what do you have to offer in teaching????

you don't have to work as an unlicensed monkey for the rest of your life. my boss isn't licensed, and you don't need to be either. but if you want to teach, the best route is to make a name for yourself as a professional designer, and then go into academia with some professional clout. it will take some time to work your way into this position. i've said it before; your first job is supposed to suck. but a first teaching job is every bit as mediocre as a first professional job, except with less pay. if you want an interesting teaching job, make a name for yourself first. architecture takes time; this is something a lot of people right out of school struggle with. my advice is stay at your job two years; this should give you plenty of time to get experience, save money, and think about it. it will go by fast.

mdler, - advanced building systems

thanks le bossman...I'd done three years professional before the masters. You are right about it taking time. I just feel like its a bit stagnant of a position considering the work isn't very stimulating or helping me move forward.

What's advanced building systems?

Give us the 5 minute sales pitch...

:-)

Teaching mediocrity would be worse yet.

how many projects have you worked on? firms shouldn't care whether or not you have an m.s. or an m.arch, if you can show them that you are talented, intelligent and experienced enough for whatever position is being offered. a strong student portfolio coupled with several complete, half-sized CD sets should get you at least into a better firm, if not the one you want to be in. also, i don't know where you live, but i've found applying to firms on the other side of the country will get you nowhere. if there is a place with several firms you'd consider working at, move there first before applying. if your already there, just keep being assertive without being annoying. i'm sure something will open up sooner or later. what isn't stimulating about the work? is it the projects themselves or the process of making them? personally i always go through a lull until i start seeing things get built; then i am inspired to work on the next project again.

I've worked on somewhere around 7-10 projects. I'd say about 4-5 from start to finish.

Regarding the work. There doesn't seem to be any passion here. It seems a little like, lets push this stuff out and get paid. It's not excessively bad work, just not really worthy of exposure. There is no firm wide agenda I guess you could say. It seems rather sterile and off the shelf kind of work. Its a bit better than bread and butter kind of projects and there are repeat clients and rich high end clients, but...

with an MSc in advanced building systems and your credentials, i'd hop on the next plane to dubai and work there for a year or two, bring that knowledge & experience back to the US, and then pick your destination.

So many people stagnate while they are "trying to figure out what to do with their lives." I applaud you for seemingly diving into your masters degree.

However, those currently applying for grad school should take note...

What was your plan when you started the MS degree? Did you research the job outlook? Did the job market for your background change drastically while in school.

Finally, isn't WonderK seeking a similar degree right now?

IIRC, WonderK already has a professional architecture degree.

DCA the plan was to work with a firm that has similar interests/ specialization and then to teach these methods of evaluation, etc. The places I have applied at that have these interests say I don't have enough CD experience. Seems odd.

I had done a lot of research about what and where to go and do. In fact I was so uncertain I ended up applying three different times to grad schools before making a decision. It seemed that with a speciality and past experience that it wouldn't be a problem to teach some where. I guess I just keep looking.

what kind of design education do you have, out of curiousity? I'm not familiar with what a building info systems degree entails. Can you enlighten?

Evaluating building systems such as building envelopes for there environmental performance. Its a master of science degree. Not a professional Architecture degree.

whether your path is teaching or professional, the key is just to not settle for mediocrity. even if what you're doing now is mediocre, the fact that you recognize it and want to push through it is probably the most impt thing. you can learn a lot in a mediocre firm, especially if you're recently out of school.

pay attention, absorb as much as you can about the way the business works. move to a different kind of office and do the same thing. keep doing projects on the side to expand your personal skills and keep your brain lubricated.

just don't stop pushing yourself into better stuff. mediocrity happens because you settle.

btw, your degree should be very helpful in the current construction/design market. but architects are not often called upon to 'evaluate building systems' in the way you've described. clients expect us to know the pros/cons of those systems we propose and we don't get paid to learn about them all that much.

better if there is someone out there who has already vetted these things. figure out who that is: testing labs? manufacturers? there may be a way to expand/deepen your specialization but i'd treat it only as a chapter in your larger education.

schools are always looking for good building systems instructors (what we used to call 'tech'). but you'll need at least a b.arch, probably an m.arch, for that.

a) if you looking for art/theory, why is it that you're only qualified to teach 'advanced building systems'? isn't that totally technical stuff? which, will very useful and interesting, doesn't have much to do with theory?

b) what do you mean save money for a phd? i thought phd programs were free.

i think steven's comment about looking for labs and manufacturers was intelligent advice. glazing technology is a world unto itself, and some in that field might appreciate having someone with an architectural background around. not to mention curtain walls, window manufacturers, solar technologies, etc.

i see three professional possibilities:

1.) you become an architect. to do that you'll have to finish your professional degree and go through the internship process. at least another 3-6 year process. (plus $20,000-50,000 school debt plus crappy internship pay)

2.) you become an academic. you don't really though have the background to go the history/theory route. i think you'd have a hard time finding a history /theory phd program that would accept you without more academic experience. you may have an easier time getting into a more technically oriented phd program. all in all, a 3-5 year process to get where you want to be. (plus school related debt plus crappy beginning academic pay)

3.) you stay as a technical consultant. this plays off your background the best and would probably be the most lucrative, but maybe not the most professionally satisfying. i like el jeffe's idea of using your skills in an exciting place like dubai. the big advantage is you can immediately put that plan in action; it immediately pays well with no related debt.

unless there's a major reason to change course, i think it's usually best to build on the things you've already started. on the other hand some people need constant professional change; i guess it's a matter of knowing yourself.

Why don't you just be an architect for a while? And after you've learned enough yourself, you can go into the professional path of academia.

In all likelihood, you probably don't know enough about architecture or the profession to teach it to students. I was in grad school with a friend who became a professor but he was like in his mid 40s with almost 2 decades of experience in the field.

It's pretty uncommon for young people who just finished grad school to teach architecture. And having a "specialized degree" from an ivy league school won't really help your cause a whole lot if you don't blow them away with your personality and energy.

My parents have been in academia for almost 30 years. Granted it's not in architecture, the politics of academia are very similar in all majors.

Perhaps you could try for a job where someone else in the firm was teaching, then at least you could come in as a guest reviewer and hear how he or she likes teaching? You could also make contacts at a school this way, and indicate your interest in teaching. Do any of your own former teachers have offices you might work for?

Thanks for the idea. Most of the profs have very limited firm exposure. ONe of two bit kind of operations. I am trying to work out something with better known firms that have teaching partners. That could get me in the back door somehow.