This is Lei Runxiao from National University of Singapore (NUS), currently pursuing my Master of Architecture ar NUS. I will graduate in May 2016. I am a scholar from Surbana Consultant (A Singapore Architecture Corporation) and I will start my work with them in Aug or Sept 2016. I am extremely interested in getting a short internship in US from May to Aug, before my official work start.
I have some questions regarding the job and internship.
May I know is it really hard for the foreigners to get the job there (considering the company have to apply visa for the employee), especially interning students with no educational background in US.
Will the students with tertiary education US get priority for internship?
I am really interested in Studio Gang, is it competitive to apply? Does it provide very few places of internship?
Thank you very much for your answers and advise in advance.
I will be really appreciative if there is any reply.
Thank you very much.
b3tadine[sutures]
Dec 10, 15 12:37 pm
Are you Muslim, FRAC and Donald Trump will want to know.
poop876
Dec 10, 15 2:30 pm
Just call Jeanne directly and ask her! Yes, its competitive as you have IIT, UIC and UIUC flushing out students that are really talented and have already connections in Chicago. On top of that, you have many people move to the city from all over the U.S. and applying to firms like that.
You have to have a sponsor in order to get the visa, so you have to show the employer why should they pay for you if they have an abundance of others that don't need money thrown at them.
BR.TN
Dec 10, 15 4:34 pm
"I am really interested in Studio Gang, is it competitive to apply? Does it provide very few places of internship?"
It's one of the most competitive offices I know. A colleague of mine told me she gets around 1,000 applications a month after getting so much publicity for the Aqua Tower. Because of this, she can only hire based on personal references/staff recruitment.
The students from IIT, UIC, SAIC, and UIUC barely have a chance. Harvard, Yale, and Columbia are her focal points.
I wouldn't give up on it if that's your dream job, but the only way you'll ever get her attention is if you wait outside her office's front door at lunch and hope she's in town (which she rarely is). A better way might be to run some google searches to find out if she's visiting Singapore soon, whether its for a lecture or a project she's doing, and get a chance to personally introduce yourself with a resume and portfolio in-hand. She has an office in New York now too, so if you happen to visit either Chicago or New York, make sure you stop by.
midlander
Dec 11, 15 9:28 am
There are quite a few very good architects based in Singapore, and good multinational firms with SG offices you could apply to. For something more intense a few of the starchitects even have small offices there. You should look into that.
The amount you can learn in a 2-3 month internship after graduating is small and will do nothing to help you in your future career unless you have some way to stay connected to the people you meet. Honestly I think you would find far more benefit to get an internship with an interesting architect in Singapore which could lead to future opportunities there.
And realistically it is impossible for a foreigner to get an internship in the US except as a student in America. Work visas are expensive and take a long time to get. A firm isn't going to spend that money on a low wage intern unknown to anyone in the office who plans to leave soon anyway. It doesn't help them and it wouldn't help you.
curtkram
Dec 11, 15 9:38 am
br, is it really true she's importing east coast scrubs into chicago? that's depressing.
BR.TN
Dec 11, 15 10:46 am
curtkram, From what I know, what happens is this: Students at IIT, UIC, UIUC and SAIC form a large influx trying to enter the workforce every year. In the northeast, there's a larger influx but it's spread over a population of like 50 million vs Chicagolands's 10 million. As a generalization, the majority of those who stay in Chicago split into two subgroups, where one is full of students hoping to work for SOM and one is full of students hoping to work for Gang. She does guest lectures and guest crits our east at the Ivies, where some of those students approach her afterward to work for her. When she lectures in Chicago, students do the same thing. But I think she sees Chicago's students as lackluster compared to what's new and shiny to her out east. So her ears perk up more often out east where she's more obscure and doesn't get approached as often, so when she does its more meaningful to her.
midlander
Dec 11, 15 11:55 am
BR.TN, what about the lucky many who work at SOM in New York? Are they Chicagoans who defied Horace Greeley and went east? Or Atlanticoasters who failed to make it to the promised Gangland?
Are you by chance the same person as CHI-GMP? You two share a similar outlook.
There was actually an intern in my Chicago office one year who spent his entire spring co op telling us how much he wanted to work for Studio Gang, and making every effort to find some secret in while he was here. However he was neither from an east coast school nor Chicago, so it's impossible to make a useful generalization about what he should do.
BR.TN
Dec 11, 15 1:31 pm
midlander, KPF > SOM
Also from what I know, as a generalization to describe the majority, the SOM staff in NYC hails from schools closer to the northeast. The SOM staff in Chicago hails from schools closer to the midwest.
Hi all,
I wish you have a good day ahead!
This is Lei Runxiao from National University of Singapore (NUS), currently pursuing my Master of Architecture ar NUS. I will graduate in May 2016. I am a scholar from Surbana Consultant (A Singapore Architecture Corporation) and I will start my work with them in Aug or Sept 2016. I am extremely interested in getting a short internship in US from May to Aug, before my official work start.
I have some questions regarding the job and internship.
May I know is it really hard for the foreigners to get the job there (considering the company have to apply visa for the employee), especially interning students with no educational background in US.
Will the students with tertiary education US get priority for internship?
I am really interested in Studio Gang, is it competitive to apply? Does it provide very few places of internship?
Thank you very much for your answers and advise in advance.
I will be really appreciative if there is any reply.
Thank you very much.
Are you Muslim, FRAC and Donald Trump will want to know.
Just call Jeanne directly and ask her! Yes, its competitive as you have IIT, UIC and UIUC flushing out students that are really talented and have already connections in Chicago. On top of that, you have many people move to the city from all over the U.S. and applying to firms like that.
You have to have a sponsor in order to get the visa, so you have to show the employer why should they pay for you if they have an abundance of others that don't need money thrown at them.
"I am really interested in Studio Gang, is it competitive to apply? Does it provide very few places of internship?"
It's one of the most competitive offices I know. A colleague of mine told me she gets around 1,000 applications a month after getting so much publicity for the Aqua Tower. Because of this, she can only hire based on personal references/staff recruitment.
The students from IIT, UIC, SAIC, and UIUC barely have a chance. Harvard, Yale, and Columbia are her focal points.
I wouldn't give up on it if that's your dream job, but the only way you'll ever get her attention is if you wait outside her office's front door at lunch and hope she's in town (which she rarely is). A better way might be to run some google searches to find out if she's visiting Singapore soon, whether its for a lecture or a project she's doing, and get a chance to personally introduce yourself with a resume and portfolio in-hand. She has an office in New York now too, so if you happen to visit either Chicago or New York, make sure you stop by.
There are quite a few very good architects based in Singapore, and good multinational firms with SG offices you could apply to. For something more intense a few of the starchitects even have small offices there. You should look into that.
The amount you can learn in a 2-3 month internship after graduating is small and will do nothing to help you in your future career unless you have some way to stay connected to the people you meet. Honestly I think you would find far more benefit to get an internship with an interesting architect in Singapore which could lead to future opportunities there.
And realistically it is impossible for a foreigner to get an internship in the US except as a student in America. Work visas are expensive and take a long time to get. A firm isn't going to spend that money on a low wage intern unknown to anyone in the office who plans to leave soon anyway. It doesn't help them and it wouldn't help you.
br, is it really true she's importing east coast scrubs into chicago? that's depressing.
curtkram, From what I know, what happens is this: Students at IIT, UIC, UIUC and SAIC form a large influx trying to enter the workforce every year. In the northeast, there's a larger influx but it's spread over a population of like 50 million vs Chicagolands's 10 million. As a generalization, the majority of those who stay in Chicago split into two subgroups, where one is full of students hoping to work for SOM and one is full of students hoping to work for Gang. She does guest lectures and guest crits our east at the Ivies, where some of those students approach her afterward to work for her. When she lectures in Chicago, students do the same thing. But I think she sees Chicago's students as lackluster compared to what's new and shiny to her out east. So her ears perk up more often out east where she's more obscure and doesn't get approached as often, so when she does its more meaningful to her.
BR.TN, what about the lucky many who work at SOM in New York? Are they Chicagoans who defied Horace Greeley and went east? Or Atlanticoasters who failed to make it to the promised Gangland?
Are you by chance the same person as CHI-GMP? You two share a similar outlook.
There was actually an intern in my Chicago office one year who spent his entire spring co op telling us how much he wanted to work for Studio Gang, and making every effort to find some secret in while he was here. However he was neither from an east coast school nor Chicago, so it's impossible to make a useful generalization about what he should do.
midlander, KPF > SOM
Also from what I know, as a generalization to describe the majority, the SOM staff in NYC hails from schools closer to the northeast. The SOM staff in Chicago hails from schools closer to the midwest.
ConstructionHawaii-GuaranteedMaximumPrice = CHI-GMP?