I don't know any useful suggestions for the portfolio, Cryzko, but your description thus far sounds good to me.

As for the all-important cover letter: I'd suggest that you have two or three courses outlined that you could teach starting next week, as it were. These could either be classes of your own design, or those already in the catalogue. In other words, giving a good sense of where you'd fit --or, more specifically, how useful you can be to the adminstration on day one-- is an important selling point.

Good luck...

I have 4 classes that I have in mind that I could teach, I just need to further develop them and maybe create a quick outline per. I am also researching the few universities in my area to see how their courses are setup and the focus of each studio. I think I could manage to teach a 2-3years design studio with a focus on infill housing/retail/etc just to start off. I would like to do a small scale design/build studio but there always seems to be funding issues with those.

For myself, it's a matter of approaching this at a different angle than most applicants.

Start networking. Friends get friends job in most everything and in even more so in Academia.

good luck cryzko;

I could see you being a great asset at any architecture school but look beyond the design studio; perhaps a workshop, community college, the next pecha kucha...

do you have any experience being a jury member? Especially in those topics you've mentioned. I would see if you haven't, that it would a hard time getting your foot in the door.

In other news.... Am I reading your post correctly that you're hoping to both teach studio and take graduate studio at the same time?

My first prof was finishing grad school (finish, though, not starting), I don't see it being a problem. He was a TA, essentially, but the class was split in two, so he pretty much taught our half.
Worked out fine, except he though he had something to prove and would basically double the main profs assignments, but I digress.


Good luck. Can't be easy getting a teaching job in this economy. I'd start working on that networking asap, crits are a great way to start.


Might also want to think about offering a creative class outside of teh box. ie, I would have killed for a small design but thorough 'real' class, whether it be development, construction drawings, codes, or whatever, anything practical (and alas, that was never ever offered).

you may have a chance as an instructor cryz. it would be a huge surprise if you could get a full-time teaching job without license, without m.arch, and without teaching experience. doesn't mean you shouldn't try though.


i know a few licensed architects with phds who are looking to teach and they are finding it difficult to compete with academics who have spent their time teaching instead of building stuff. A friend who teaches or who is in charge of a program might help for you to get into the process, but otherwise i don't see how you could compete with academics looking for work right now.


it may sound counter-intuitive to some, but schools are looking for people who have taught, not people who have been in the real world making things. because teaching is a skill, and if you have never done it why would anyone hire you?

so, my guess is that you might be able to do a design-build course for little money somewhere, and then parley that up to something proper after five years.

with that kind of experience you could then go to a school and show a portfolio of student work, which is ultimately what you should be able to show...

i will be attending graduate school for my mfa in 3d/industrial design and looking to get my foot in the door and teach during my studies. i have taught 1 elective class which was model building 101 and had about 9 students doing physical model building. i also managed a university woodshop for 4 years.

i also know folks that teach with a masters but it's not a 2 year masters. considering that i have a 5-year professional degree, that might help a bit, but all in all, i think i am a bit more qualified than some others that are teaching at a specific school now.

i would like to show the students what really goes on in the real world and get their hands dirty a bit. i would also like to open their minds a bit and utilize other avenues that are related to architecture, such as exhibit design, exhibit engineering, graphic design and the like. it's a matter of diversifying a bit i believe.

aside from being licensed, i know folks that are not licensed and teaching studios. i think being a licensed contractor should hold some sort of weight also.

as for having projects built, i think a have a few that might be worth something on a small design/build level.from a few house renovations to some interior design builds to exhibit engineering, i think i can manage to educate a little.

i agree with you cryz. i think you could be great, especially for design-build studio.

the system may not be geared for your background though. which makes me think an introduction is maybe the best way to get a foot in the door. not having a license is not a bad thing. not having a license, not having a masters and not having taught (very much) however is a different story.

this is just me talking from my own experience. i know you think lots of teachers out there are pure bollocks, but most of them are not. when i was casting about for a teaching gig last year i learned that while i have a phd, a M.Arch, an architect's license, years of experience, some decent awards and even a history of publishing and being published about....there are actually lots of people like that out there who have all that and ALSO have ten years teaching experience. I didn't have a chance.

That doesn't bother me. It actually makes me glad to know that standards in our schools are higher than i thought.

if you really want to teach it may be necessary to take a long-term view and start as a guest instructor, maybe guest lecturer, and then work your way up. that is how many of my own profs did it. of course it is financially painful, but somehow not uncommon in todays university system...

good luck!

tailor something, making it seem that noone else can teach it as good as you can, try to inject something new, but simultaneously dont scare the old guard, sometimes new blood is scare for some people

I'd try to tailor an option class that others may not want to offer. It seems teaching the business side and practical side is not what architect's care about teach, at least the better ones. I can't blame them, if I were Thom Mayne I wouldn't want to go on about the politics and smoozing, I'd want to play with pretty forms and learn from/with my students (what he does and why most teach).

I did take a superb class from Randy Jefferson, Gehry's partner/engineer. His insight into how the buildings were put together was amazing and extremely valuable.


That's where I see opportunities and holes - where others don't want to teach.


Most importantly, as jump points out, it is a network you have to become part of. Start going to crits, making contacts, going to parties, etc. Networking is more important than ever in this economy.

thanks for the info.

i can understand the whole building up the credentials/etc and having years under your belt, but i also think that there is room for change in certain avenues. some school/professors hand out the same project each semester/year and i think it would get a bit 'boring' after a while.

one of the concerns i see with certain programs is that most of the projects are of a medium to larger scale. i.e. skyscrapers/etc. this doesn't really give the students a grasp of the human scale of things nor does it help in understanding details and the like. there needs to be more 'realistic' projects that actually can be developed from sd to partial cd's.

aside from the design aspects, maybe setting up tours or something with certain trades so students can actually see and understand how flashing gets bent, cmu gets stacked, houses get framed, electrical gets ran, etc.. i believe that this should be a core requirement in all programs.

Yes, Cryzko, your thinking of ways to offer alternatives to current courses is a good tack to take in presenting yourself. Do you have syllabi, even in outline form, to offer up to your prospective employer? If not, I'd suggest it. Again, that level of prep shows that you're ready to hit the ground running.

Also, in terms of offering alternatives--from a political standpoint: don't criticize the current offerings. Just don't. You have no idea who likes/hates who, and who you might offend. Just promote the courses you'd like to teach yourself.

By the way, I would LOVE to have taken a course in construction materials and methods, touring sites. That could be a winner!

i'm not trying to be the new guy with the big ego and trying to change the world..hahaha.... i just think things about the real world should be shown and explored. maybe students won't get bummed out after they are feed with all the 'school' work only to find out what the 'real' arch. office is like. sometimes it's the finer things in life that can keep a person interested and happy.

all i can do is offer what i can do and what i have learned over the years. some of it might not be paper worthy, but i do have some scars to prove it.

Cryz,

I didn't get any kind of egotistical vibe off you at all, don't worry. My post was just to warn you of the sometimes very sensitive issue of perceived criticism among some faculty members. Just be mindful of that in your communications, that's all.

By the way, I was just on the website for the ACSA, and their next national conference (in New Orleans, March 2010) has some sessions proposed about about construction, design-build, etcetera. Take a look...

https://www.acsa-arch.org/conferences/Annual2010.aspx and click on "Call for Papers."

One more thing: attending academic conferences like ACSA (and any others relevant to your professional interests) are a good way to network at a larger scale, and to get better attuned to academia. If you get a paper accepted for presentation, even better!

citizen,

thanks for the info. I will be working on a smaller scaled outline per class soon and don't want to think tooo big just yet. I have a few ideas that would be good for a studio or even an elective due to scale. I have to take into consideration funds/time/safety also when I put these together. I think a design/build studio/elective should only be taught if the students have the proper shop training, i.e. table saw/drill press/etc.

The 4 years that I ran the university woodshop, there were no accidents due to proper training of my staff and the workshops I did with the freshman. I also made it known that if a person didn't feel comfortable using a certain machine, that the staff or myself would handle it, but yet not make it seem like we are doing their projects.

I'm working for quality over quantity here and hopefully I can put together a decent scope and possibly a course structure that will open up some eyes a little.

Cryzko,

If you haven't yet, you should definitely include you and your shop's 100% safety record on your CV (in the little 'description' section of each class item). That's a BIG deal in my book, and should be for any administration looking to hire, in my opinion.

Thinking realistically for your course design is smart. But don't be afraid to have a more ambitious version (or entire course) in your pocket (or in your head) to be able to talk about if the topic should arise in an interview.

i think i'm almost finished now. i have about 20 pages (8.5x5.5) with pics and a brief writeup per project on each page.

projects so far

-model building
-design/build
-exhibit engineering
-build projects/renovations
-sketches
-photography (not sure if i should include this)
-my clothing line (not sure on this either but it might help)


trying to keep it simple... i'll post a typical sheet layout in a few...