Are you saying you are pregnant? congrats!

Liberty, I know you are away teaching, I am slightly jealous, but you are the only woman no here with a child that I know of; is this just a pipe dream?

Its still too new to be a congrats yet, not to sound ungrateful. I'm just still in shock.

you can easily finish all of your exams within 9 months with a little bit of effort... take at least 1 a month... and take a few in clumps... for example...

take general structures and lateral forces back to back over 2-3 days...

take pre-design and construction docs at roughly the same time...

take the 3 graphics exams around the same time...

Practice for the 3 graphics xams - I found them to be the most "tricky": they seem simple enough but read the instructions carefully for words like only one, and do familiarize yourself with the downloadable practice xams f

I've known people who did the exams in 9 weeks, so 9 months is certainly possible. I don't know if you can compress the IDP down.

I don't think I can compress IDP either, but I'm hoping that I can get all the tests out of the way, and then finish IDP after. I won't have to "study" for IDP hours so I figure that would be do-able with a kid, where as I'm afraid the ARE will be nearly IMPOSSIBLE with one.

A Young Fogey!

Oh wow. Thats the first kid I've seen since "The Test" that hasn't made me go UGH!

So there will be some time after. I was under the impression that there would be NO time. Thats makes me feel better.

boring....

The other alternative is to explore your career w/o registration for a while. Most jobs in the architecture world don't ask you to stamp drawings or represent. Yes, registration is a great ego boost, you can call yourself an 'architect' versus all those other things, and you can start your own practice. But there are lots of opportunities where you won't need that stamp for another few years. So don't rush it just cause your in the family way. Take the tests when you are ready and your advancement depends on getting that license.

And just think of the role model you'd be for the kiddo to see you doing your homework and studying?

I wish it was socially acceptatble for me do that at dinner parties.

I took and passed all of the exams in about 4 months. I was unemployed so I had alotta time to burn though. Doing them all together in a short time has its advantages because all of the tests have overlapping info...

SH,

No worries... You can definatly take the tests in less than 9 months...I have doubled up on tests (taking two on one day), and i highly recomend it. Just be glad you dont have to deal with the California Supplemental Exam. IDP will take care of itself.

congrats, sarah! ha, i knew from the title what this would be about.

unfortunately i doubt you'll be able to push idp along fast enough to get the are complete. maybe those sections they allow you to do first, but...

not sure that you need to do it, though. will you have time off of work AFTER? granted, a baby around is not an ideal time to take on something, but if you could be in a situation where you won't be distracted by the firm/project environment and will be looking for things to do when baby is napping etc or just to keep your mind sharp, maybe exam prep could be that activity? (my wife looks for outlets to keep her from descending into toddler-speak.)

good luck. the impt advice i got but didn't understand: when i told people (parents) we were waiting for the right time, a time when we'd be 'ready', i always got "there's never a right time, you'll never be ready, but when it happens it will work out." turns out to be true!

I hope it works out, it kinda has to doesn't it. I've heard the "you're never ready" thing before, but I am so NOT READY, to the point that I'm lamenting all the things I won't have/get to do. And Im annoyed about all the rubber and extruded plastic stuff that comes with kids. I'm not ready to get rid of my bowl of useless rocks, or to turn my studio into a baby room. At least my Husband is excited, and thats kinda cute, but why can't he carry the kid?

Am I going to HAVE to put corner gaurds on my coffee table, and silly latches on doors? Can't I just leave things as they are, and leave it up to natural selection? Thats wrong, I shouldn't say that. Blame it on hormones. F U Hormones!

And I am hoping that I can work something out with my employer to allow me to draft from home after my maternity leave is up, at least for the first year. Studying then might not be so bad.

most kids survived before houses were baby proofed. we ate dirt, didn't have car seats/ seat belts, and slammed our foreheads into the corners of glass coffee tables. Congrats Sarah!! It is refreshing to hear an honest perspective of a mother-to-be. I'm so use to hearing "everything is great- it's the best thing ever!"...but, for us career gals, it’s a tough step.

Good luck on your tests! I think it will be nice to focus on the task of studying.

not getting into this situation typically requires rubber and extruded plastic stuff too. man, procreation is messy...

there is 'not ready', and then there is 'not ready but damn biology is ticking'.

congrats SH

sarah, that's probably the most honest thing that anyone has ever said on this site.

my wife and do not plan to have a family, although if we did, we'd probably adopt.

i'll reserve the congrats, because i am not sure that's what you want to hear, but i will say good luck. it's certainly a tough thing to do what you are doing and try to pass exams. i am amazed and humble by those that do manage career, professional, personal and family goals.

i on the other hand am too selfish and really only have enough room for my wife, myself, and my career - in that order.

my best for whatever you are happy with.

Thanks for your post SH-I was wondering about this as well. I will be 34 when I graduate, and we want to start a family then, but I am not putting myself through all of this to not get registered. I work with women who aren't registered because they say it was too hard with motherhood, but I am hoping that is not the case. Maybe that was just them and unsupporting husbands. But thnakfully in TX (I live here too_I can start taking test as soon as I graduate which is what I want to do. Get them done as soon as possible!!
Good luck-and your honesty is great-you aren't the only one with those concerns, and the dislike of everything that is brightly colored plastic!

we, selfishly, have not kid-proofed our house. and we don't have much of the plastic junk. we've chosen what we'll accept into the house and what we won't. so far the kids seem pretty well-adjusted. and they haven't gotten hurt and generally seem pretty aware of what's good to do vs what's not.

you can do this on your terms, sarah. feel free to email if you need moral support. liberty and i can team up and convince you that this will be the best thing ever!

Sarah I have the same goals in mind. Finish IDP hours by the time im married (next oct.) and be done the tests by the time we had kids. I don't know how I'd feel if those plans got botched, but hey, think of the cute Philly U onesie you can order now!

Thank you, I am slowly coming around, but I will keep the emailing in mind.

And it really means a lot that you don't have tons of baby stuff cluttering up your house, Steven. I had to go into a baby's R us the other day, and all that stuff nearly gave me a panic attack. ICK! Don't they have designers in this world?

also, I had to google how to spell onesie.

Quix. they don't really have one of those, do they? Thats kinda scary.

kids ARE a scary thought. glad I'm not the only one who is scared to death of the thought of plastic stuff and kid proofing. AND who has herself convinced she can't have kids until the career is smoother sailing - but maybe I don't.

one of my friends that has a kid has next to nothing kid proofed. their favorite line is, "just like the indians." That's how I was raised too, you wanna eat dirt, eat it. I actually ate a lot of dirt as a kid, I remember doing it, I remember LIKING it!

I like steven's point about how you'll probably be bored and need some intellectual stimulation after the baby is born anyways. If you wanted to speed up IDP, you can do the EPC. emerging professional's companion I have friends that completed IDP in about 2 years, using their summer jobs for credit, and doing the EPC. But do you need to speed IDP up?

Sarah, congratulations!!!!!!!

I haven't read the whole thread, not time right now, but in my own experience I am relieved to have gotten the whole testing process over before getting pregnant, let alone having a child.

Of course it is possible to study and pass exams with a child. And I know people who took one exam a week for 9 weeks and passed them all - but this would be very difficult, I imagine, in the first trimester when the tiredness and sickness are typically a problem.

I was essentially useless as anything but a mom for the first year after his birth. I had my job and went to work at 3 months, but my productivity and focus were low. Granted, my husband will explain that I felt I had to be superwoman thus didn't let him do basically ANY baby care (especially at night) for the first nine months, resulting in a woman who went for ten months never getting more than 3 hours of sleep at a stretch. This was a mistake!

Anyway the point is: try to get accomplished what you can NOW. I do have friends who decided to START studying for the exams during the 3 months off from work. Turns out this was a pipe dream - none of them knew how demanding being a mom and an employee would be and for 2 of them no movement on the exams has happened yet (3-5 years later). The other is stretching out loooong, which is fine, but she regrets still having it hanging over her head.

Sorry, I'm rambling a bit: my point is CONGRATULATIONS which is the most important thing - it is wonderful - and if you can get some of the exam work out of the way now I recommend it, but if you don't, you'll work it out later on.

Just checked Steven's post: it's not selfish to not babyproof the house, it's smart, because it means you will keep a closer eye on them and what is better for kids than interaction with their parents?

Oh, and for cool baby gear, of course you will read daddytypes

Thank you everyone. While I'm not fully excited yet, I am at least not crying every five minutes about it anymore. This morning, back at work was tough. Now I'm kinda giddy/nervous. Still not ready to tell the world, but at least entertaining the idea that this may not be the end of the world.

I have absolutely no advice to render, just popped in to say congratulations!

this is for the mdler's planning on procreating:

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v9/n9/abs/nn1753.html

i've almost posted pictures of my little girl(s) into this thread about ten times now, just so you can understand how exciting little kids are. but of course that's the same thing EVERY parent wants to do and you still won't fully understand until you have your very own. parents are so annoying that way.

...and this thread IS about you, not me.

[sigh.]







anybody want to see pictures of my kids?

I do, steven. but I'd rather see pics of peoples puppies. I like them better than kids...tee hee

Well, since Fogey's was cute, and actually had me go aww, instead of yuck, which no offense, but the one Vado posted made me cringe. Its just slimy.

And your oldest is really cute, and pretty, not just cute. Havent seen the new one since they hospital pic you posted. Shes not slimy is she? Im not ready for reality yet.

And I can treat my kid like a puppy, right? I mean, not letting them on the furniture, feeding them on the floor? Can you paper train a baby? They can crawl at some point, and I know they like to hide when relieving themselves. Paper training would be good, I think.

I don't see why not, sarah...but, then again, I don't know anything about kids. go a step further...make them do their business outside.

I thought about that, but Im looking at a possible feb./march date. Oh wait, this is Texas, it will be like 70 by then. But it rains too. Should I get a pooper scooper? Oh, and a fence for the back yard would be good too, huh.

beary- wome folks aren't the only ones who want to hold out on kids until the career is smooth sailing. I'm one of those guys who can't understand the midwestern culture of procreating at a tender young age before 30. there were lots of miserable cadmonkeys with associate degrees at my old job locked into their jobs by too many kids too soon to have aspired to anything else...


mommies are people too!

Since you graduated in 2006, my guess is that you will not be able to get an actual license before the big day, but I see no reason why you could not get through the testing. Back in the day, people took, and passed, all nine sections of the exam over a 4-day period. That was the norm (not necessarily passing all at once, but takiing it all at once and knocking off as many as possible). Go for it.

I highly recommend that you do your studying and get as many (hopefully all) of the exams out of the way before you start your next career (mom). I think the first few months will be very intense in the baby-care department and you will most likely not have the energy to study, even if you seem to have the time. Although I do not think it would be any kind of real crisis if you don't get through all of the exams, why not give it a try?

As far as becoming a parent...I don't know you and don't know your situation, but I feel very safe in saying you will never look back. This will be a GREAT thing.

Thankfully, I got my license before my wife and I had TWINS. Now that was something unexpected!

I didn't want any until I had my liscence, i would've been about 26-28. But NOOOOOO, apparently some one else had other plans. Hopefully I can get the tests out of the way, and not get stuck in this cad-monkey job. Not sure how I can pass the exams with only a year of work experience. Anybody in dallas want to tutor me?

Wow, yeah, twins probably would've been even more overwhelming, I'm so glad they don't run in my family. I would probably just give up under all that pressure. But I can do this, I have to.

Keep in mind that "kids happen" you are never ready for them no matter what you think or plan for so hook in and enjoy the ride. Its not alway easy but it shouldn't be a chore either. They area amazingly adaptable little people and most importantly go with the flow. if it makes sense to sleep i the day and work late into the night .. so be it. I had gotten my entire registartion out of the way before I got married but I started my own firm with three kids under 6. It was hellish but mid day knaps helped while I bottle fed my youngest at 2 in the morning oddly it worked out. so you can only plan so much and then you learn to adapt.

I wouldn't want to take my daughter into a meeting again, give her a bottle and watch her fall asleep on the floor... felt like the worst parent in the world but we all get through it.

For what it's worth, I know a number of women that passed their NCIDQ exams while on maternity leave. Granted, it's not the ARE, but from my experience, the most intimidating part of the ARE is getting in the door and taking that 1st exam.

Stupidly I'm plowing my way through the ARE with little to no studying. And selfishly I'm complaining about being busy because of social commitments, spreading exams out to about 1/month. Thankfully on exams like PD, CDS, MM I've had years of work experience to fall back on. You'll probably have to crack open those Kaplan books a wee bit more, but being so recently out of college you should be able to do that better than I.

Best of luck and if you need studying suggestions or moral support from someone in the midst of the exams I'm always available.

I'm sure I'm going to need lots of studying help. I never learned structures. Two semesters we ate pizza instead of learning cause the Prfs. wife had him on a diet. The third semester was an 80 yo man with a lisp reading the steal manual to us. woo hoo! The fourth and final semester was a good prof, but since I lack the understanding of basic structures, wood and steal, I was kinda lost in concrete.

When I get the results from my GS exam I'll let you know if I know structures. It's not really a strong subject for most architects. Know many that literally guessed their way through it.

i am surprised given our liberal tendencies, no one has even approached the idea of terminating the pregnancy? odd, but given the comments, i would have thought that was an obvious consideration. sarah, as a liberal, male, hypocrite, i think men should never have a say in this area, but have you and your s.o. even considered this option? given your comments....

steel

ahhhh terminate a baby for the ARE's? I'm a liberal, but that's obsurd! don't tell us if you do.

Sarah

Do you need your license right now??? (you may have answerd that question already, but I havent read the whole thread). There are many people your age with babies who end up getting licensed a little later