i think you're lumping different kinds of offices together, seiji - SOM and KPF are alot different than DS+R and Holl (and would probably be easier to get an internship at). i WILL say that with large corporate firms (like KPF/SOM), they sometimes hire interns solely on the basis of their resume. i'd place more money on resume/networking for those firms than portfolio in terms of landing an internship. they value computer skills... rhino and 3dmax are really important.

besides, i see your portfolio is really strong, anyways! i know you didn't ask for a critique, but, for kicks - i'd reconsider the serif font by your diagrams, everything else is sans serif. also the prominence of the bible verse is a bit unusual - there's always a possibility that it could turn someone off towards your work. just sayin.

SOM gets a pretty bad rap for its cold, "man's world" office environment - i've heard from numerous people that worked in their chic/ny offices that it's pretty heartless and tiring (though well paying and nice work). they also differ in the sense that the corporate/leadership structure is extremely rigid, reinforcing this chain of command feel. so, (again this is what i've been told), you never interact with anyone above your job captain.

yeah, i can't imagine that there would be 4 offices that be as different as the ones you've chosen.

i'd also say that NOT working in an office now is actually better than working in one. working construction sites, i think, is infinitely more valuable to you, and any potential employer. that is, if you pay attention, and play your cards right.

as for civil degree, don't waste your time, get a construction management minor or something related. that will be your ticket to employment.

thats a nice portfolio.

construction could be a good education for you. it won't get you an architecture job (carrying re-bar for a few months doesn't teach too much about how to draft or make details after all) but as beta says maybe it will give you insight if you pay attention.

Thanks for the responses thus far. I'll take those portfolio comments into consideration (the serif font diagram is a blowup of the competition layout so i didn't change the font, but for the sake of uniformity with the rest of the portfolio I'll see how that is) Critiques on my portfolio are really more than welcome, it's better to know now what is lacking than to find out down the road when I'm looking for employment.

I'm still pretty ignorant in terms of how these offices are in terms of feel size etc, as you guys have pointed out. Could anyone care to elaborate on this? How do these types of firms differ in their role of new hires, work environment, culture, and if anyone has the experience how do they differ in terms of recruitment? I really enjoy the work that's put out by Steven Holl and DS+R.

Also, anyone want to expand on that list of firms? I was also interested in Perkins + Will, Perkins Eastman (those are more along the lines of KPF and SOM right?) But to be honest, I feel that I would enjoy working at any big-name firm (but ignorance is bliss). Will working at a corporate firm pigeonhole me into working at just those types of companies, or will I still have a general degree of flexibility if I decide that maybe corporate firms aren't my cup of tea?

Jk3hl mentioned more the importance of networking and resumes when applying to corporate firms. What sort of things do these bigger firms look for on resumes, and how can I start building contacts within these firms to start to get my foot in the door?

I can post up my resume and maybe you guys can give some pointers?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, I'm just pretty eager and am trying to get to know the ropes. Looking forward to more responses :)

Thanks in advance,
Seiji

Some of the best advice I received after graduation was that patience is often the over-looked partner of ambition.

If you pursue strictly the same ultra-competitive firms as everyone else you are almost guaranteeing yourself unemployment.

It is great to want to work for a big corporate firm, but my advice is to start small. Get some experience from a smaller, less-publicized office to start building the backbones of a good resume.

There are alot of great, small practitioners that you can learn a ton working for.

Survival is the new success, at least for the time being.

I couldn't agree with Iheartbooks more.

Corporate firms are sweatshops. You'll produce a lot of work in an 8 hr day. You'll become very adept at CAD, and maybe REVIT depending on what firm you choose. You'll learn the importance of using XREFs and working on a large team....which is sometimes a disadvantage. You will get some amazing benefits, for the most part.
You won't be guaranteed being more than just a CAD jockey. You will definitely nothing more than a number. Coherency between projects will be lost because you will be placed where they need you when they need you. One day a skyscrapper, the next day a leed platinum school building. Layoffs are down in large quantities.

Save your corporate experience when you get more experience. Find yourself a small office where you can master CD's and maybe do some minor designing. That way, the experience you have will give you a more valuable position at another firm, and you'll get better responsibilities. There is no substitute for experience.


The construction job sounds great. You'll be surprised how many "architects" out there are just designers and can't put a building together. The knowledge you'll gain from working on site construction will help you...and you won't get that knowledge at U.Miami...that's for sure.

hey seiji, take jake and iheart's advice with a grain of salt - i interned at 3 different corporate firms in my undergrad and they were all very invested in exposing me to all stages of the design process. admittedly, it depends on what firms you intern at, and how flexible HR and your supervisor are willing to be, but I feel very good, in retrospect, about my experiences.

also, corporate firms don't necessarily equate to sweatshop hours, just as boutique firms don't. my firm opinion is that the sweatshop experience is LARGELY based on area. if you work in NYC or in a big east coast city, or in a place like LA, you'll be pulling the hours.

Thanks for the input so far, I really appreciate it.

I am looking to work in NYC as its close to home, so that was my initial thought about future employment. Although I would be very interested to be able to work in Europe for a while (I don't know the logistical issues involved in practicing there, but I feel would be a good life experience nonetheless).

I'd like to try and redirect the conversation back towards my initial concern of finding employment and securing internships. You guys can see the basic situation I'm in this summer, and I mainly started this thread so I can get a start on the next summer and not get caught without an internship.

So is there any way I can start making contact with firms for next summer, maybe later on in the fall? I know this may be pretty subjective, but with my grades and the portfolio I've presented, can anyone give me an idea of my shot at securing an internship next summer?

What sort of things can I do to make my chances better?

Thanks in advance,
Seiji

Take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt.

Except mine...

iheartbooks has a good point...

...but take it with the grain of salt. And I think the grain of salt itself should be taken with the grain of salt.

Too much sodium leads to bad health conditions...