Are there any other licensed architects out there who think they should join the AIA but resist? For me, it's the almost 500 bucks a year, every year, that just galls me. I've always thought that AIA membership is about impressing those who don't know what it means (professional organization, not licensure). Those who do know what it means, our peers, are suitably unimpressed.
The reason I think about joining is that I'll be on the academic job market soon, and I want prospective empoyers (architecture or planning schools) to know that I'm licensed right away, without having to read down the CV. But, man, 500 bucks... that's five times my license fee....
I resisted the AIA too, but I'm a member. Why? My firm pays for the bulk of the cost - apparently the AIA charges firms a certain amount for every registered architect on staff, AIA or not. My firm figures they're paying $350 or some amount anyway, so I pay my membership fee and they reimburse me the amount they would have to pay anyway. So it's a better deal for me. I think all employers should offer this, truthfully.
Being a member, I now get a weekly email newsletter, lots of info about conferences, etc. It's nothing special, but frankly I enjoy it. I never thought I would - I was really anti-greek (frat and sorority) in college, but I actually enjoy feeling like a member of this organization. I get a kick out of seeing those three letters after my name, too, and appreciate the instant recognition that you mention.
And, they send you a very stuffy old white boy's club-type lapel pin upon joining, and a nifty certificate!! Maybe you could stick the lapel pin in your nose piercing if you want to both join and rebel at the same time.
If I had to pay the full $500, I don't know whether I'd join. It is a REALLY high amount for a profession that pays very little in relation to the educational investment required (same for the registration exams - very pricey). My resume that I use for teaching states, right under my name on the first line: Registered Architect in the State of Pennsylvania. You could always go that route, if you just can't bring yourself to join. I certainly understand the resistance!
Thanks, Liberty. You give a balanced look at the issue. You're right that including one's registration right under one's name on the resume' is a decent substititute. But those three little letters would be handy when my name "Citizen, PhD, AIA" is simply listed alongside other competitors on a list, with no resume' in sight....
I'm probably over-thinking this. Thanks for your experience.
One of the overlooked values of the AIA is its advocacy. The AIA is in Washington and all the state capitols, lobbying for the best interests of architects everywhere. I am glad that the AIA here in Texas is screaming at the top of their collective lungs when the idea of a sales tax for professional services is thrown out there. Without the AIA, there is no advocacy solely on the behalf of the architecture profession.
Like it or not, they are our voice. And by the way, most professionals have exhorbitant membership and license and registration fees. It was that way before we started practicing, it will be that way when we retire. It's not perfect but it's what we got.
Jitter, you're right about the AIA's advocacy being very important. It also provides tremendous resources in the way of contracts and professional forms and documentation.
My beef, I think, is not that membership costs, but that it costs so dang much. The old Progressive Architecure journal did an article a decade or so showing that architects paid more for their professional association than did attorneys and physicians. I think of that--alongside the AIA's top-heavy administration, multi-tiered membership structure, and a minor scandal or two involving poor investments--every time I get out the checkbook and consider joining.
Sep 16, 04 4:48 pm ·
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AIA IOU?
Are there any other licensed architects out there who think they should join the AIA but resist? For me, it's the almost 500 bucks a year, every year, that just galls me. I've always thought that AIA membership is about impressing those who don't know what it means (professional organization, not licensure). Those who do know what it means, our peers, are suitably unimpressed.
The reason I think about joining is that I'll be on the academic job market soon, and I want prospective empoyers (architecture or planning schools) to know that I'm licensed right away, without having to read down the CV. But, man, 500 bucks... that's five times my license fee....
Thoughts? Experiences?
I resisted the AIA too, but I'm a member. Why? My firm pays for the bulk of the cost - apparently the AIA charges firms a certain amount for every registered architect on staff, AIA or not. My firm figures they're paying $350 or some amount anyway, so I pay my membership fee and they reimburse me the amount they would have to pay anyway. So it's a better deal for me. I think all employers should offer this, truthfully.
Being a member, I now get a weekly email newsletter, lots of info about conferences, etc. It's nothing special, but frankly I enjoy it. I never thought I would - I was really anti-greek (frat and sorority) in college, but I actually enjoy feeling like a member of this organization. I get a kick out of seeing those three letters after my name, too, and appreciate the instant recognition that you mention.
And, they send you a very stuffy old white boy's club-type lapel pin upon joining, and a nifty certificate!! Maybe you could stick the lapel pin in your nose piercing if you want to both join and rebel at the same time.
If I had to pay the full $500, I don't know whether I'd join. It is a REALLY high amount for a profession that pays very little in relation to the educational investment required (same for the registration exams - very pricey). My resume that I use for teaching states, right under my name on the first line: Registered Architect in the State of Pennsylvania. You could always go that route, if you just can't bring yourself to join. I certainly understand the resistance!
Thanks, Liberty. You give a balanced look at the issue. You're right that including one's registration right under one's name on the resume' is a decent substititute. But those three little letters would be handy when my name "Citizen, PhD, AIA" is simply listed alongside other competitors on a list, with no resume' in sight....
I'm probably over-thinking this. Thanks for your experience.
One of the overlooked values of the AIA is its advocacy. The AIA is in Washington and all the state capitols, lobbying for the best interests of architects everywhere. I am glad that the AIA here in Texas is screaming at the top of their collective lungs when the idea of a sales tax for professional services is thrown out there. Without the AIA, there is no advocacy solely on the behalf of the architecture profession.
Like it or not, they are our voice. And by the way, most professionals have exhorbitant membership and license and registration fees. It was that way before we started practicing, it will be that way when we retire. It's not perfect but it's what we got.
my 2c
Jitter, you're right about the AIA's advocacy being very important. It also provides tremendous resources in the way of contracts and professional forms and documentation.
My beef, I think, is not that membership costs, but that it costs so dang much. The old Progressive Architecure journal did an article a decade or so showing that architects paid more for their professional association than did attorneys and physicians. I think of that--alongside the AIA's top-heavy administration, multi-tiered membership structure, and a minor scandal or two involving poor investments--every time I get out the checkbook and consider joining.
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