I was just wondering - for those that have taken and finished the licensing exams - if you were able to solely concentrate on the tests, how long a process would this be? A couple of weeks or a couple of months?
I'm thinking about taking a couple of months off to do the exams if possible while I move sides of the country and am between jobs.
One guy I worked with took one test each week, and was done in 9 weeks. But he had been working quite a bit longer than necessary to take the tests, so he had more experience.
I found that there were practical limits to scheduling them that were out of my control - i.e. the test center was often booked for weeks to months in advance - particularly if I wanted to test on a Saturday. This may not be as much of a problem in a less metropolitan region. Keep in mind that these test centers do hundreds of other tests for other professions - so it's not just a matter of how many prospective architects are out there.
I have a friend who decided that rather than study at all he was just going to take all 9 tests as quickly as possible - which I think was over the course of about 3 weeks - and then see which ones he passed. He passed 7 and failed 2, so then he had to wait 6 months to take the other 2 but this gave him all that time to study and he didn't have to study for any of the others. This was someone with approximately 8 years of experience.
I had a lot more problems with getting NCARB to release my record to my state in the first place. It took nearly seven months from the point that I sent in my last employment record - and even then each step only got done because I repeatedly phoned them. So if you haven't finished that part yet you may still have plenty of study time!
Thanks for the insite. Depending how long it takes for my paperwork to go through, I was hoping to get it all done by say February and I'm thinking that might be very doable now.
Speaking only for myself, and considering this is hindsight, I would have needed only a couple of months at most, assuming no scheduling difficulties.
I really only prepared for about a week for most of the tests (say a week of evenings and a full day or two).
The more difficult ones (or the ones I thought I needed more prep time for) I prepared about two weeks of evenings and several full days.
I guess that amounts to about three days of solid studying for most of the tests, and in my case, double that for structural topics, and the graphic exams.
I failed only one (building design), due to a stupid error. I took Pro fessor Dorf's course to identify the error, and prepare for the re-write.
This was all with four to six years of admittedly good rounded experience.
"NCARB" stands for National Council of Registration Boards. This is the regulatory entity that administrates the IDP program. (See www.ncarb.org)
If you meant what is the relationship between IDP and getting an NCARB certificate: NCARB certification requires a professional degree (M.Arch or B.Arch) from an accredited school, completion of IDP, and successful completion of all parts of the ARE. There is a yearly fee to keep one's NCARB certificate current.
IDP is required by the majority of states for registration in those states, but there are a few states in which one can become registered without it, or with a shortened internship, etc. For example, in Florida it is possible for anyone with any M.Arch to intern for only 2 years.
Some states don't require a professional degree - for instance it is possible to become registered in Illiinois with a 4-year undergrad degree and a 5-year internship. But a person who follows this path to registration in Illinois cannot get an NCARB certificate.
An NCARB certificate is required for reciprocity between many states - i.e. if you get registered in Illinois and then want to practice in Massachusetts the only way to get reciprocal registration in Massachusetts is with an NCARB certificate.
How quickly can one get through the ARE?
I was just wondering - for those that have taken and finished the licensing exams - if you were able to solely concentrate on the tests, how long a process would this be? A couple of weeks or a couple of months?
I'm thinking about taking a couple of months off to do the exams if possible while I move sides of the country and am between jobs.
One guy I worked with took one test each week, and was done in 9 weeks. But he had been working quite a bit longer than necessary to take the tests, so he had more experience.
I found that there were practical limits to scheduling them that were out of my control - i.e. the test center was often booked for weeks to months in advance - particularly if I wanted to test on a Saturday. This may not be as much of a problem in a less metropolitan region. Keep in mind that these test centers do hundreds of other tests for other professions - so it's not just a matter of how many prospective architects are out there.
I have a friend who decided that rather than study at all he was just going to take all 9 tests as quickly as possible - which I think was over the course of about 3 weeks - and then see which ones he passed. He passed 7 and failed 2, so then he had to wait 6 months to take the other 2 but this gave him all that time to study and he didn't have to study for any of the others. This was someone with approximately 8 years of experience.
I had a lot more problems with getting NCARB to release my record to my state in the first place. It took nearly seven months from the point that I sent in my last employment record - and even then each step only got done because I repeatedly phoned them. So if you haven't finished that part yet you may still have plenty of study time!
Thanks for the insite. Depending how long it takes for my paperwork to go through, I was hoping to get it all done by say February and I'm thinking that might be very doable now.
Speaking only for myself, and considering this is hindsight, I would have needed only a couple of months at most, assuming no scheduling difficulties.
I really only prepared for about a week for most of the tests (say a week of evenings and a full day or two).
The more difficult ones (or the ones I thought I needed more prep time for) I prepared about two weeks of evenings and several full days.
I guess that amounts to about three days of solid studying for most of the tests, and in my case, double that for structural topics, and the graphic exams.
I failed only one (building design), due to a stupid error. I took Pro fessor Dorf's course to identify the error, and prepare for the re-write.
This was all with four to six years of admittedly good rounded experience.
Good luck.
Does anyone know the relationship between the IDP and the NCARB? I have a feeling this is one with an obvious answer but I have no idea.
"NCARB" stands for National Council of Registration Boards. This is the regulatory entity that administrates the IDP program. (See www.ncarb.org)
If you meant what is the relationship between IDP and getting an NCARB certificate: NCARB certification requires a professional degree (M.Arch or B.Arch) from an accredited school, completion of IDP, and successful completion of all parts of the ARE. There is a yearly fee to keep one's NCARB certificate current.
IDP is required by the majority of states for registration in those states, but there are a few states in which one can become registered without it, or with a shortened internship, etc. For example, in Florida it is possible for anyone with any M.Arch to intern for only 2 years.
Some states don't require a professional degree - for instance it is possible to become registered in Illiinois with a 4-year undergrad degree and a 5-year internship. But a person who follows this path to registration in Illinois cannot get an NCARB certificate.
An NCARB certificate is required for reciprocity between many states - i.e. if you get registered in Illinois and then want to practice in Massachusetts the only way to get reciprocal registration in Massachusetts is with an NCARB certificate.
the first one i over-studied for... proly 2,3 weeks in the evening for 2-3 hrs.
the last 8 i studied for a week. passed them all, the first time.
for me 7 days was the limit, after that the bullshit evaporates.
so if you're good... and not working... and feel like studing all day, i'd say 20-25 hrs. per test.
now go on an get it. nothin better than the little ra after yer name.
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