Joseph Feaga
November, 1999
English 111-14
An Aspiring Architect
I never really knew what I wanted to do in life, but after growing up in a military home, I was sure I didn’t want to join the military. High school was flying by quickly, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do until my senior year. That year I signed up for a mentorship program working at Rancorn and Wildman architects. There, while working under licensed architects, I found a career that really interested me. Now, as a first-year college student, I am finding out a small portion of what it takes to become a practicing architect.
Those aspiring students who wish to enter the field of architecture usually share several common skills and interests. These skills and interests include drawing, painting, writing, math, and working with people. But, students must realize these interests alone simply are not enough to make them architects. They must also realize that they have many years of hard work ahead of them. This hard work begins with a scholastic education in college. The college education required to become a licensed architect begins by completing a five-year program at an accredited institution, where they receive their bachelors degree in architecture. After completing the formal education, hopeful architects must then spend three years gaining practical experience. This practical experience includes completing routine design tasks under the supervision of licensed architects. This experience that students will obtain, also comes with financial rewards. Students are well paid, making on average 25,000 dollars a year, while working under these practicing architects.
Finally, after five years of education and three years of on-the-job training, they are eligible to take the four-day exam to become a licensed architect. This exam encompasses the skills and knowledge an architect should know and will show his/her ability to use these skills. Some of the skills and knowledge problems on the test are math computations, questions about building codes, and many practical application questions. Students passing the exam receive a license in architecture. Now, as a licensed architect with some entry-level experience, they are ready to enter the competition in the fierce job market of architecture. Architects recently passing the exam can expect to earn 36,000 dollars a year. But as job openings increase in the future and as architects gain more experience they can expect to earn from 50,000 to 100,000+ dollars a year (Krantz 114-117). There is a great amount of work that lies ahead for those students, like myself, who are interested in becoming practicing architects. But after the many years of their hard work and effort, the financial rewards and job satisfaction will make the time and energy well worth it.
The many years of education an architect must go through are not wasted. Architects must make use of all of the skills they learned as a student according to Jack Clark, a senior associate at Rancorn and Wildman Architects. Architects are required to communicate both orally and on paper on a daily basis. The types of writing they are required to accomplish can be broken down into two basic groups. These groups are inter-office communication and communication with clients. Inter-office communication is mostly oral and consists mainly of architects discussing ideas. These ideas are then relayed to designers who translate these ideas into reality. Although most of this communication is casual, it is normally technical in nature. Other types of inter-office communication that are more formal in nature are meetings, where architects discuss their progress on existing projects and upcoming projects. Not all of the communication the architect does is oral. Architects commonly use memos in the office and frequently fax these memos back and forth between their office and construction and engineering companies.
Most architects are also familiar with Microsoft Office, which includes Excel, Word, and Power Point, or a similar professional software tool kit. The programs within these tool kits allow architects to type formal reports or work with mathematic computations on excel. Communication with prospective or current clients is usually formal, regardless if it is written or oral. During the duration of a project, architects are required to do numerous oral presentations for clients. These presentations are done both in front of large groups and committees and over the phone. Architects also maintain written communication with clients. This communication may be a bid for a job, an update on a current project, or a technical report (Clark). The written and oral communication architects use on a daily basis plays a vital role in maintaining office team work and attracting prospective clients.
The education aspiring architects obtain is just a small portion what they will learn while striving to be architects. This education combined, with the pre-professional experience, is used daily in the work of an architect from inter-office communication to communicating with clients.
Works Cited
Clark, Jack. Personal interview. 6 Nov. 1999.
Krantz, Les. Jobs rated Almanac. New York: St. Martin’s, 1999. 114-117.
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