After an exhaustive and nerve wracking two months without a paycheck, things are looking bright.
I received an offer from an 'scape firm that is a great group of people. The only con to this offer is my IDP quest will get sidetracked (until I figure out an alternate method of earning credits for 'Catagory A' which is what I need). Working here willl make my LARE exams easier. Best part is they offer lots of responsibility and advancement within the small practice...
Tommorow, I have a second interview with a larger Arch/Interiors firm that's making a name for themselves in sustainable design and wants to get into planning (my cuppa tea). This office has some really cool tech (first laser cutter & 3d printer seen in an office recently). I like these people too. The ambitious new principals are activly reshaping the firm into my sort of place. Here the IDP is taken care off and I can still can sit for my LARE. So no known cons, just not as much responsibilty right off the bat.
*hmmmmmm*
Now's the figuring out part. Where do I want to spend the next few years?
Guess this means that my heavy archinect days are numbered...
You have one good offer, which despite its disadvantage regarding IDP, still sounds productive and positive. Delay doesn't mean "Never."
You have the chance for another great opportunity.
So either way, it sounds like you are on the way to things looking up, and good luck, I hope you get an offer from firm #2. THEN you will really have something to post about and ask for advice!
I should have started a blog about my job search - it's been almost as exciting as applying to graduate school was.
So the 2nd offer has arrived! YEAH ME!!!!!
Good news is that it's in the same $$ ballpark as the other offer, so I can focus on what do I want to be doing and where will I learn the most.
So it comes down to:
Firm A: __________________ Firm B:
Landscape/Planning : vs : Architecture/Planning
regional/local : vs : regional/national
small (12 people) : vs : midsized (80 people)
open office/loft : vs : corporate tower with cubicles (till they move)
green plants : vs : green architecture
traditional practice : vs : innovative practice/research centered
IDP delayed/LARE easy studying : vs : IDP met/LARE hard study
CAD & typical hardware : vs : REVIT/laser cutter/3d printer
parks/residential/commerical : vs : casinos/residential/commericial
1st generation firm founders : vs : 2nd generation of principals
growing the firm : vs : redefining/reinventing the firm
more responsibility : vs : more mentoring
no website : vs : lame website
freindly people : vs : some freindly, others ?
1st Ave & 4th St MPLS : vs : 4th Ave & 9th St MPLS (hello skyways!)
surface parking/public transit : vs : enclosed parking/carbon offsets/transit
planting trees : vs : green operations policy/carbon offsets
business card with name only : vs : business card with lots of initials after name
casual dress : vs : business casual
music in office : vs : music in my head
How did you find a "Firm A" that will offer the same kind of $$$ "Firm B" is offering? I'd say this depends on your intent. Personally, firm A sounds more of my style. I'm not into a bunch of letters at the end of my name which are really just an extension of my penis. I know a lot of RAs and not a lot of RLAs. Plus I can't work without some jams. I sit in a cube all day and I would kill to go outside right now and dig a hole and put a tree in it (okay, maybe not today, it's freezing, literally). Obviously, I can't make the decision from your standpoint, but I know what I would do!
I think you need to pick that firm that will most allow your continued visibility and activity here on Archinect.
AP's question is very good - which do you ant to pursue right away? Or do you really want to pursue them concurrently, as you can if you take the arch job, work on your IDP, and ALSO take the LA exam (this course seems ambitious to me, but admirable if you can do it)?
Picture yourself walking in pre-coffee each and every morning to both firms: which feels better?
concurrent all the way! & firm B has cubicles so I can post to archinect as much as I want to.
The RLA bit will go down this spring (no matter which firm I land at), since MN & CLARB have no work requirements for test elegability. Still have to wrap up IDP, even if I go for CA concurrent testing or just wait till it's done and test in MN.
Had a great lunch with the principal of firm A today, then ran over to firm B to get the full lowdown on their offer. Both are great offers, and both have dangled some cool projects infront of me. Meeting with them both, showed me how great they both are- was worth the two month wait.
The question I have to answer is: 10 years from now, what do I want to be doing? My goal is to be in a leadership role of a firm, and making as big a difference as possible for the planet, people and critters. I don't know if this will be my own firm, as a senior cog at a large firm, or as a principal in a smaller one. So will bigger roles on smaller local projects or smaller roles in larger projects provide the best development options?
For those with lots of time in the trenches, how well can small vs. midsize firms redefine themselves when the principals want to shift markets and up the quality of design?
Pre-coffee visualization is a great test- that may be the key to unlock the answer.
He's going to blow something alright…love those blue tinted glasses.
Good luck with your decision treekiller, you have a tough decision ahead of you. Option A seems to be more fitting for you. Have you figured out your alternate method of earning credits for 'Category A' if you go this route? My personal experience – you will have a better chance at making a difference at a smaller firm, so I vote for the bigger role on smaller local projects. Keep in mind that I am talking about business in general – currently I am transitioning from SW engineering to Architecture, but I have a lot of experience with small versus large companies, and I believe the same methods/tactics apply to any industry. I work in a very large corporation and I consistently struggle with the "make a difference" role. In the past, I have worked for small companies and I felt like I could make a difference; do what was necessary to make it right and I was able to receive buy in from management to make it happen. Think seriously hard about option B – sounds like an awesome opportunity but based on your objectives, it seems as though they might not be a good fit. In larger companies, there is so much bureaucracy and red tape – they make it hard to change things - believe me, I've tried, and they will break your spirit trying. My two cents - why don’t you take that Option A versus Option B chart you defined above and give each category a rating from 1-10 based on what is important to you and figure out which option scores the highest. Give that a shot and see if that provides you any revelation / guidance.
katze- My plan for dealing with IDP in the landscape firm would be to utilize the AIA's Emerging Professional training exercizes for as many credits as possible, and then try to get on paper, a supervisor who was an RA to sign the paperwork.... Since LA's work with lots of archs, I may also be able to get a paper transfer of employment to another firm for a project while remaining in the office. Not the best way, but best way to deal with the issue without having to jump ship.
right now, I'm leaning towards the arch firm as having more opportunities for mentoring and leadership training. As much as I like jumping into the deep end of things, in 10 years, i'd like to be dealing with large complex projects. I don't see many of these coming through the doors of the LA firm, while this is the bread-n-butter of the arch practice.
While 80 people is larger, the opportunities for change come from the top and the new principals of the firm are gungho about reinventing the practice and have implimented lots of effort towards this. the LA firm hasn't embarked on any changes yet - it seems to be mostly talk so far and I'd be the catalyst for shaking things up.
The other factor that I've just realized is a level of guilt - the LA firm jumped at my interest (I was very careful to not commit) and assumed that I was joining them. So I'll be leaving them in a lurch with one of the staffer oing on maternity leave next week. So my desire to be a nice guy is part of why this is such a hard decision. That said, while I want to settle down into one job for more then 2 years (my record so far), it's easier to walk away from a larger organization if I do decide to launch my own practice or join another firm somewhere down the road.
i've been slacking at keeping ya'll updated (thanks for reminding me SW).
So, I choose the job with firm B and start next monday! the toughest part was letting the principal of firm A know that I had accepted the other offer.
So do I reveal my new professional affiliation to the entire Archinect world? Hmm, maybe in a few weeks once I've settled into the place. Don't want them to know how much I'll be posting to archinect from the office yet.
funny you should ask... I was just having a 1:1 meeting with the one principal I don't directly work with (she's in charge of the facilities managment/interiors group) and was articulating my contentment with joining them on friday.
I won't gloss over the banality of the day-to-day drafting responsibilities- doing cds can get very tedious, but it was my choice and request to focus on racking up IDP units. that said, I've been given a wide latitude for figuring stuff out and contacting vendors for more info. Nothing specific about detailing entry canopies and the skylights that is sustainable design- most of those choices were made long ago or VE'd out of the project. Aestheticly the project is hospitality modern, and I'm just making my details as clean and minimalist as possible.
In a few weeks, I'll be adding another project to my plate and exercizing my LEED-AP side of my brain. this will break up the tedium of wrapping up the CD set. So I'll be playing with a small restaurant that is committed to local food and got a grant to support their LEED certification.
The stuff that makes me excited to be part of the office is how much effort they are placing on shifting towards a sustainable practice (as posted elsewhere). It feels like I'm making a difference here and can raise the other staffers awarenss about site, urbanism, and ecology. One of the major reasons for going with firm B is that managment has fully bought into making the (huge) effort to be sustainable and practice what they preach. i didn't get that impression from firm A. Landscape firms in general, seems to have a harder time distinguishing between the planting a few plants and really being sustainable as a business.
If it wasn't in conflict with going to Coachella, I'd be hitting the green roofs for healthy cities conference on the companies dime... still may get greenroof 101 under my belt this year (between the LARE exams!)
cubicle life sucks, in compensation is having full access to the amazing cornucopia of the skyways.
Jan 28, 07 4:11 pm ·
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One offer in the bag and another pending...
After an exhaustive and nerve wracking two months without a paycheck, things are looking bright.
I received an offer from an 'scape firm that is a great group of people. The only con to this offer is my IDP quest will get sidetracked (until I figure out an alternate method of earning credits for 'Catagory A' which is what I need). Working here willl make my LARE exams easier. Best part is they offer lots of responsibility and advancement within the small practice...
Tommorow, I have a second interview with a larger Arch/Interiors firm that's making a name for themselves in sustainable design and wants to get into planning (my cuppa tea). This office has some really cool tech (first laser cutter & 3d printer seen in an office recently). I like these people too. The ambitious new principals are activly reshaping the firm into my sort of place. Here the IDP is taken care off and I can still can sit for my LARE. So no known cons, just not as much responsibilty right off the bat.
*hmmmmmm*
Now's the figuring out part. Where do I want to spend the next few years?
Guess this means that my heavy archinect days are numbered...
Any thoughts?
Thoughts:
You have one good offer, which despite its disadvantage regarding IDP, still sounds productive and positive. Delay doesn't mean "Never."
You have the chance for another great opportunity.
So either way, it sounds like you are on the way to things looking up, and good luck, I hope you get an offer from firm #2. THEN you will really have something to post about and ask for advice!
I should have started a blog about my job search - it's been almost as exciting as applying to graduate school was.
So the 2nd offer has arrived! YEAH ME!!!!!
Good news is that it's in the same $$ ballpark as the other offer, so I can focus on what do I want to be doing and where will I learn the most.
So it comes down to:
Firm A: __________________ Firm B:
Landscape/Planning : vs : Architecture/Planning
regional/local : vs : regional/national
small (12 people) : vs : midsized (80 people)
open office/loft : vs : corporate tower with cubicles (till they move)
green plants : vs : green architecture
traditional practice : vs : innovative practice/research centered
IDP delayed/LARE easy studying : vs : IDP met/LARE hard study
CAD & typical hardware : vs : REVIT/laser cutter/3d printer
parks/residential/commerical : vs : casinos/residential/commericial
1st generation firm founders : vs : 2nd generation of principals
growing the firm : vs : redefining/reinventing the firm
more responsibility : vs : more mentoring
no website : vs : lame website
freindly people : vs : some freindly, others ?
1st Ave & 4th St MPLS : vs : 4th Ave & 9th St MPLS (hello skyways!)
surface parking/public transit : vs : enclosed parking/carbon offsets/transit
planting trees : vs : green operations policy/carbon offsets
business card with name only : vs : business card with lots of initials after name
casual dress : vs : business casual
music in office : vs : music in my head
treekiller FASLA : vs : treekiller FAIA
my vote is firm b, where not everyone is friendly...
How did you find a "Firm A" that will offer the same kind of $$$ "Firm B" is offering? I'd say this depends on your intent. Personally, firm A sounds more of my style. I'm not into a bunch of letters at the end of my name which are really just an extension of my penis. I know a lot of RAs and not a lot of RLAs. Plus I can't work without some jams. I sit in a cube all day and I would kill to go outside right now and dig a hole and put a tree in it (okay, maybe not today, it's freezing, literally). Obviously, I can't make the decision from your standpoint, but I know what I would do!
well, if the 'vs' was narrowed down to:
LArch vs Arch
which would you pick?
which licensure are you more concerned with completing first?
Excellent summation, treekiller.
I think you need to pick that firm that will most allow your continued visibility and activity here on Archinect.
AP's question is very good - which do you ant to pursue right away? Or do you really want to pursue them concurrently, as you can if you take the arch job, work on your IDP, and ALSO take the LA exam (this course seems ambitious to me, but admirable if you can do it)?
Picture yourself walking in pre-coffee each and every morning to both firms: which feels better?
concurrent all the way! & firm B has cubicles so I can post to archinect as much as I want to.
The RLA bit will go down this spring (no matter which firm I land at), since MN & CLARB have no work requirements for test elegability. Still have to wrap up IDP, even if I go for CA concurrent testing or just wait till it's done and test in MN.
Had a great lunch with the principal of firm A today, then ran over to firm B to get the full lowdown on their offer. Both are great offers, and both have dangled some cool projects infront of me. Meeting with them both, showed me how great they both are- was worth the two month wait.
The question I have to answer is: 10 years from now, what do I want to be doing? My goal is to be in a leadership role of a firm, and making as big a difference as possible for the planet, people and critters. I don't know if this will be my own firm, as a senior cog at a large firm, or as a principal in a smaller one. So will bigger roles on smaller local projects or smaller roles in larger projects provide the best development options?
For those with lots of time in the trenches, how well can small vs. midsize firms redefine themselves when the principals want to shift markets and up the quality of design?
Pre-coffee visualization is a great test- that may be the key to unlock the answer.
thanks ya'll.
good luck
hello skyways
He's going to blow something alright…love those blue tinted glasses.
Good luck with your decision treekiller, you have a tough decision ahead of you. Option A seems to be more fitting for you. Have you figured out your alternate method of earning credits for 'Category A' if you go this route? My personal experience – you will have a better chance at making a difference at a smaller firm, so I vote for the bigger role on smaller local projects. Keep in mind that I am talking about business in general – currently I am transitioning from SW engineering to Architecture, but I have a lot of experience with small versus large companies, and I believe the same methods/tactics apply to any industry. I work in a very large corporation and I consistently struggle with the "make a difference" role. In the past, I have worked for small companies and I felt like I could make a difference; do what was necessary to make it right and I was able to receive buy in from management to make it happen. Think seriously hard about option B – sounds like an awesome opportunity but based on your objectives, it seems as though they might not be a good fit. In larger companies, there is so much bureaucracy and red tape – they make it hard to change things - believe me, I've tried, and they will break your spirit trying. My two cents - why don’t you take that Option A versus Option B chart you defined above and give each category a rating from 1-10 based on what is important to you and figure out which option scores the highest. Give that a shot and see if that provides you any revelation / guidance.
those blue glasses are so 1998- great song!
katze- My plan for dealing with IDP in the landscape firm would be to utilize the AIA's Emerging Professional training exercizes for as many credits as possible, and then try to get on paper, a supervisor who was an RA to sign the paperwork.... Since LA's work with lots of archs, I may also be able to get a paper transfer of employment to another firm for a project while remaining in the office. Not the best way, but best way to deal with the issue without having to jump ship.
right now, I'm leaning towards the arch firm as having more opportunities for mentoring and leadership training. As much as I like jumping into the deep end of things, in 10 years, i'd like to be dealing with large complex projects. I don't see many of these coming through the doors of the LA firm, while this is the bread-n-butter of the arch practice.
While 80 people is larger, the opportunities for change come from the top and the new principals of the firm are gungho about reinventing the practice and have implimented lots of effort towards this. the LA firm hasn't embarked on any changes yet - it seems to be mostly talk so far and I'd be the catalyst for shaking things up.
The other factor that I've just realized is a level of guilt - the LA firm jumped at my interest (I was very careful to not commit) and assumed that I was joining them. So I'll be leaving them in a lurch with one of the staffer oing on maternity leave next week. So my desire to be a nice guy is part of why this is such a hard decision. That said, while I want to settle down into one job for more then 2 years (my record so far), it's easier to walk away from a larger organization if I do decide to launch my own practice or join another firm somewhere down the road.
Sounds like you have it figured out :) best of luck treekiller.
i've been slacking at keeping ya'll updated (thanks for reminding me SW).
So, I choose the job with firm B and start next monday! the toughest part was letting the principal of firm A know that I had accepted the other offer.
So do I reveal my new professional affiliation to the entire Archinect world? Hmm, maybe in a few weeks once I've settled into the place. Don't want them to know how much I'll be posting to archinect from the office yet.
But they do encourage research... :)
we want a picture tour of this new workplace!...
don't forget to ask your employeer how to bill them for research hours. And pics, yes, we want pics of the workplace or a web site at the least.
wear your "architecture sucks" t-shirt on the first day with a necktie...no jacket...
don't forget to sharpie "landscape" above the letters...
cute dammson... :)
katze,
Congrats, arborassassin! I am excited for you but very sad about the potential drop in posting ability by you once gainfully employed...sigh.
LB et al, I now have an excuse to turn off the boob-tube at night and spend that quality time with my freinds in archinect space...
It's not like I'm being exiled...
I thought I lost my frog hat – where did you find it?
I'm not really sure how I came upon this old thread - but I'm curious:
After two months at Firm B, are you happy about your decision?
This is cool...I wonder how he'll decide. Tune in next time on Channel Archinect
funny you should ask... I was just having a 1:1 meeting with the one principal I don't directly work with (she's in charge of the facilities managment/interiors group) and was articulating my contentment with joining them on friday.
I won't gloss over the banality of the day-to-day drafting responsibilities- doing cds can get very tedious, but it was my choice and request to focus on racking up IDP units. that said, I've been given a wide latitude for figuring stuff out and contacting vendors for more info. Nothing specific about detailing entry canopies and the skylights that is sustainable design- most of those choices were made long ago or VE'd out of the project. Aestheticly the project is hospitality modern, and I'm just making my details as clean and minimalist as possible.
In a few weeks, I'll be adding another project to my plate and exercizing my LEED-AP side of my brain. this will break up the tedium of wrapping up the CD set. So I'll be playing with a small restaurant that is committed to local food and got a grant to support their LEED certification.
The stuff that makes me excited to be part of the office is how much effort they are placing on shifting towards a sustainable practice (as posted elsewhere). It feels like I'm making a difference here and can raise the other staffers awarenss about site, urbanism, and ecology. One of the major reasons for going with firm B is that managment has fully bought into making the (huge) effort to be sustainable and practice what they preach. i didn't get that impression from firm A. Landscape firms in general, seems to have a harder time distinguishing between the planting a few plants and really being sustainable as a business.
If it wasn't in conflict with going to Coachella, I'd be hitting the green roofs for healthy cities conference on the companies dime... still may get greenroof 101 under my belt this year (between the LARE exams!)
cubicle life sucks, in compensation is having full access to the amazing cornucopia of the skyways.
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