Hi all. I’m seeking advice on employment as a little potato early on in my career.
A little bit of background about me: I am currently practicing as an intern architect at a medium sized 40 people architecture office, but as an intern I’ve had the pleasure of doing anything but architecture. I have been working for one year on interior design and landscape projects, and it is only at the competition and SD stage. I have zero exp doing CD and CA. I don’t know how I can get my axp hours signed unless I switch jobs.
I applied to some small to medium architecture and interior offices, and I’ve heard back from several small interior design offices. I’m wondering if it would be worth it to take the position. The projects would be five star hotels, f&b and residential projects, from design to construction stages. It will literally be built, unlike the work at my current job, but strictly interior design and not architecture.
Is it worth it to switch jobs? Am I missing out on sticking to it in my current company in the hopes of getting a good name on my CV?
Thank you all, would really appreciate any advice on this.
Non Sequitur
Jul 11, 23 11:33 am
You're only 1y into this and it's not uncommon for junior staff to bounce around until you land on something solid. The important thing is few employers are willing to take a chance on someone without CD experience so best to make sure you're going to get opp to do that. The names on past offices mean very little compared to what billable skills you can offer so don't worry too much. Just try not to burn bridges as you jump ship. It's a small incestuous crowd and word/grudges can carry weight.
toyotatoya
Jul 14, 23 10:22 am
Great advice, I’ll start asking around if there will be opportunities to do CD/CA. Thanks
pandahut
Jul 11, 23 11:36 am
OP (aka Potato) are you still in school? If not, ditch a company calling the position an internship because you should be in a fulltime position being paid as a fulltime employee with full benefits. Assuming you went to school for architecture and are currently doing interiors and landscape stuff and are not currently enjoying the work, bail for a better opportunity. Having a name on your resume will probably help open doors but what will not help is when they view your resume and see everything except architecture work.
Chad Miller
Jul 11, 23 11:49 am
In the US anyone with an architectural degree who's not licensed is technically considered an intern. They are full time and paid as such.
Non Sequitur
Jul 11, 23 11:53 am
Intern is the professional term for anyone in the IDP process in my area. We have far more important things to worry about than semantics.
Chad Miller
Jul 11, 23 11:54 am
True. My point is that the term 'intern architect' doesn't mean you're not working full time or getting paid like pandahut said.
natematt
Jul 11, 23 12:53 pm
Ah yes… Architects, interns, and Intern architects, usually, probably, mostly referring to three separate things. All doing architecture business, some of whom are actual interns doing internships, which pay less, but are often the same work as people doing the non-ship full time work. Some of whom may be illegally using the term architect in their title (depending on their state) to differentiate themselves from people who are paid less and have less job security and may or may not have more or less education completed. They also may just be doing the exact same thing as either of the others, but with more or less pay. Others may join an organization that costs them a grand year because for some reason the industry standard postnominal requires you to join a club, not just be the actual title.
Not confusing, totally normal, nothing to see here.
Chad Miller
Jul 11, 23 1:07 pm
natematt - sounds like nearly every other aspect of every other profession. I know some firm owners who make less money than me. I know some unlicensed designers who make more money than me . . . it's all relative.
Non Sequitur
Jul 11, 23 1:30 pm
Just a grand per year to join the drinking club elites? Damn... mine are over 3k loonies.
pandahut
Jul 11, 23 2:42 pm
Chad I am referring to if this internship is just a summer gig. IMO, when I hear internship I hear summer job between academic years. If you look up architectural internship jobs....80%+ are summer jobs. I am trying to gauge if this person is still in school or out of school practicing.....
natematt
Jul 11, 23 4:37 pm
@chad - I prefer inconsistent, which was my point. I realize a lot of white collar jobs are that way, but it's just funny because my point is these words mean very little relatively speaking.
Chad Miller
Jul 11, 23 6:03 pm
Panda - when I hear student internship I think summer or part time. When I hear architectural intern, job captain, designer, architectural associate - I think full time, unlicensed architectural graduate.
Chad Miller
Jul 11, 23 6:05 pm
natematt - it may just be a title however the term architect has some very serious legal meaning to it.
toyotatoya
Jul 14, 23 10:24 am
@Pandahut, thanks for your advice. I am a bachelor’s graduate and currently
employed full time, with a normal salary. I do agree about the project thing- supposed to be doing architecture, but my projects in my portfolio are all interiors/landscape. Not really a good thing.
reallynotmyname
Jul 11, 23 12:18 pm
First, raise your concerns with your current employer and see if they are willing to work with you on providing the more diversified experience/training you need to move ahead with AXP and your career in general.
Second, make sure any interior design firm you jump to will work properly as an AXP training setting. Generally, that means there needs to be a licensed architect working in the office. Do some research on NCARB's rules to see what is possible. Getting stuck in a job where you can earn limited or no AXP hours is not a good thing.
toyotatoya
Jul 14, 23 10:26 am
@Randomised, thanks for the reminder, I didn’t realise
that perhaps interior design firms don’t fall into the axp hours eligibility. Going to check if they have RA’s there from now on. Thanks!
flatroof
Jul 11, 23 12:34 pm
You are only allowed a max 320 AXP hours working for an Interior Designer/Firm, so I would avoid those jobs if possible. Only should be a last resort if you can't find anything else and you're just short of fulfilling your AXP hours.
Interior Architecture firms working under an architect is valid under Setting A.
Josh Mings
Jul 11, 23 1:17 pm
This is the wrinkle here - I agree with reallynotmyname here and raise your concerns and desire to work on construction docs and CA. Keep in mind that with timing of projects, it may not be an immediate fix. That said, if they say no and they want to keep you in the early phases (and you don't want that), then you look. Job market seems a bit tenuous for those with 0-5 years experience at the moment though.
toyotatoya
Jul 14, 23 10:30 am
@josh Yeah, sometimes the timing is not right for the project stage… can’t really help it. I did have a chat and they said early stages are very likely- mostly competitions… said it is good exp… but definitely not helpful for my axp journey…
toyotatoya
Jul 14, 23 10:31 am
@flatroof. I didn’t realise the 320 hour restriction until you bought it up. Thanks. I still have roughly 1500 hours to go. Going to start looking at alternatives/interior architecture firms now.
whistler
Jul 12, 23 4:37 pm
I think its important to find firms that offer project types you want to work on ie Residential / Interiors / Landscape / Commercial / Institutional etc. it's rare to see firms with a diverse resume of projects. I also find that personally working on projects that take 5 + years to execute ( ie large institutional / commercial projects is a real a motivation killer. Having some small quick turn around projects is always nice to have especially when you are young and you can try out different design ideas / drawing methods / presentation types. I am generalizing... but Large offices offer upward mobility and secure employment but rarely interesting projects ( they can afford to take on small boutique jobs everything needs to generate cash flow.) Small offices get labelled being too little horsepower and clients view them as being ill equipped to deliver. The right sized medium firms can offer good diversity i project types if they intentionally seek them out and offer a good training ground, at least in my experience.
toyotatoya
Jul 14, 23 10:34 am
You’re right! It really is a motivation killer unfortunately… and I feel like corporate is not for me… but it is a very stable and secure employment path. I think I’d have a better time in a small office. Thanks for your advice!
Hi all. I’m seeking advice on employment as a little potato early on in my career.
A little bit of background about me: I am currently practicing as an intern architect at a medium sized 40 people architecture office, but as an intern I’ve had the pleasure of doing anything but architecture. I have been working for one year on interior design and landscape projects, and it is only at the competition and SD stage. I have zero exp doing CD and CA. I don’t know how I can get my axp hours signed unless I switch jobs.
I applied to some small to medium architecture and interior offices, and I’ve heard back from several small interior design offices. I’m wondering if it would be worth it to take the position. The projects would be five star hotels, f&b and residential projects, from design to construction stages. It will literally be built, unlike the work at my current job, but strictly interior design and not architecture.
Is it worth it to switch jobs? Am I missing out on sticking to it in my current company in the hopes of getting a good name on my CV?
Thank you all, would really appreciate any advice on this.
You're only 1y into this and it's not uncommon for junior staff to bounce around until you land on something solid. The important thing is few employers are willing to take a chance on someone without CD experience so best to make sure you're going to get opp to do that. The names on past offices mean very little compared to what billable skills you can offer so don't worry too much. Just try not to burn bridges as you jump ship. It's a small incestuous crowd and word/grudges can carry weight.
Great advice, I’ll start asking around if there will be opportunities to do CD/CA. Thanks
OP (aka Potato) are you still in school? If not, ditch a company calling the position an internship because you should be in a fulltime position being paid as a fulltime employee with full benefits. Assuming you went to school for architecture and are currently doing interiors and landscape stuff and are not currently enjoying the work, bail for a better opportunity. Having a name on your resume will probably help open doors but what will not help is when they view your resume and see everything except architecture work.
In the US anyone with an architectural degree who's not licensed is technically considered an intern. They are full time and paid as such.
Intern is the professional term for anyone in the IDP process in my area. We have far more important things to worry about than semantics.
True. My point is that the term 'intern architect' doesn't mean you're not working full time or getting paid like pandahut said.
Ah yes… Architects, interns, and Intern architects, usually, probably, mostly referring to three separate things. All doing architecture business, some of whom are actual interns doing internships, which pay less, but are often the same work as people doing the non-ship full time work. Some of whom may be illegally using the term architect in their title (depending on their state) to differentiate themselves from people who are paid less and have less job security and may or may not have more or less education completed. They also may just be doing the exact same thing as either of the others, but with more or less pay. Others may join an organization that costs them a grand year because for some reason the industry standard postnominal requires you to join a club, not just be the actual title.
Not confusing, totally normal, nothing to see here.
natematt - sounds like nearly every other aspect of every other profession. I know some firm owners who make less money than me. I know some unlicensed designers who make more money than me . . . it's all relative.
Just a grand per year to join the drinking club elites? Damn... mine are over 3k loonies.
Chad I am referring to if this internship is just a summer gig. IMO, when I hear internship I hear summer job between academic years. If you look up architectural internship jobs....80%+ are summer jobs. I am trying to gauge if this person is still in school or out of school practicing.....
@chad - I prefer inconsistent, which was my point. I realize a lot of white collar jobs are that way, but it's just funny because my point is these words mean very little relatively speaking.
Panda - when I hear student internship I think summer or part time. When I hear architectural intern, job captain, designer, architectural associate - I think full time, unlicensed architectural graduate.
natematt - it may just be a title however the term architect has some very serious legal meaning to it.
@Pandahut, thanks for your advice. I am a bachelor’s graduate and currently
employed full time, with a normal salary. I do agree about the project thing- supposed to be doing architecture, but my projects in my portfolio are all interiors/landscape. Not really a good thing.
First, raise your concerns with your current employer and see if they are willing to work with you on providing the more diversified experience/training you need to move ahead with AXP and your career in general.
Second, make sure any interior design firm you jump to will work properly as an AXP training setting. Generally, that means there needs to be a licensed architect working in the office. Do some research on NCARB's rules to see what is possible. Getting stuck in a job where you can earn limited or no AXP hours is not a good thing.
@Randomised, thanks for the reminder, I didn’t realise
that perhaps interior design firms don’t fall into the axp hours eligibility. Going to check if they have RA’s there from now on. Thanks!
You are only allowed a max 320 AXP hours working for an Interior Designer/Firm, so I would avoid those jobs if possible. Only should be a last resort if you can't find anything else and you're just short of fulfilling your AXP hours.
Interior Architecture firms working under an architect is valid under Setting A.
This is the wrinkle here - I agree with reallynotmyname here and raise your concerns and desire to work on construction docs and CA. Keep in mind that with timing of projects, it may not be an immediate fix. That said, if they say no and they want to keep you in the early phases (and you don't want that), then you look. Job market seems a bit tenuous for those with 0-5 years experience at the moment though.
@josh Yeah, sometimes the timing is not right for the project stage… can’t really help it. I did have a chat and they said early stages are very likely- mostly competitions… said it is good exp… but definitely not helpful for my axp journey…
@flatroof. I didn’t realise the 320 hour restriction until you bought it up. Thanks. I still have roughly 1500 hours to go. Going to start looking at alternatives/interior architecture firms now.
I think its important to find firms that offer project types you want to work on ie Residential / Interiors / Landscape / Commercial / Institutional etc. it's rare to see firms with a diverse resume of projects. I also find that personally working on projects that take 5 + years to execute ( ie large institutional / commercial projects is a real a motivation killer. Having some small quick turn around projects is always nice to have especially when you are young and you can try out different design ideas / drawing methods / presentation types. I am generalizing... but Large offices offer upward mobility and secure employment but rarely interesting projects ( they can afford to take on small boutique jobs everything needs to generate cash flow.) Small offices get labelled being too little horsepower and clients view them as being ill equipped to deliver. The right sized medium firms can offer good diversity i project types if they intentionally seek them out and offer a good training ground, at least in my experience.
You’re right! It really is a motivation killer unfortunately… and I feel like corporate is not for me… but it is a very stable and secure employment path. I think I’d have a better time in a small office. Thanks for your advice!