If you want to get your IDP done faster, Generally the smaller the firm, the more exposure opportunity you will get in order to knock out all the different categories of experience.

Generally, the larger the firm, the morelikely you are to get "pigeon-holed" so it can take much, much longer than the minimum amount of time to complete all the requirements.

I have found this to very, very generally be the case, but not necessarily.

I had to move from firm to firm to finish the IDP nonsense. THe week I had my final employment verification form signed, I quit the CAD jockey lifestyle and I have never looked back. Good riddance. I feel like a human being again.

Given the current economy, I would not worry so much about the size of the firm, but rather on landing a position.

You may also wish to focus your energies on those firms that provide excellent opportunities for staff as it relates to IDP. See the link below for a list of firms that have been awarded for their work related to IDP.

http://www.aia.org/professionals/groups/epn/AIAS075055

looking at the recent grads at our firm...I don't think they would ever get their IDPs done. All they do is useless renderings and redlines! I completed my IDPs at two small firms very quickly....

so, a small or a mid size firm will expose you to all the different categories, but like the doctor said, try landing any position in this economy!

Agreed with Dr. Architecture, right now any job you can get you should take.

I worked in a small firm(5people) for 6months before I started grad school.

In those six months i worked anywhere from 60-70hrs a week.

I knocked out all of my programming, site analysis, schematic, and design development. I also spent alot of time in CDs.

I was able to achieve points in all aspects except of course office management. I found in such a small firm I was lucky enough to have the burden of a lot of responsibilities straight out of school. First week in the office I was asked to design a guest house on a huge estate and be ready to move it into CDs by the end of the week. Within those 6months i found I had achieved more exposure(and IDP points) than my friends that worked in a large acronym office in NYC.

Just my experience

The size of the firm is waaay less important than the willingness of the firm to educate and foster your professional skills. You can find a great mentor at any size firm. It's true that getting "a" job is more important right now, being a relatively green intern, than getting a job at your ideal firm.

Be sure to ask questions of the potential new employer about how they see the IDP process. You're hoping that they have an established practice of seeing interns through to licensure.

I've seen successful IDP'ers at tiny firms as well as large ones.

Go small/medium for IDP. Much easier to switch around responsibilities, generally, in a smaller firm to make up IDP categorical requirements you may not otherwise get just doing CDs or programming at a big firm.

I would take advantage of all the little bonuses IDP offers. If you take a test that they offer on the website, for example, you get 15 hrs for office management. Just try to pick up as much as you can.

I'd also recommend being very frank at your interview, etc., that you want to do IDP and what that would entail as per your work experience.

To reiterate what others said however, any job at this point is good. I was just giving you what IMO would be an ideal scenario.

I'd first define what small-mid-large means. There are so many 1,2 & 3 man firms out there that a 10-15 person firm is suddenly mid-sized. I don't necessarily agree with that definition and think firm size should be based on #1 the size of projects/clients and #2 firm structure. Basis on how many warm bodies are on the payroll is ridiculous.

That said, a huge corporate firm of 100+ Architects can be a overwhelming experience for an intern. Yes, you can get pigeon holed in an environment like that but largely that's up to your boss and how corporate the company structure is. In this economy (if you are lucky enough to get employment) chances are they will be looking at profitability so IDP nurturing probably will take a back seat. BTW, I do not blame any employer for doing this as profitability must come first - and this can and will happen at a firm of any size.

Mid-sized firms of around 50 or so staff usually have enough man power and clout to bring in larger clients yet still maintain the structure of a more fun working environment. Again, your IDP experience depends a lot on how good your boss is at helping you through it. At least at firms that size everyone will know your name and you're more than just a number. You also will get to work on some "major" projects and potentially take a significant role. This is the type of environment where I did my IDP with zero complaints.

My view of small firms of 10 people or less is jaded based on the projects they bring in the door, typically. Interior fit outs of chain stores, mediocre residential clients and local developers that on average could care less about design. That's by no means true everywhere but from my experience smaller firms don't turn down clients and struggle with some headaches the more established firms don't deal with. That's primarily why I left a small firm. You also run the risk of being tasked with things like making coffee, being a receptionist, being IT support, etc. It's fine to be a jack-of-all-trades but it doesn't get you IDP hours. Many of my friends have complained a lot about "not doing Architecture" at their small firms. I just hated sitting at the front reception desk for two hours twice a week. I didn't go to college for this shit.

I had to move from firm to firm to finish the IDP nonsense. THe week I had my final employment verification form signed, I quit the CAD jockey lifestyle and I have never looked back. Good riddance. I feel like a human being again.

I've heard this a lot and consider myself lucky to complete all my IDP at one mid-sized firm. What I did notice is that after I was done I had to move on because I was branded the "intern" no matter how much I had progressed. While job hopping is more or less dead right now in the buiz, it has historically been the path of progress in the industry.

I'd consider mid sized at 25-75 people. I'd also add that I have have gotten a lot of good IDP experience out of the way by working at a high-end residential firm, specializing in single family homes and apts. Can get a lot of hours out of the way just working on a single project for a couple of years.

I work at a very small firm (2 architects/principals, plus me the intern = 3 total). I really enjoy my work and the guys I work with, but I have struggled to complete several categories of IDP, primarily Construction Contract Administration, and Project and Office Management.

I have looked at the Application Activities available through the Emerging Professional's Companion to try to get additional credit for some of the areas where I'm lacking. But I look at a lot of the activities and think, "We don't do that... We don't do that..." Activities like:
- Analyze the corporate structure of your firm (duh, there's a partnership, and one employee),
- Calculate the worth of your benefits package (I just get a paycheck, no insurance, no 401k...),
- Prepare a staffing plan for an upcoming project (Let's see, one of the architects prepares the design by hand, I draw the construction documents on CAD... that was hard),
- Attend a project meeting with at least 8-10 participants (we never have meetings with that many people).
- Building Cost Analysis? We don't do any cost estimating. Occasionally we'll ask a contractor we know to prepare a preliminary budget cost for a client who asks for it, but not often.
- Construction phase site visits? We don't do a whole lot of them, and they usually can't afford my time to go tag along because I'm needed to crank out CD's in the office. One principal does no CAD at all, and the other does some. Basically I'm the main person when it comes to producing construction drawings so I'm not available to do other things.

It just seems that we don't get involved in a lot of the more complex issues that they talk about in these activities, or only on a much simpler level. I feel like my job can prepare me to work in a similar small office as an architect, but that if I went to a large firm later, that I would be lost and not know how to handle some of these issues that other people would be more familiar with.

So, while I'm sure it is difficult for people in large firms to finish IDP, don't believe that a smaller firm means that it will automatically be easy. I think it might be good to switch jobs to another firm to try to get credits I can't get here, but this is not exactly a good time to look for another job.

kelby, i think you may be underestimating the amount of organization and management that goes into running a small office.

Analyze the corporate structure of your firm - despite only having three office members there is a legal basis and structural organization for this type of office.

Prepare a staffing plan for an upcoming project - how does your office bill the client? what type of hourly rates do you have? how do you keep a project on budget?

Attend a project meeting with at least 8-10 participants - don't take this literally. have you attended a client meeting ever? that's fine. the intent is to simply observe how client or client-contractor interactions work.

you seem to be caught up in the specifics of the idp requirements rather than the intent. the intent is to familiarize yourself with the requirements of practice whether it be in a large corporate office or a small mom-and-pop shop. all successful businesses have a structure that you can learn from. i would talk to your boss specifically about these types of questions and issues. my guess is that he or she would be more than willing to open up to you, and your interest may help advance your position in the office.