People are at least calling our office again about potential projects. We're high end residential in the city and out on Long Island. We've gotten a couple new jobs recently. We're about half the size we were last year and while we've gotten some new work we're still way under utilizing the people we have left. Still sort of treading water.

Although I think this slight loosening up of the economy is only sloooowwwwwly starting to translate into jobs. I am a recent graduate with my M.Arch. and worked all summers and for a year and a half before grad school for recognizable firms, and am still unemployed. I think the job market depends upon where you are on the food chain... most firms who ordinarily would look for someone like me is looking for someone with 3-5 years experience to fill the job, knowing they can get someone with that experience for pretty much the same salary as they would pay a relative neophyte like me.

Corbu, you are very wise to be watching New York carefully because it is a bellwether for our profession. Similar to past recessions, NYC will come back first because of the strong ties to realestate development, number of large corporate, international and boutique firms and international projects. Things are slowly, and I do mean slowly starting to crawl back here in nyc. In the winter we would go weeks without a real job posting and now they are starting to pop up more and more.

What is particularly encouraging is the call for interns and part time per-project help. This means firms are starting to get work or engage in more competition for work but are still hesitant to hire full time people....full time job ads will follow eventually when these projects hit hard and become more secure. One very good sign FXFowle which has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs in the new york office has posted a job this past week. They are the first large corporate job ad I've seen in over 6 months....this is very good and hopefully the others will follow.

I have even heard of recent graduates getting jobs here which is a very good sign. However, with that said firms are still reporting record resumes submitted for each job ad. Two weeks ago a midsized firm in new york posted a job ad for an intermediate architect and received 700 resumes in 48 hours. Things are still bad but we have probably seen the bottom...at least here. More bellwethers to look at include the job boards and career sections for large firms like Gensler, SOM, HOK and KPF in nyc. When SOM starts posting more than 2 jobs internationally and KPF removes the "we are not currently accepting resumes" from their careers section...the vacuum will begin and there are alot of unemployed architects who will get sucked up in it.

I heard that quite a few internal vacancies at FXFOWLE in NYC opened up recently.

A friend of mine in NY just hired an intern and my office in Chicago just took on 2 experienced interns who had worked for us in the past. We didn't advertise for the position but we needed some bodies and knew they were available. However, it could be short exercise unless our project moves beyond dd and preliminary pricing. The last 2 years has been a symphony of fits and starts but at least theres some signs of life.

I am in NY and am actually surprised (and glad, i guess) to see that some here think its picking up....my firm went through several rounds of layoffs...the last only about a month ago, and we are still tryign to figure out ways to cut costs...adn drum up enough business to keep us all here. there do seem to be more RFQs/RFPs to respond to than 7 months ago....but i would definitely not say things are picking up. they are holding steady....on a good day.

Keep in mind your are just one in thousands of people looking for a job in new york city, of which nearly one hundred of them are people I graduated with last May from an ivy league school..

Don't waste your time.. it's not picking up around here as far as I can tell. A few of my friends found temporary gigs, but that's it. The majority of my former studiomates are still unemployed.

That sai, enjoy LA (and your precious job) in the meantime!

I would never recommend looking for a job now if you already have one but as someone who has been involved with the new york market since just after 9/11 I will say there are encouraging signs starting to emerge.

Maya, you are right, the market it still bad, but it was much worse in January and February while you were still in studio. Ads are starting to come back but recovery will take a while. On another note, as a fellow ivy leaguer, I would not bank on name dropping and mentioning the Ivy League Education as a great advantage right now because there are many out there fighting for jobs both ivy and non who are in the same position...everyone is a dime a dozen. Experience will be the determining factor in getting the job.

On a side note: you want to see a depressing situation....look at the Seattle job board!

Otis...I agree that experience is certainly the determining factor in getting a job, and you can't count on the name of your institutuion alone. Still, let's be honest here - take two applicants who have all the same credentials - same experience, skills, background - and the only difference is that one went to an ivy league school. I believe the strength of one's curriculum is essential to one's ability to interpret and analyze information, conceptualize, research, design, etc.

If you still think I'm wrong here, then perhaps you should refer to one of the many threads asking whether paying big $ on an ivy league education is worth it. Obviously I think it is (I graduated with a job offer), otherwise, I would have not paid the big $ to do it.

As someone who's been actively monitoring job boards (at least this summer), I'd say it seems the postings are definitely increasing in numbers for NYC. This may be a good indicator of improvements in the job market. There have also been general reports in the media of an increase in construction activity nationwide, which is most definitely positive.

If you have a job, it's my opinion it's not worth the risk to go 'exploring' right now, unless you have a personal connection with the firm you're interested in joining.

That being said, I firmly believe that the partners in firms are generally very sensitive about whom they hire. In my experience they seem to like to take a bit of time in making hiring decisions because they're looking for a great fit for their team... that usually means a long-term fit. Architecture is still one of those insider professions and regardless of your academic curriculum you'll find a job with much more speed and ease, if you have a personal connection to someone in the office.

Even if the economy is bad you'll find someone is much more willing to take a chance on you, if they have a personal relationship with a person you mutually know. Someone who is vouching for your positive performance and character. If you really want a job here in this slowly improving economy go that route. In fact, go that route no matter what.

If you don't know someone in the office. Go there in person. Introduce yourself, if possible. Show personal initiative. Responding to postings by email, while efficient for you, won't get you noticed when the firm receives hundreds or thousands of responses. The only people I've known this summer to get a job - have gone IN PERSON to whatever establishment it is, and spoken to them in person the day of the posting. That's your instant personal connection. That's your real chance at a job in this market.

No matter what, a sense of entitlement won't get you as far as hard work and more importantly pure compatibility. Use any academic setting (or even professional setting - ie professional affiliations, community affiliations) to establish the compatible relationships that are the true key to a healthy professional life.

And on the side note regarding the benefits of the big bucks (and therefore some sort of justification) behind an Ivy League education...

While pragmatic, I think it's unfortunate to reduce the justification behind attending an Ivy League school to whether or not you'll get a job offer upon graduation.

I also think it's arrogant to a) assume an Ivy League graduate will get a job over a graduate of any other program, and b) therefore assume that degree is better than another.

I chose an Ivy League program because I was interested in what they had to teach and because I felt compatible with the program. Not because I felt guaranteed a job upon graduation. Most people who attend these programs will be in debt for the rest of their lives. No architecture job out there I've seen will mend that... So I hope the 'laudibles' of the program is certainly not in their job placement success, but in how they've 'pushed' you to become a better designer.

That 'push' can come from outside (academic program, mentor, etc.) or the inside the individual (raw talent), or any combination of the two. Please don't perpetuate the negative stereotypes of 'our' (Ivy) graduates.

God, you say just one superfluous comment on archinect and it turns into some overarching statement upon which people get so worked up... shows how much architects always overanalyze everything and also how sensitive they are :)

Bullhorn, thanks for the "side note". maybe you should post this side rant in another thread. i am sure you chose an ivy league program because it presents you with many opportunities to flourish in your field, which includes finding a job that fits you best. I chose an ivy league program in the same way meaning there were MANY other variables which played a role in my decision to choose a school.

and i never meant so suggest that i assumed anything...i'd personally like to think all my decisions and hard work paid off, which just so happened to include taking advantage of the best education i could find. and i'm not saying that the school i went to is the "best school in the world"...i'm simply saying that this school fit my specific design agenda, thereby allowing me to produce my best work possible. working my ass off at school gave me personal connections with some architects i really respect. consequently, i got a job with someone who knew my work first hand and felt comfortable hiring me right away.

confidence (not arrogance) ensues as a result.

That being said, in reference to Bullhorn's comment "If you don't know someone in the office. Go there in person. Introduce yourself, if possible." does not work at all offices. At our office, we don't have the time to meet randoms off the street to see their portfolio. Those applications get tossed to the side along with the other hundreds of resumes being sent every week. I suggest you know someone before you cold call or show up unexpectedly.

Bullhornn, I think we agree more than you think so stop getting your panties in a bunch.

Hey that's what forums are for - superfluous commentary! After all, who REALLY needs to sit around contributing to online forums about architecture? I'm sure we all greatly enjoy over analyzing, disagreeing and being sensitive.

There's no bunches here, Maya. You know as well as I do, our training gives good thick skin. So there's no need to consider it a "rant". All we have in here is words by which to go.

Glad you clarified yourself and added some obvious problems and pointers for office 'drop-ins'. That's exactly the type of situation I was referring to when I added "...if possible." to my comment before.

It's too bad your office doesn't take any additional advantage of an in-person applicant when they're actively hiring, but I suppose I can understand.

When I meet someone my level who has an ivy league degree, the first idea that comes to mind is not 'job security' but 'life-time debt.'

let's see who can waste more time avoiding the original question. i'll let you continue to rant while i actually get some work done.

LoL! to med! (I try to make mental piece with my debt every day, heh heh)

Hey, I already contributed to the initial question, then had fun "ranting", and now I'm enjoying wasting time checking back for more comments... My conscious is clean! Keep it comin'!

Oh here's a relevant response. Maybe we'd all waste a little less time on here, if there were actually jobs out there to be done!

med, I love your comment!...I feel that debt everyday! We are never going to get anywhere by fighting amongst ourselves about entitlements and whatnot....let's be positive.

Getting back to the original question....for all naysayers who don't believe New York is showing positive signs of recovery, you may want to look here: http://newyork.craigslist.org/egr/

Specifically take notice of the ads that call for "architect" or "junior architect" or "intermediate architect" or "drafts person" The term "junior architect" was no where to be found in job ads on this board for six months! Its reemergence is cause to be a little more optimistic.

Thanks for the comments. It is good to hear that feeling is starting to return, very slowly, to the extremities of the construction industry in New York. Hopefully that means that things will start to pick up on the West Coast...well, who knows. Right now, I'm happy to hear about hopeful glimmers anywhere in the country.

BTW, no plans to move to New York yet. If I did, I'd probably switch careers, like run a gourmet cookie shop in Park Slope or start writing some witty column for a local rag. New York is a place to dream big.

someone get me a job in ny.

it's looking like no one's got any work.


stay where you are!

really?

i have found some offices with work in the city. Not a ton of them, but it feels like things may be slowly getting better.

But i do hate the "someone get me a job" attitude. do it yourself. there are a ton of qualified people trying desperately to find work. Be respectful. No one not entitled to a job.