there is little risk in LA other then finding a good place to live or getting in a wreck on the freeway- the job market is pretty hot and you seem to have good skills. best of luck mate!

be prepared for price shock either city.

Thanks treekiller. We've talked about the huge cost of living difference between LV and California, and if it means having less in our pocket at the end of the day, so be it. For us its all about living in interesting places and getting great work experience.

P.S. Come to think of it...I can't think of a place in the world where there isn't a massive shortage of good architects!

Is the LA architecture realm really as diverse as it appears? Here in Vegas, there is a huge amount of big project work, but very little small scale work (or its small scale work that isn't very interesting).

LA seems more innovative, architects doing risker stuff, with more confident clients. While I love the city, San Francisco's architecture scene doesn't appear to have as many new buildings or single family residences / small commercial being built. That's my impression anyway, as the city seems pretty built up already... can anyone shed light on the subject?

I guess I'm interested in knowing what are the key differences between working in San Francisco or LA? What is a newcomer to expect? I'd throw in San Diego for good measure too.

hi antipodean. Im actually from vegas myself too. i moved to cali to go to school because nevada only has ONE school offering arch, and that is UNLV. its not even accredited either.

anyways, after living here for a year ive come to see a huge difference between vegas and cali in terms of architectural practice as well as lifestyle. there's no doubt that cali is a hot spot for the field, but i havent really heard anything about vegas. when i left there i didnt know any better and thought that most of the work in vegas revolves around hotels and casinos, etc, but im sure thats incorrect considering all the unbuilt land they have over there.

since you lived and worked there, could you share a little bit about the condition of the field over there?

Hi levoandco, I've just returned from a brief visit to LA, and I can tell you I'm already missing it! You are right that there is more to architectural work in Las Vegas than casinos and hotels, but if you are looking for a depth of architectural culture and thinking, LV has a long way to go to catch up to California. I'm very interested in architectural theory (I've taught in schools of architecture back home while doing professional work as well), and UNLV is a commuter college... students work full time and study part time, if you know what I mean.

There is huge opportunity for more interesting educational, residential and commercial work here, and I work for a firm that doesn't do much casino work. There is definitely a shortage of people, of all levels, to fill architectural jobs. The industry has this strange split, where certain architectural firms do mostly casino work, and others don't. Much of the tracts of undeveloped land you mentioned are owned by big housing companies like Del Webb who will create yet another cookie cutter residential community, with hundreds of the same homes, same stores, you get the picture. There is little in the way of interesting, well designed single family dwellings...so far. Like Phoenix, Arizona, I've heard people comment on how Las Vegas doesn't have a city soul yet.

I think that if you are in a good firm in Las Vegas, you can progress your career very quickly. There is a shortage of seasoned professionals, and you can be handed big projects to manage and design because there isn't anyone else to fill that role. However I struggle with the lower expectations of design here, to what I perceive to be higher, more innovative standards in California.

what, you don't like working w/ neon?

LEDs, mate. Neon is so last century.

FYI : UNLV is accredited.

Description:
Master of Architecture (preprofessional degree + 2 years)
Master of Architecture (3+ years)

Accredited since 1997

Next visit scheduled for 2011

Contact Info:
Michael D. Kroelinger, Ph.D., AIA, FIDA, LC, Director
School of Architecture
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
4505 Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-401

the above is copied from the NAAB website...

yea the M.Arch is accredited. I was referring to their undergrad B.S. Arch program.

B.S. Arch (and any 4 year architecture program) are not "accredited"... b/c they are not professional degrees... only BArch and MArch... so no school in the country has an accredited 4 year undergrad program

that was my point... in other words, they didnt have a professional B.Arch. there, sound better?

the antipodean, sorry for bringing your post off into a tangent...

So correct me if I'm wrong, you'd work in LA or SF while your husband stays working in Vegas and "commutes" to see you on weekends? Is there an option of him working in Cali? I certinaly can understand wanting more in terms of professional opportunities, but personally I wouldn't distance myself from my spouse only for a more desireable job. I would think that would discount any happiness gained from the career move. At least for me it would.

No prob levoandco. Tangents is what this forum is all about...

aquapura, yes you are correct. You know that feeling, when a place just feels suffocating, and you need to get out? (Ok so its 100 in LV right now with stifling humidity, but this is different). My other half works in CA quite a bit already (he's been there 3 times in the last 10 days). Its a tough decision to make, for exactly that reason, we'd be apart for most of the week.

I've been talking to people in my firm, and I think there is an opportunity to commute to the LA office, maybe a day or two a week. Though I'd be working for the same firm, the LA office needs some architectural guidance, so rather than architectural projects being my focus initally, the whole office would be a "project." If the 1-2 day a week thing works out, then it could become more permanent.

So with that option, I'd still live in Las Vegas, but fly in regularly to LA. Could be a plan. Kudos to my office for being receptive. There's just so much interesting work being done in CA...I really want to be a part of it.

From what I've heard CA is a totally different design / work environment...the competition is different. Honestly, its more like what my past experience has been like (more design oriented) than what Las Vegas offers right now.