered and experienced in speaking to fellow designers, etc., one potential way to return to experimental/innovative architecture would be through enduring the trials of competitions. A firm will not give you that unfortunately. Not here in the U.S.
perhaps a firm abroad may do that (speaking from experience) but, my fear is that one here (esp. in los angeles) and in this economy.....most likely would not occur.
hey sorry, i never really replied back. I moved to LA back in dec because the company i worked for in Beijing was a nonprofit urban research think tank and we lost our funding.
I stayed in LA for 5 months, no luck finding paid work (several good firms offered unpaid internships but i really couldnt afford it) so i moved back to Beijing in May. Beijing's architecture scene is exploding, We'e all pretty close, most people from every major international firm (OMA, Zaha, MAD, OPEN, Steven Holl, UFO ...) all seem to know each other and once youre in the group its fairly easy to switch between firms or find out when they are hiring.
Even if you dont know anyone coming in its really easy to get started here, especially if you have no previous experience, my roommate for example came here with out a job, and had three offers in a week - hes only been out of school 2 years and worked a one year internship.
The trick with most of the international firms here is knowing Rhino, Grasshopper, Digital Project or Revit. the toughest thing is just getting your foot in (as elsewhere in the world) - MAD for example gets 100+ emails a day for their job postings - i was told they just randomly pick three each day and see if they find something - not real reassuring if you seriously want to work there, im sure all the major firms are absolutely flooded with applications.
the salaries very - greatly - depending on you're experience, school you graduated from, and your skills. my first job was only like $300 a month, I now make roughly $1500 a month (I am 2 years out of school with a bachelors degree from the U of Minnesota) - once you have your masters and a few years experience you can expect to make $3,000-4,000 a month. Still a little low compared to EU or the US - but you have to remember this is China, a beer is $0.14, rent is $300 and you can live like a king each week for $200 a week or so.
probably the best place to look if you're interested in working in china would be http://www.chinese-architects.com/en/
otherwise here's a list of most of the international firms here:
http://www.zaha-hadid.com/
http://i-mad.com
http://www.oma.eu
http://www.buro-os.com
www.stevenholl.com
http://www.openarch.com
http://blog.hhdfun.com/
http://www.standardarchitecture.cn/
http://www.makearchitects.com/#/contact/beijing/
http://www.biad-ufo.cn
http://www.x-w-g.net/ -
http://www.architecture-studio.fr/en/contact/beijing/
http://wp.crossboundaries.net/?page_id=1407
http://www.sako.co.jp/news/news_top_us.html
http://www.uaabj.com/contact/index.html
http://www.obraarchitects.com/ (from NYC)
www.sparchasia.com
www.aecom.com
www.designandarchitecture.net
http://www.urbanus.com.cn
http://www.vbnarch.com
www.chinese-architects.com/vector
www.zephyrarchitects.com
http://www.100s-1.com/
http://www.baumschlager-eberle.com/
http://www.bma.net.cn
http://www.enrico-taranta.com
http://www.gbbn.com/
http://www.deeparchitects.com
http://www.studiopeizhu.com/
http://w-a-a.cn/
http://www.approacharchitecture.com/
http://www.spatial-practice.com
http://www.benjaminhaupt.com
http://www.xdarchitects.com/
hope this helps anyone that's interested in china work
a
Hey great post, Andrew. As a recent graduate (BA in Arch) I'm also considering relocating to Asia to find some work as the job market is seriously bleak here in the SF Bay Area where I am. I had been thinking of applying to firms in Japan as I can understand and speak basic Japanese, but I am beginning to think about working in Korea or China also. Would you say not speaking Chinese is a huge disadvantage for foreign applicants and is it actually required in your experience? Also, did you start applying even before you moved to Beijing or did you move to the area first before putting yourself out there? I guess I am asking if it's realistic to expect anything by applying from long distance without even organizing housing, any visa issues, actually getting there, etc.
Oops, don't want to derail the topic here. I'm going to repost in the "Young US Architects in China" thread.
here is that thread: http://archinect.com/forum/thread/12191943/young-us-architects-working-in-china
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