look through the discussion archives - lots of advice on this. generally speaking, you need to take any opportunity you can get (jury, ta, whatever). thinking you'll just end up as an adjunct somewhere right now is probably a bit naive. lots of your peers want that same gig...

try working for some famous architects first.

that said, i've worked for two of 'em now, and I'm able to sit in on studio crits fairly easily (often for a little pay), and though this hasn't translated into a serious teaching gig, I'm building up my CV, and trying to get some essays published. I *think* this is the right approach.

you need to think about what would made you interested in a particular studio prof...it is usually the same for other people!

my recommendation is to participate in juries...get to know the profs that are doing different things at different schools and participate in their juries.

just like everything get to know the right people. usually not people your age, but the older tenured profs that might do the hiring. usually a committee of tenured profs.

get published. enter competitions, win. have a point of view...not just a passion for the profession.

just like finding a job, you can get your ideal job first...you still have to enter at the bottom! look at schools that are not in cities...they usually don't have such a large pool to draw from and yes you might not be looking to live in a small college town, but neither do other people! so this elevates your CV.

don't just be interested in studio. younger profs can usually come in to teach the latest in Computer software... also look at what is needed. history (though mainly b/c of a needed expertise) structures, systems, sustainability, materials, etc.

i repeat...have a point of view. prove it by producing it some how.

finally, i recommend learning about teaching. it was very quick for me to realize i thought i knew what to do b/c of what profs did to me, but read about teaching. how to teach, why, when, pedagogy in general...NOW JUST WHAT TO TEACH!

thanks everyone for your thoughts. they are very useful.

Just to respnd to a couple of points...I think I do have a distinct point of view and and I certainly have the skill to teach something like a digital design type of class but I am also quite comfortable admitting that I don'lt think that I know how to teach, nor that I would be any good at it. (responding to raj's comments) I guess, I thought that the casualness of TA-ing would ease me into feeling comfortable isntructing students...

I also like the idea of travelling in search of these jobs - I don't have alot tying me down at the moment and would be willing to consdier a move like this. ANy advice about inserting oneself into a totally alien scene? Can you just show up at a school with which you have no rel'p and root around for work?

has anyone seen job boards for this sort of thing?

i think what I'm hearing from you all, and what I already knew, is that I've been too selective and I have to be a bit keener if i'm going to get anywhere...but also maybe that there i sno boat that I missed....I just feel a bit too old to be running around chasing people for these gigs. I have worked a bunch too.

thanks again for your thoughts

why not just apply for a position and see how far it takes you?

proper teaching is not just studio. in fact it is a full time job outside of studio, involving requirements for service to community and to college (usually this means lots of administration duties and meetings), and a lot of other things.

adjunct professor type of job is much more pleasurable because you don't need to do all of that, but then the pay is really low and you need to be seen as an expert if you want to be brought in. so ideally if you are teaching studio you will have your own practice, if you are teaching history you will have a phd in history, if teaching green technology you will be expert in that field...

all of that means you have to demonstrate your knowledge on your cv. teaching experience probably helps, but lacking all of the above then knowing someone is the best. go to the dean of your school and ask him or her how to get into the system. or go to the dean or school you want to teach at and do the same. then go fro there.

when i applied for teaching jobs my TA experience was treated as a joke. i was sad, but still keep it on my cv for now...

it is a joke, at least from the TA'ing I received. but im totally ok with doing that kind of work. And Im very ok with getting on the low end of the pay scale.

Here's where I admit my dirty cynicism - I really just want a way to forge out on my own and avoid ending up at a desk job doing someone else's dirty work. Maybe the pay is not nearly enough to sustain something like that, granted. But you have to start somewhere. I guess I'm just trying to say that end game, for me at lest, isn't teaching, but what teaching allows - freedom away from an office, the ability to pursue my own work, interaction with many different people, and the echange that comes with that. I am not looking to stand in front of a class and do any lecturing...I know it's not exactly teaching in the conventional sense.

evan is right. work for a well known firm. it matters far more than previous teaching experience. it's a game of name dropping...gsd, rem, fog...sad, but true.

well if they were a joke I guess that says more about your school and your TA's than anything. most TA's are pretty good...

the point is that you don't need to be TA to get a job teaching later and uni's will very likely not count it as real teaching experience.


teaching is not easy though, and there are lots of people out there who really want to do it so it can be hard to get into a reasonable position without motivation to get there. heck i have phd and run own office in tokyo and did not find it easy getting teaching job, not even a poor paying one.

your motivations are understandable but you might think twice about the reality. i am doing more or less what you describe (i teach 2 days a week and run practice the other 5 days), and can attest that it is a very hard ride. part of the deal is that i work literally 7 days a week to juggle expectations on both sides of the equation, and the days are not short by any shake of the stick.

anyway, if you really want to do what you describe then go to schools and start talking to the folks who hire adjuncts and find out what they want. then get the experience and so on to make that happen. my guess is that a license will be required (it is here, as is a phd, even for adjunct prof), but probably there are schools with lower standards. start there and work your way up. good luck.

Even here in Chicago, you work for SOM, Perkins, ASGG and you went to IIT or UIC, you will get invited to the jury let alone working for some other big shot architect where you are.

This advice is more applicable to students who still have a significant amount of time left in their master's program. The key to getting a teaching gig is to start where you are...its easiest to start at the school you graduated from as they already know your work and chances are you've seen others go through the politics and the process of getting an adjunct position there. Find an angle, something you're interested in and do something with it that no one has ever done before. I've seen people parlay successful independent studies (large scale projects) into teaching jobs after graduation because they develop a process or technique that offers something new to the school. Be visible, impress as many faculty as you can. Decide which area of the curriculum you may want to teach in and focus your impression on influential faculty or advisers in that area. This may lead to one teaching job to get you in the door and then you can branch out to other schools once that experience is under your belt.