If it was between that internship and say, a construction job that pays twice I might take the construction job and try to pick up some hands on experience. I'd only take it I suppose if I really thought there was a lot of opportunity to learn. if you can afford it you could always try it out and see how it goes for a few weeks and quit if you're just a slave.

This is a no brainer as far as the experience of taking part in building anything from a residence to a highrise you need to get out to the jobsite, so the construction job will be better for you in the long run, I worked as a jobsite supervisor, and in an office it put me leaps and bounds ahead of office architects.

other things to consider are if you are required to be part of a union which could mean an apprenctice school and working education for a max of 4 or 5 years. but if you are young whats that to you?

M.Arch = Minimun Wage?
I can't really think of situation which makes this equation acceptable

(unless you've got a bachelors in, like, snorkling, and went straight to arch grad school and never worked for an architect while getting your 2nd degree, and now you've got an offer from the architect whom you happen to think is the best architect ever in the whole wide world, despite the fact that their practice is so ridiculously divorced from practicalities such as paying people

OR

everyone in this office is actually so talented and skilled that the new kid has to have a masters just to fold the drawings,, er, bim files.)

Have you ever worked in an office before?

you will never get the pay you want in arch.....i made twice as much in other fields..i.e. construction/exhibit engineering

I wanted to get one of those "architecture sucks" tshirts but they are all sold out and the only available size is large! That sucks! I want to get the one glowing in the dark!

No, minimum wage is definitely not "accepted practice." However like you said, there really isn't much "practice" going on in architecture right now.

Unless it's a firm that you really like that has some promise of serving you well in the future, I'd move on.

We pay our 4th year arch school intern $10/hr. She had no prior office experience. I'd keep looking.

Even though the economy is down, it does not give the employer the right to expect well-qualified people to work for nearly nothing. That firm *will* find someone to fill that position, and they will find that they get what they pay for.

This is truly disturbing. I made $15 / hour in 1996 with no prior office experience at a small office. Is this an isolated occurrence or are real wages actually going in reverse?

Wages and Benefits: Real Wages (1964-2004)
1965 -- 310.46
2004 -- 277.57

No, they are actually going in reverse.



The minimum wage... now worth less more than ever!

[strike]Slaves[/strike] Indentured Servants in 14th century England made more money than Starbucks workers do today.

If a firm is offering a well-qualified person minimum wage to do the kind of work we do, they shouldn't be hiring at all. Minimum wage starting out of school is simply unacceptable and you really don't want to work for that shitty firm anyway.

I love architecture but I would much rather be making enough money to survive and plan out my future. so I would just leave the field for a while, and then come back in when people are able offer somewhat more respectable wages.

As a new employer responsible for the financial aspects of a small business including payroll for 3 young employees with masters degrees, the idea of paying minimum wage to a professional is absurd and sickening. Why can't employers treat young architects like professionals? Dirtbags. I suggest you look elsewhere, even if that means outside of the industry.

I think an offer like this says more about this particular firm than anything else you will find out in an interview


I cant imagine the experience there would be worth it to make it worthwhile. I guarantee they will expect more than 40 hours a week from you


Like others have said, if this is how they conduct business, is that really someone you want to be professionally associated with?

I believe the custodians who clean their office are paid above minimum wage.

I've almost 6 years of experience behind me, although all outside the U.S. my mindset is, I'll go for a job for as long as it gives me local experience. I want o be picky, but at from where I'm coming from, the more I become picky, the longer I will stay unemployed or the longer it will take for me before I can actually jump start on my career, not just my working life.

My undergraduate degree unfortunately is not in snorkeling, its in graphic design. And nope, its not a famous architect or anything like that. And I do have prior office experience (only 1 year though).

I too, like all of you guys responding feel sick to my stomach thinking about this and feel like I am being taken advantage of. But for those of you wondering, I am going to take a stab at it, and if they treat me like trash then I will surely leave the 7.25 under their doormat.

Thank you all for confirming my anxiety.

Well, if you're trying to gain IDP hours, and it's either this or making lattes for $10/hr, you might have to suck it up and take the job. And it might look better on a resume than making lattes. I don't think they'll be surprised if you quit the first chance you get though.

And yes, I used to earn $10-$10.50/hr making lattes. Which cost me $0 for higher education. As opposed to tens of thousands of dollars you probably owe on your graphic design Bachelors and your M. Arch.