In high school, I took a few drafting classes and became very interested in architecture because of the teacher. Later, that professor interviewed some students for an internship at his firm to work on a local government housing project and I got the gig. During the internship, I did some very basic site analysis, drafting of the site, material research, etc. The problem is, now that I've gone through 4 years of architecture school, I realize that all the work I did there was pretty much useless and the internship was much more of a charitable way to get a young kid interested in architecture than a mutually beneficial partnership.
I assume that when I list this experience in applications/resumes I just need to be extremely clear about my role on the project so I don't mislead the reviewer or undersell it but can I consider this to be professional experience or just an interesting experience?
it counts if you were exposed to architecturish stuff going on around you. it doesn't sound useless by the way you're phrasing it. if you say you worked at an architecture firm working on housing while in high school, i think there will be certain expectations as to what your role was. if you told them you were the project lead as a high school student or recent graduate, there might be an assumption that you're padding your resume.
you underestimate how much of your life is going to be that useless stuff.
well, once you get into the work force you'll realize that the work you did in the 6 years of architecture school was pretty much useless and your education was much more of a really expensive way to get a young kid interested in architecture than a mutually beneficial partnership.
i kid, i kid...
ok, so i guess i'd better respond with my own opinion; I don't think you have anything to worry about. They have the dates that you interned, they know you were fresh outta high school, they may ask about it and you can describe you experience. When you describe it though, don't sound ashamed of it like you do above. I'm sure you can look back and find value in those experiences.
This sounds fine. In fact it sounds like it was probably a very beneficial job for you. Site analysis, learning how to draft, material research - these are all great things to learn. Remember: you have to start somewhere, and every one of us who are looking at your resume know that! We all started somewhere, too. Everyone's first internship is kind of silly-seeming on the surface. But in reality, the fact that you were in an office, absorbing all kinds of little details about what it's like to do the day-to-day actual work of being an architect, is valuable. You probably absorbed a whole lot that you don't even realize you absorbed. You will, however, realize that when you get to your next office & find that there's all kinds of stuff implanted deep into your brain that you never knew was that.
Be proud of your experience. ALL of it feeds into who you are. And some people don't even have as much as you do, so for heaven's sake don't discount what you have.
My first internship, while in college but before I'd been admitted to the professional architecture degree program, had me running copies and re-drawing details for a Kmart detail library. Not glamorous stuff, but having any sort of work exposure to an actual architectural office was still a big plus when I was nearing graduation in the early '90s recession and looking for a design job. Include it on your resume.
How should I portray my internship experience so I stay out of trouble?
In high school, I took a few drafting classes and became very interested in architecture because of the teacher. Later, that professor interviewed some students for an internship at his firm to work on a local government housing project and I got the gig. During the internship, I did some very basic site analysis, drafting of the site, material research, etc. The problem is, now that I've gone through 4 years of architecture school, I realize that all the work I did there was pretty much useless and the internship was much more of a charitable way to get a young kid interested in architecture than a mutually beneficial partnership.
I assume that when I list this experience in applications/resumes I just need to be extremely clear about my role on the project so I don't mislead the reviewer or undersell it but can I consider this to be professional experience or just an interesting experience?
it counts if you were exposed to architecturish stuff going on around you. it doesn't sound useless by the way you're phrasing it. if you say you worked at an architecture firm working on housing while in high school, i think there will be certain expectations as to what your role was. if you told them you were the project lead as a high school student or recent graduate, there might be an assumption that you're padding your resume.
you underestimate how much of your life is going to be that useless stuff.
well, once you get into the work force you'll realize that the work you did in the 6 years of architecture school was pretty much useless and your education was much more of a really expensive way to get a young kid interested in architecture than a mutually beneficial partnership.
i kid, i kid...
ok, so i guess i'd better respond with my own opinion; I don't think you have anything to worry about. They have the dates that you interned, they know you were fresh outta high school, they may ask about it and you can describe you experience. When you describe it though, don't sound ashamed of it like you do above. I'm sure you can look back and find value in those experiences.
This sounds fine. In fact it sounds like it was probably a very beneficial job for you. Site analysis, learning how to draft, material research - these are all great things to learn. Remember: you have to start somewhere, and every one of us who are looking at your resume know that! We all started somewhere, too. Everyone's first internship is kind of silly-seeming on the surface. But in reality, the fact that you were in an office, absorbing all kinds of little details about what it's like to do the day-to-day actual work of being an architect, is valuable. You probably absorbed a whole lot that you don't even realize you absorbed. You will, however, realize that when you get to your next office & find that there's all kinds of stuff implanted deep into your brain that you never knew was that.
Be proud of your experience. ALL of it feeds into who you are. And some people don't even have as much as you do, so for heaven's sake don't discount what you have.
My first internship, while in college but before I'd been admitted to the professional architecture degree program, had me running copies and re-drawing details for a Kmart detail library. Not glamorous stuff, but having any sort of work exposure to an actual architectural office was still a big plus when I was nearing graduation in the early '90s recession and looking for a design job. Include it on your resume.
Thanks for the feedback everyone!
I didn't realize I sounded so shameful when I was typing that ha. It was an awesome internship though and everything you've said makes a lot of sense.
were there hookers and blow?
not sure if thats professional experience or just an interesting experience either...
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