AFter 6 years of school, 4 years of internship, 5 months of tests, 3 months of waiting for my final results and a week waiting for my wet seal stamp, I finally have a license and can stamp and sign drawings. But the horrible thing is, it feels totally underwhelming. I have no reason to stamp and sign anything at the moment, and it doesn't look like there will be any work on the horizon anytime soon.
Just wondering, how many other people are in the same boat? Finally licensed, but no way to use it.
Historicaly this is the time when you become attractive to other career fields related to architecture like property management, where you can earn 4 or 5 x the money, or you do your first development and get sued.
Don't let the disappointment diminish how really big a deal this is. You've done it! And it can never be taken away from you (unless you commit certain felonies)!!!
I've said it here before, but if you are employed in a firm, and you are not a partner, you should never use your stamp anyway. In many states stamping puts liability on you personally, and your firm's corporate insurance won't protect you.
If you're not employed, the registration does make you more desirable in the eyes of many firms, so make sure to update your resume. You could even use it as a point of contact with firms you might have interviewed with previously - send an email to whoever interviewed you saying "Just to update you, I am now licensed".
In the meantime, stamp a piece of paper and hang it next to your desk and celebrate!!! Congratulations, you're in the club!
And to keep some levity about it all, be sure to review this thread regarding the similarity of the stamp and a certain sex device.
what she said! (except the last part - which is OK, but not something i would reiterate, exactly.)
we just had an all-office meeting last week in which we encouraged our interns to get serious about licensure.
for US it's meaningful and marketable, even if it doesn't feel like a huge change for them.
and, by extension, if it makes us more marketable, indicating to potential clients that we are a firm of a certain depth of experience, we can go after projects of a higher caliber, which - again, by extension - means more interesting projects on which THEY get to work....
For starters, ditch the pessimism. Congratulations!!! This is a big deal whether or not other "designers" think so. It's bleak right now, but that license raises your professional ceiling a lot.
Congratulations, s.selophane! Welcome to the club.
I personally haven't gotten my actual stamp yet because I don't want the temptation to use it. Yeah, the feeling is at times underwhelming, but it's one less thing to worry about in the future.
My greatest satisfaction (so far) has been when people ask me, "Are you finished with IDP yet?" and I answer, "Yes, and I've been registered for almost 2 years!" :)
I hope you'll join me in the quest to encourage interns to finish IDP and just take the tests, already!
Congratulations! I also joined the "club" just about a year ago. I can understand your feelings. Since I got licensed I have yet to do anything really exciting at work. The economy went in the crapper and the rest is history. That said, I'll agree with Just Why, it's nice to finally be able to call myself an Architect.
Congratulations!!! Get your LEED done too, because it seems like people think that being LEED AP is more important than what we have and quite frankly I don't even think they know what it means!
I am licensed, now what?
AFter 6 years of school, 4 years of internship, 5 months of tests, 3 months of waiting for my final results and a week waiting for my wet seal stamp, I finally have a license and can stamp and sign drawings. But the horrible thing is, it feels totally underwhelming. I have no reason to stamp and sign anything at the moment, and it doesn't look like there will be any work on the horizon anytime soon.
Just wondering, how many other people are in the same boat? Finally licensed, but no way to use it.
Historicaly this is the time when you become attractive to other career fields related to architecture like property management, where you can earn 4 or 5 x the money, or you do your first development and get sued.
Congrats - BTW
Don't let the disappointment diminish how really big a deal this is. You've done it! And it can never be taken away from you (unless you commit certain felonies)!!!
I've said it here before, but if you are employed in a firm, and you are not a partner, you should never use your stamp anyway. In many states stamping puts liability on you personally, and your firm's corporate insurance won't protect you.
If you're not employed, the registration does make you more desirable in the eyes of many firms, so make sure to update your resume. You could even use it as a point of contact with firms you might have interviewed with previously - send an email to whoever interviewed you saying "Just to update you, I am now licensed".
In the meantime, stamp a piece of paper and hang it next to your desk and celebrate!!! Congratulations, you're in the club!
And to keep some levity about it all, be sure to review this thread regarding the similarity of the stamp and a certain sex device.
what she said! (except the last part - which is OK, but not something i would reiterate, exactly.)
we just had an all-office meeting last week in which we encouraged our interns to get serious about licensure.
for US it's meaningful and marketable, even if it doesn't feel like a huge change for them.
and, by extension, if it makes us more marketable, indicating to potential clients that we are a firm of a certain depth of experience, we can go after projects of a higher caliber, which - again, by extension - means more interesting projects on which THEY get to work....
Do some work on the side, get some extra cash, establish a client base, start up a practice, and run everything your own way. Pretty simple.
For starters, ditch the pessimism. Congratulations!!! This is a big deal whether or not other "designers" think so. It's bleak right now, but that license raises your professional ceiling a lot.
Congratulations, s.selophane! Welcome to the club.
I personally haven't gotten my actual stamp yet because I don't want the temptation to use it. Yeah, the feeling is at times underwhelming, but it's one less thing to worry about in the future.
My greatest satisfaction (so far) has been when people ask me, "Are you finished with IDP yet?" and I answer, "Yes, and I've been registered for almost 2 years!" :)
I hope you'll join me in the quest to encourage interns to finish IDP and just take the tests, already!
Congratulations! I also joined the "club" just about a year ago. I can understand your feelings. Since I got licensed I have yet to do anything really exciting at work. The economy went in the crapper and the rest is history. That said, I'll agree with Just Why, it's nice to finally be able to call myself an Architect.
Congratulations!!! Get your LEED done too, because it seems like people think that being LEED AP is more important than what we have and quite frankly I don't even think they know what it means!
congratulations! I agree--stamp a piece of paper, and more importantly write your name out below it:
s.selophane, Architect.
it's for real now.
LEED AP is a load of poop!
Lacking anything building related to samp, I opted for my wife's behind shortly after I received my stamp
Lacking anything building related to samp, I opted for my wife's behind shortly after I received my stamp.
...said twice (above): because she turned the other cheek.
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