I have been working at a small firm for the past 2.5 years, and I am starting to look into moving to a bigger firm for a junior/intermediate designer position. I'm wondering what kind of skills and how much proficiency employers typically expect for this length of experience and position.. I feel that I have a good amount of experience working on various types of projects from start to finish (from preliminary code research up to getting ready to issue), but all projects are small in size (mostly small TI, SFD/duplex, avg. 20 unit apartments), I have not done any fancy 3d/rendering work in professional setting, and most of my time has been spent doing code research and drafting rather than designing.
Tl;dr: How would someone with 3 years of drafting/project coordinating/permit expediting experience prep him/herself for a designer position?
Thanks for reading & thanks in advance for any advice!
Non Sequitur
Apr 15, 16 9:20 pm
Can you put a set of construction documents together and detail a building without constant hand holding?
I'd expect that at 3y exp. Anyone can do 3D renderings.
dyee
Apr 17, 16 12:14 am
Mmk. Gotta brush up on 3d.. Thank you for your comment!
lacalr
Apr 18, 16 11:26 am
It depends what type of larger firm you are looking to get into? I think drafting and detailing is going to be a large part of what they will be looking for. Conceptual renderings are great but a lot of firms have interns right out of college do those. I think you have useful enough skills and experience to highlight. Is the small firm you are working at now 1-5 people or 10-20?
3tk
Apr 18, 16 4:00 pm
1. understand importance of office structure and standards - being able to follow them and adjust as necessary without strict guidance
2. fully capable in software (CAD/Revit, Adobe, MS Office) - knows the shortcuts and quirks to work efficiently and trouble shoot without IT support for the minor day-to-day issues
3. communicates professionally well with peers, supervisors, consultants and contractors
4. understands local codes and permit process (where there's room to navigate and when you're locked in).
Larger firms may have specific tracks or expectations for a position. In general though I would think they expect that you have the full skill set down pat. The growing is in detailing and understanding how to build something (not software).
Design requires understanding of technical and legal issues (to design around), but beyond that it really is experience. Some of it is rules of thumb (proportions, colors, etc) and parts of it are taste.
gwharton
Apr 18, 16 6:33 pm
The answer to this question depends a lot more on what you want to do than some boilerplate list core competencies. In general, at three years in, you should be ready to take the ARE and be actively pursuing licensure. You should have some experience with all phases of architectural work, which will be the case if you've successfully completed IDP or something similar.
Beyond that, you've got enough experience now to know more about what you like doing as an architect and are thus ready or have already started to follow a specific career path. That means some level of specialization (project management, technical architect, design, spec writing, or something else), as well as some direction on project types (residential, commercial, educational, institutional, etc.). This will become more and more the case as you move through your career, incidentally: each move will be more about what you WANT to do than what you CAN do.
Coming from a smaller firm, you have some advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, you've probably had the opportunity to take on more responsibility in your early career than at a big firm. You've probably also had an opportunity to go through an entire project from blank page to occupancy. Maybe even more than once, depending. So your experience is generally broader than a big-firm employee at a similar career stage. You probably also have a bit more face time with clients.
On the downside, the projects you've been working on are probably smaller and less complex. When pitching them to a big firm, focus on quality and aspects of the smaller project which were as challenging as a big project.
A big firm is not going to expect you to be a master of anything at 3-5 years. But they will expect you to have enough experience and skill to hit the ground running in a productive capacity without a lot of handholding. They'll have a specific position in mind when talking to you, and you have to figure out if you want to fit in that role. As a part of that, you need to be clear to yourself about what you want and pitch yourself that way. If you don't really want to be a renderer most of the time, don't emphasize your rendering skills.
BIg firms have lots of opportunities, but you have to be clearer about your own goals when going that route or you'll get stuffed in a cubby somewhere, doing the same thing forever as an expendable cog in the machine.
Hello, seeking advice here!
I have been working at a small firm for the past 2.5 years, and I am starting to look into moving to a bigger firm for a junior/intermediate designer position. I'm wondering what kind of skills and how much proficiency employers typically expect for this length of experience and position.. I feel that I have a good amount of experience working on various types of projects from start to finish (from preliminary code research up to getting ready to issue), but all projects are small in size (mostly small TI, SFD/duplex, avg. 20 unit apartments), I have not done any fancy 3d/rendering work in professional setting, and most of my time has been spent doing code research and drafting rather than designing.
Tl;dr: How would someone with 3 years of drafting/project coordinating/permit expediting experience prep him/herself for a designer position?
Thanks for reading & thanks in advance for any advice!
Can you put a set of construction documents together and detail a building without constant hand holding?
I'd expect that at 3y exp. Anyone can do 3D renderings.
Mmk. Gotta brush up on 3d.. Thank you for your comment!
It depends what type of larger firm you are looking to get into? I think drafting and detailing is going to be a large part of what they will be looking for. Conceptual renderings are great but a lot of firms have interns right out of college do those. I think you have useful enough skills and experience to highlight. Is the small firm you are working at now 1-5 people or 10-20?
1. understand importance of office structure and standards - being able to follow them and adjust as necessary without strict guidance
2. fully capable in software (CAD/Revit, Adobe, MS Office) - knows the shortcuts and quirks to work efficiently and trouble shoot without IT support for the minor day-to-day issues
3. communicates professionally well with peers, supervisors, consultants and contractors
4. understands local codes and permit process (where there's room to navigate and when you're locked in).
Larger firms may have specific tracks or expectations for a position. In general though I would think they expect that you have the full skill set down pat. The growing is in detailing and understanding how to build something (not software).
Design requires understanding of technical and legal issues (to design around), but beyond that it really is experience. Some of it is rules of thumb (proportions, colors, etc) and parts of it are taste.
The answer to this question depends a lot more on what you want to do than some boilerplate list core competencies. In general, at three years in, you should be ready to take the ARE and be actively pursuing licensure. You should have some experience with all phases of architectural work, which will be the case if you've successfully completed IDP or something similar.
Beyond that, you've got enough experience now to know more about what you like doing as an architect and are thus ready or have already started to follow a specific career path. That means some level of specialization (project management, technical architect, design, spec writing, or something else), as well as some direction on project types (residential, commercial, educational, institutional, etc.). This will become more and more the case as you move through your career, incidentally: each move will be more about what you WANT to do than what you CAN do.
Coming from a smaller firm, you have some advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, you've probably had the opportunity to take on more responsibility in your early career than at a big firm. You've probably also had an opportunity to go through an entire project from blank page to occupancy. Maybe even more than once, depending. So your experience is generally broader than a big-firm employee at a similar career stage. You probably also have a bit more face time with clients.
On the downside, the projects you've been working on are probably smaller and less complex. When pitching them to a big firm, focus on quality and aspects of the smaller project which were as challenging as a big project.
A big firm is not going to expect you to be a master of anything at 3-5 years. But they will expect you to have enough experience and skill to hit the ground running in a productive capacity without a lot of handholding. They'll have a specific position in mind when talking to you, and you have to figure out if you want to fit in that role. As a part of that, you need to be clear to yourself about what you want and pitch yourself that way. If you don't really want to be a renderer most of the time, don't emphasize your rendering skills.
BIg firms have lots of opportunities, but you have to be clearer about your own goals when going that route or you'll get stuffed in a cubby somewhere, doing the same thing forever as an expendable cog in the machine.