I have long thought that people intuitively sought more experience to keep themselves marketable, or in search of fulfilling some inner desire.

I have been searching recently for new opportunities with architecture firms, ie I am unemployed and looking for a job. I have always been taught to go after what you want, that the sky is the limit, etc, etc. Having this as a mantra, I have changed jobs in search of other experience to fulfill one goal or another. For example, I have changed jobs several times in order to get all of my IDP credits in order to become a registered Architect.

Another method is that in the workplace, I think a lot of interns just expect to get a chance to do everything. I have found that unless you specifically ask for more responsibility, a variation of work, or to do certain tasks, that you will not get them. You will end up doing the same thing, over and over.  What do I say to that? Pffffffttttt!!!!! All you are doing is showing your passivity to your employers. Don't just take what you are given, ask for more! If you are lucky enough to be working at an architecture firm while pursuing a degree in Architecture, all the more reason to do this. If you ask for more, and if your employers see you not only juggling your professional work load and college work load, but then asking for more, they will respect you more and you will move up through the ranks faster. By the time you graduate, you will be several steps ahead of the people who have just been doing what they are given, really only doing the minimum.

While I was in college, I was lucky enough to work for a couple of architecture firms. I found a couple of guys who took me under their wing and mentored me. They taught me design, they taught me composition, they taught me detailing and construction documents. I was given the basics, and I asked for more. While working on my Masters Degree in Architecture, I was also doing the job of a Project Architect (without the title and stamping responsibilities of course). I had a conversation with a fellow student while in studio one day about what I was doing at work. When I told her that I was essentially doing an Architect's role, she flat out said there is no way that I was and accused my of fibbing. Lying, telling untruths, etc, etc....Well a month or two later, she actually joined the firm I was with, and came over during studio the next day to apologize for not believing me. Anyway, long story short, ask for responsibility. Demand responsibility. When I graduated from college, I had a professional portfolio to show along with my school work.

While interviewing at several firms recently, several of the architects were visibly surprised that I would take the responsibility of looking for experience, and change jobs to go after it.

Moral of the story, if you want the experience, more often than not, you have to ask for it. Talk to your colleagues, talk to you bosses. Regardless of your position, if you want more, you have to ask for it. This is a great indicator to bosses that you are an asset to them and that you are working hard to improve. Ask, Ask, Ask.....
I want to hear your stories and comments.

Maybe Forrest Gump has said it best, "Life is like a box of chocolate." I have recently begun to think that this piece of knowledge serves us all very well.

I have been discussing moving and my work search with my wife recently to decide where we want to be and what we want to be doing. While discussing this, she brought up the aforementioned analogy. We each have our own favorite chocolate out of the entire box of mixed chocolates, our's being the chocolate almond clusters. We each try the other varieties only to turn back and have our favorite.

Sometimes I think that the way we live needs to more along these lines. We all hope that the next bite we take from a different chocolate is going to be the next best place to live, the next best job, the next best. We move from job to job, place to place either looking for the next best thing, or to find our chocolate cluster. We, my wife and I, have both decided that our chocolate cluster is Oregon. We love the mountains, the green, the great people and the people we know. We have had out best life experiences while living in Bend, Oregon. We lived there for about 6 years had jobs that we liked, friends, and great relations started for our kids. Due to the economy, we moved to the next chocolate in the box.

We were hopeful that it would be better for us. We ended up biting into one of the cream filled ones that we both try to avoid at all costs. Upon arrival there, we searched every spare moment to get back to our cluster. We have tried other locations since then, but time and again, we ended up finding more cream filled ones.

We have come to the conclusion that if possible, try to stay at your chocolate cluster. Sometimes trying new places is great and wonderful, but we try to save them for the holidays. We have learned that by leaving a place, a job, and friends that are great, even in times of economic downturn, it is extremely hard to go back to that.  We are still in process of getting back to our cluster.

If you find yours, stick to it vehemently .

So, what does it take to get noticed and stand apart from the rest of the applicants these days?  A great resume? Specialization? A great graphic Portfolio?  Being local?

To tell you the truth, I am not sure.  I have been searching for a new job for several months now, and I have had little success. I feel like I have a great resume, having worked on projects both large and small, across a variety of market sectors. I have also a well developed sense of how to make projects succeed, how to teach younger or less experienced staff, and how to get into the nitty gritty of a project. Plus many other relevant skills.

As I search for job postings, I find that nothing is more frustrating than looking for an architectural job. Most firms do not post jobs on the Local AIA Boards, or Craigslist, or even other internet sites like Archinect. The only ones that seem to do this are the large international firms or small under 5 man firms. So, if these are not your target market, how do you find a job? I have found that there are a couple of factors at work here. One of these is being local, the other is word of mouth (ie, do you know someone at the desired firm?). How do you accomplish this when you are not local or know someone at the firms? Again, I say, I am not sure. You could move to the desired city if you have the where with all to do so, and start to contact firms. If you do not, you have to stand out in some way from all the other applicants. This goes back to having a great portfolio.

Do firms really contact people who are not local? I would have say that, depending on the location, I would say this is a process to weed out those who are not local. I would love to be wrong, and would love to get your opinions on this.

I have tried every way I know how to in order to generate interest in me, both local and in other states and cities. I have moved to a bigger city where there are abundant opportunities, I have applied in areas where I have local contacts and clients, I have contacted locals to get their input (some firms are super at getting back to me and offering advice, others, not so much), and I continually revamp my resume for each employer I apply to. So, what gives?

I am interested in your thoughts. Take a look at my website, review my resume and experience, and let me know what you might suggest to improve my visibility and opportunities. I am opening myself to critique here and as an architect, expect nothing but constructive critiques.

On Saturday, October 19th, I spent the day participating in a workshop where architectural professionals worked with local school teachers to teach methods on how to teach Architecture to their students. 

The day was spent creating diagramming drawings, drawing illustrations of sections, building models, site planning, programming of a new greenhouse for their school and generally sharing our knowledge with the teachers. (I have included some shots of the images I created below.) The day was fun in that we did a lot of activities that took me back to my days in studio. Some of the activities we seldom ever do in the workplace. I cannot remember the last time I picked up an Xacto knife to make a study model!

It was a great day filled with knowledge exchanges, collaboration, and making new friends. If you have the opportunity to join one these workshops, do it. It will be awesome!

If you want to know how to become involved, just click the logo and you'll go to the Architecture and Children website.

This is part of a larger initiative to create a program where Architects volunteer their time to go out into the public school system for 1-2 hours a week, for 8 -10 weeks, to assist in teaching elementary school age children about architecture.  The idea behind the program is that by learning how to think differently, to have exposure to Architecture, sketching, model making, and other architecture methods, children will broaden their interest base and their knowledge base. Ultimately, they become better students and will create an active interest in architecture and art.

This program, lead by Anne Taylor of School Zone Inc and Architecture for Children, has guided these workshops for more than 30 years. The program itself has been taught in 4 countries (Finland, Turkey, Japan, and the United States (not all states)) and has become part of the curriculum in all but the United States. Anne has been teaching this program in several states where there are now programs annually that bring Architecture professionals into the schools.  Here are some links to other states and countries with programs initiated by Anne or other architectural educators:

Oregon - Architects in Schools - https://af-oregon.org/programs/architects-in-schools

Buffalo, New York - Architecture + Education - http://www.buffaloarchitecture.org/ae2013programdetails

Wisconsin - Architects in Schools - http://www.aiaw.org/education/ais.shtml

Sendai, Japan - Architecture and Children - architecture-and-children-sendai.blogspot.jp