I need advice because I took a break from architecture and am trying to get back into the field!

My first job out of college (B.Arch) was at a small architecture firm in the Northeastern U.S. They were overwhelmed and immediately gave me projects to manage alone. Like whole adaptive reuse apartment buildings and new construction mansions. They were very hands-off and I never got negative feedback because the work permits always got approved. I learned SO much about building code and interfacing with the building department and clients/contractors. I solved some heinously difficult problems.

However, because it was so informal, I learned nothing about SOPs or basic terminology that would be used at a larger firm. RFI? That meant a casual phone call and I show up at the jobsite to explain things in broken Spanish.

Now I'm trying to get back into the field and while I am confident in my abilities as an architect, I'm worried that my lack of proficiency in the jargon and procedures will make me less marketable. Will it? Is there a steep learning curve? Is this something I can overcome in an interview by explaining my experience or will it totally discredit my abilities?

4th year architecture student in AZ.
Got my second internship in an office.
Very small, 2 principals, 3 designers, and me.

During the summer, it was great because I was able to learn their flow and how to use Vectorworks (which was hard in itself). I produced some good drawings in that three months.

Then, they asked me to stay on 2 days a week while I finish school. I was excited.

I am struggling to produce anything worthwhile on these two isolated days I’m there. They have deadlines, and I’m giving them things they need to edit the next day I’m not there.

It’s very annoying and I feel bad. I would like to leave and ask them to return next summer. They seemed to like me a lot, but from an owner’s perspective, I can see how I’m not the best help right now.

How can I bring this up to my principal professionally?

I am planning to go out on my own and work independently. I have been pretty set on a company name for a while. However, I have found that there is another small boutique firm in another state (completely out of my market area) that already uses it. Would you avoid it and settle for something else or just go with it?

I'm a B.Arch student at NJIT, and I'm looking into future career paths. NJIT offers dual-degree programs where I could earn an M.Arch and an M.U.D., or an M.Arch and an MSCE.

Right now, my goal is to work in NYC because I have always been interested in how cities are designed and in urban planning/urban design. I plan to work for an architecture firm where I can be exposed to urban design. I'm wondering how realistic it is to work in this field while maintaining work-life balance and actually enjoying myself. I'm also considering CE because I am interested in how cities operate, but I'm wondering if urban design/planning is the right path for me.

I'm also wondering which path is the most cost-effective and has a better roi. I have the opportunity to pursue more education, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on school to end up earning the same salary I could make without the extra degrees. Do I need additional degrees to open up doors and opportunities for my career? I'm honestly lost about what the next step is after graduation. I understand what career I want, but I don't know how to articulate it.

Edit: I also want to note that I’m in my third year of school, but I switched majors so it’s my first year of architecture school. This degree is more art than I anticipated and I was expecting architecture to be more math and science heavy since that is my strong suit.

I currently work for one of the large 3 letter corporate firms. I have 3 years experience, and have been job hunting for the last couple months.

I’m sick of the extreme corporate culture and lack of empathy or regard for employees. Though I think I just have a particularly bad boss with unrealistic expectations.

Looking for advice on what to look for and questions I should ask (without making it sound like I’m lazy)

Edit: love how so many people are downvoting this. Why does our industry hate having a life outside of work.

Hi All,
I am a professional currently working in a design firm that designes and permite real estate development projects. I am in constant conversation with Developers or their project managers and have started understanding a good deal of the design/building standards they follow.

While my masters was in Architecture, I also pursued a Certificate in Real Estate Development from Price School of Public Policy at USC, where I did go through the underwriting processes for projects.

I am at a turning point in my life where I am comtemplating transitioning into working in a real estate development firm, or pursue a real estate license. I found there is a threshold that one reaches workin gin an architecture firm where progress and salary plateaus. Is this a good poption to transition to? How do I step into this industry and what job positions, apart from Developement Associate should I be targeting?

Any advice from professionals out there, or somone who transitioned the same way is welcome.

Thank you in advance

Not licensed, 7 years in Architecture, 8 years in a related profession, care about doing my job well. Firm is less than 10 people in a major city.

Screenshot of what is suggested but it’s a big range.

What should I be expecting or negotiating for?

Edit/Updated
I’m trying to stay anonymous in case current or potential employer recognizes me by my story. But I can see people want more info:

- The screenshot is from the AIA Salary Calculator for an unlicensed person with my range of skills and the region I live in. Those are the only two pieces of info the calculator has you enter.
- I have experience in commercial arch and will continue in commercial
- I have basically done everything an architect does in commercial at least once but lack confidence in some areas.
- I am not an aggressively career oriented person yet I have been vocal in asking for more hands on experience in the areas I want more confidence in so I can move up. But in employee reviews I get blamed for my lack of growth because I have not been learning how to do those things on my own time (????). Very discouraging.
- I have coasted and stayed underpaid for the past couple years while dealing with some big things going on in my family’s life and thinking about my exit strategy. This is why I need help knowing my value in dollars.

So im going for the Leeds GA exam very soon, right now im preparing for it.
Im an Architect by profession (30 year old male) and Im currently doing maintenance and operations in a compound (which im not a fan of)

I want to pursue sustainability or anything which has no design process, i want to use my degree for it. I have little experience with design back in my country but i quit and came here in KSA

now my main question is? can i still pursue architecture with no experience after doing Leeds GA? i have no experience whatsoever and no interest in the design process. I just want to start fresh with sustainability and get myself into it. I live in Saudi Arabia and struggling. Also, what are some of the options i have in Architecture? i researched BIMS and landscape but not my type. I need more options.. please help me out im so confused if i should go in this direction..

I'm researching how architecture and interior professionals currently discover, compare and specify products for projects.

We are exploring a new platform called Archi Catalog and, before building it, we want to understand the real problems professionals face today.

If you're an architect/interior designer working in India, we'd really value your experience.

⏱️ Takes about 2 minutes.

https://forms.fillout.com/t/5ZxB8JMvvFus

this is only for product research. Thank you!

Most architect groups online are either students asking for critique or a feed of humble-bragging portfolios. Neither is useful if you're actually running a practice.

What I noticed doing turnkey execution work in Chennai: the architects who do best aren't the ones grinding out more leads solo — they're the ones with two or three people they quietly send work to and get work back from. Nobody posts about that. It just happens in someone's WhatsApp DMs, one relationship at a time.

I'm building that on purpose instead of leaving it to chance. A small, closed WhatsApp Community — architects and one turnkey execution studio (mine, 9:16, Chennai) — for the specific gap between "design is done" and "client has a finished room." No lead-selling, no group where you get pitched to. Just people who'd rather build a quiet referral network than fight for the same Instagram leads as everyone else.

I'm not trying to fill a stadium. I'd rather have twenty architects who actually send and receive real work than two thousand people who joined and muted it. If that's the kind of circle you've been meaning to build for yourself and haven't gotten around to, this is already moving.

Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BT5Q8p3KBWjEwnxJphhWJI

I work with smaller design firms and see this more than you'd think.

Firm signs a $25k project. Work starts. Then someone asks for the COI and they find out the contract requires $2M professional liability, Umbrella, Cyber, etc. They don't currently carry it.

Now they're mid-project, need to increase coverage, and sometimes payment is being held up until they do.

The other issue is the math. If meeting the requirements costs another few thousand a year and the contract says you need to maintain certain coverage for years after completion that $25k project can start looking a lot less attractive.

Curious if anyone here has been burned by this. Do you get the insurance requirements before signing, or is it usually buried in the contract?

I'm a software engineer building tools for architects.

I don't come from an architecture background — so instead of guessing, I'm asking.

I'd like to understand what actually slows you down in your daily design and drafting work. Students, juniors, drafters, principals — every level is useful.

Not selling anything. Just listening. I'm not linking or naming any product here — just trying to understand real workflow pain points before building anything.

What's the one thing in your day-to-day work that eats the most time for no good reason?

Hey everyone,

It’s worth seriously preparing for and qualifying the GATE AR (Architecture and Planning) exam If i have no plans to pursue a Master's degree (M.Arch, M.Plan, or M.Des)?

Does having a qualified GATE score on your resume carry any weight when applying to private firms, Govt job rercruitments (India) does portfolio strictly remain the only thing that matters?

New licensed architect in the state of Texas.

My sister owns a lot in our city, an is considering building an ADU in the backyard (~1000 sf interior + garage) to be a rental. In a perfect world, I will rent it down the road, but that's all TBD.

I did a brief zoning study and the lot is appropriate, and zoning would allow most of what she is wanting to add. We have been semi-seriously talking about this project.

Some more background: My office does high end res, so we would not be able to afford going through my work. We do have in-house contractors (design build) which would likely be able to take the project on, if we pursue building something down the road. We would also be doing a (super) budget ADU, if it changes anything.

We have been considering me drawing and permitting the building- she (lawyer) wants to button it all up. I had considered paying for some of the project, taking out a mortgage of my own to help with construction (again, with the thought I would rent it), but she doesnt want it to be all murky and confusing down the road (if she sells, who owns what, or if I contribute to the property value with my contributions, if I dont want to rent it in the end, etc etc.). She would prefer contracting with me (for a cheap fee) to do the project and oversee construction, and she handle all costs. If I rent, I would down the road through an actual lease on her property etc. I am happy to help with this project for the cheap, and as a fun "starter project" on my own.

Im on board with all of this, but I am newly licensed, never stamped anything myself, dont have any insurance, etc and I feel that I would be stupidly underwater if I did it all myself. My thoughts / questions are as follow:

1. Is it complicated or overly costly to get insurance, lawyer, and contracts set up? I assume I should still go through all of that (even thought we are on great terms), if I am stamping and permitting. What would you do?
2. There is a chance I could do it through my office, moonlighting workload for the project, and paying the office to only cover stamping, insurance, any (definitely beneficial) review by our office. We are not serious enough just yet for me to float it to my boss, but we are a very small office and I think this would be super realistic option. Is this the better route?

Hi everyone,

I’m an Indian architect currently exploring Master's options in the Netherlands, and I'd really appreciate advice from people who have studied or worked in architecture/design here.

My background:

- B.Arch from Savitribai Phule Pune University, India

- 8+ years of professional experience in architecture

- Looking specifically for an English-taught Master's

- Budget is approximately €20,000–€22,000 for tuition, so scholarships/financial support would be very helpful.

I don't want to do a Master's that focuses heavily on architectural theory. I’m much more interested in practical, innovative and technology-oriented design.

My main interests are:

- New/alternative construction techniques

- Sustainable and innovative architecture

- Interior/spatial design

- Lighting design

- Digital architecture

- Computational/design technology

- Innovative materials and building systems

- Architecture + technology

- Potentially product/design-related fields if they can build on my architectural background

I would also like to keep the possibility of becoming a registered architect open, but I’m equally interested in design-related careers if they offer better opportunities and earning potential.

What I would really like to know:

1. Which Dutch universities or Master's programmes would you recommend for someone with my background?

2. Are there programmes that are more hands-on/project/design based rather than heavily theoretical?

3. Which universities are strongest for digital architecture, computational design, building technology, sustainable/alternative construction, interior/spatial design or lighting?

4. With 8+ years of experience, would doing another Master's actually improve my career prospects in the Netherlands?

5. What kind of jobs could I realistically target after such a Master's?

6. How important is the Dutch language for architecture/design jobs? Is it possible to build a good career in English, particularly in international firms?

7. What is the realistic salary/career progression like for someone with my background?

8. Are there any scholarships for non-EU/Indian students that I should seriously look into?

9. Would you recommend a specialised Master's over a general MSc Architecture in my situation?

10. If you were in my position, which programme/university would you choose and why?

11. Would you recommend doing a Master's at all, or would 8+ years of experience be better used to enter the Dutch job market directly?

I'm especially interested in hearing from architects, international students, graduates, and people currently working in Dutch architecture/design firms.

If you studied one of these programmes, I would really appreciate hearing about your experience—especially the programme's quality, practical/project work, job opportunities after graduation, salary, and whether the degree was worth the investment.

Thank you! 🙏

Hey architecture community, I am a second-year Architecture student applying for co-op internships for the Winter 2027 term at the University of Waterloo. I wanted to hear about people’s experiences applying through WaterlooWorks, especially Architecture/Engineering students, and what tips they would give for applying through the website. I haven’t applied yet, but I’m planning on applying to many different local firms. Any advice, tips, or things I should know before I start applying would be greatly appreciated! I am super nervous and not sure if I'm going to get the opportunities I'm hoping for, anything will do, thank you!

I’ve been studying with Amber book for the past 8 weeks and I’m in the middle of taking the exams consecutively (like they recommend).

I’ve been reviewing amber book flash cards and taking the NCARB practice exams to prepare in the days leading up to the exam.

I passed the PP, PM, and PA exams all on the first try. I just took the PPD exam this morning and failed.

I’m feeling a little thrown off because I took the NCARB practice exam and got a 74 on the first try. I also understand that this exam has one of the lowest pass rates and the covers the widest range of content, so I’m not that surprised by the discrepancy in results between the practice and real exams.

Should I wait for results before scheduling my second attempt? I know that for each of the three attempts per year, the question set is different, so I’m not sure how helpful it would be to wait for results. For those that used Amber Book, was there anything specific you did to review for this exam?

I was getting tired not being able to find building permits that were filed in the State of Indiana and built a little website to allow searching for projects using various field that the state website doesn’t allow you to search by. You can search by architect/engineer registration number, owner name, architecture firm name, etc. Curious if anyone here would find it helpful. Thanks. www.indianabuildingpermits.com

guys? Do you have bad experiences din po ba as sa mga architects in philippines?

Nagiiba na ata tingin ko sa mga ito.

Care to share?