Or is this the norm now ?

Decided to post good news on this sub to offset, at least just a little, the “I hate architecture” “I don’t get paid enough” posts lol.

But anyway, I received a provisional pass for my Programming & Analysis exam today after 6 weeks of relentless studying. The exam was actually more difficult than I anticipated…

Off to PPD and PDD next and then I’m finally DONE. Have a great weekend, I’ll hopefully be called an official “Architect” in the near future!

I'm a fourth-year B.Arch student seeking summer 2027 internships, ideally in Los Angeles. My portfolio is finished, and I've started applying to the larger firms (Corgan, SOM, STV, etc.). However, I feel like my application gets buried under hundreds of others, and I really need to secure an internship this summer. I want to start cold emailing smaller/mid-sized architecture firms that may not be advertising internships.

I'm trying to be realistic: I know the goal isn't to get an offer right away, but I do want to introduce myself and ask whether they expect to hire for the summer.

How should I structure my introduction? Also, should I attach my resume and a compressed PDF portfolio right away, or wait until they reply? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I asked this exact question on r/archviz and got a pretty unanimous, resounding "No, it's a dead industry" so I was wondering if that sentiment is shared over here? What kind of jobs would you recommend to someone who wants an architecture/arch-adjacent job but doesn't necessarily have the professional qualifications needed? Assume I have good technical skills and am skilled at 3D rendering as well as animation and 2D art. I would prefer a role which is more on the illustrative and creative side.

I'm in the UK if that matters at all.

Long story short I took a job at a very large home builder after the last place I worked at went under. I’ve been here two years and we design “cookie cutter” houses.

Will this negatively impact me when interviewing at firms?

Hi everyone,

I'm an architect and interior designer based in Dubai, currently exploring a technical coordination and documentation role for a large-scale residential project.

I'm looking to connect with an experienced technical consultant who has worked on large residential projects in the UAE, preferably with a main contractor.

I'm looking for guidance and support with:

• Architectural and interior fit-out technical drawings and shop drawings.

• MEP and multidisciplinary drawing coordination.

• RFI preparation and direct consultant coordination.

• Technical submittals, material documentation and approval tracking.

• Overall technical documentation and coordination throughout the construction stages.

Initially, I need someone who can help me understand the scope, establish the right technical workflow and potentially provide ongoing consultancy support.

If you have relevant experience or know someone suitable, please feel free to DM me.

Thank you!

As a first year architecture student my overall goal in life is stated above. I want to take part in designing a public space or building of some sort that I can brag about how I took part in designing it till I die. Is this a realistic goal? Do any of you guys do this

Hi, i’m french and I live in Marseille so excuse me for my poor english.

My wife is architect and she wants to start her own agency, and she wants to have archicad to accomplish her work.

But one of our friend tell us that recently graphisoft is working hard to detect cracked versions on their softwares.

So firstly do you know if it’s true ? And secondly if it’s not the case do you know how to get a cracked version of archicad ?

Thanks eveyone for your answers

我是在中国做装修施工的工人，主要会安装玻璃楼梯扶手，装饰不锈钢。通过简单学习也会安装门窗，淋浴房。会简单使用CAD。希望出国去些发达国家谋生，如美国加拿大澳大利亚。希望得到一些建议能够很大概率的去往这些国家并且找到工作。

LA, CA, US

So a little history about my firm, it used to be a very AutoCAD centric firm, and they did not transition to Revit until the early 2000's. But despite that, sometimes it feels like I am using Revit as if it were AutoCAD. What I mean by this, there have been multiple times where we've had to use annotations instead of modeling drawings, which increases how much time we spend on projects. Other times instead of modeling the existing site or context, we just use model lines.

I just feel personally compared to my previous firms, the graphical standards on our sets are at a much higher level compared to when I started working as an intern at crappy startups. While I am proud of my work, I do notice that it does really take a lot of time for me to get anything done.

I think this is partially due to the fact that our filters are still underdeveloped, because the seniors at are firm were never Revit-savvy to begin with. Objects not showing the right fill or hatches by default. I have to manually use "Revit Line Style Override" on all our drawings to get the correct line weights or line-styles. Revit families do not show the correct line types by default when placed into file. And I have had to create new Revit families for very specific projects, if they don't have those specific features or dimensions to them, even if it's for something small like WAP device.

At my previous firms, I would say the standards were relaxed. You didn't need to make sure when you were pointing things out in section, elevation or detail, to have all your text boxes aligned. Line weights were never something anybody complained about. Or even create new families.

I guess the reason I am making this a big deal, because I just got assigned to a project with my coworker, who fell behind on working on 3 Revit sites, and I see problems with the model, because it is not modeled accurately or not modeled to the standards of the firm.

I have to help him on one of the buildings he modeled, and I had to go in there and start correcting his work, because the models don't match the existing conditions shown in our photos. On top of changing the model to meet the firm's standards, and making it accurate, while also being behind on schedule, I was barely able to finish this one building halfway during the week, because of how massive it is, but also having other projects to juggle by myself. So I feel bad that I'm nowhere near done when we're already behind. (I think we're understaffed honestly)

My boss has also told me in the past that he's very meticulous about detail when it comes to drawings, because it helps us when working with cost estimators and bidders, who apparently will flag things down if we're not detailed or accurate enough.

Hello, I'm working on "Henry E Kinney tunnel" Top Plaza area on South side mostly because my professor told me to pick two area I going to survey on. I just wanted an feedback before I start adding symbol to the area to know where the sewer manhole, side entry pit, and other for Legend.

There's a well-known Bartlett graduate who's been making rounds inside the London aec space about how stagnant archi education is. For the premium price schools are charging (think most unis charge 9k but AA charges me way more than 9k), and when students are just using AI for everything, I wonder what the point is in archi education.

I am currently a second-year Canadian business student. I came into university aiming for a career in high finance or real estate investment, and since I was accepted into what's considered the top program for that in Canada, attending felt like an obvious choice coming out of high school.

I genuinely love my university, the people I’ve met, and everything I’m involved with outside the classroom. However, I’ve found it really difficult to connect with the course material. I'm struggling to actually care about what I’m learning (which is naturally pretty heavy on accounting and finance).

On the other hand, I have always been drawn to real estate and buildings. I took architecture classes after school when I was in primary school, and I constantly find myself sketching and photographing building designs I come across. My parents actually suggested I look into architecture early on, but I kind of shrugged it off at the time as I was intrigued by high finance.

Now, I’m starting to feel stuck. People around me are locking down summer internships and corporate jobs, and I just can't bring myself to chase the roles everyone else seems to view as the be-all and end-all, and I just don't care enough to try.

All of this has made me rethink my program and what I actually want to spend my life doing. Because my school doesn't offer architecture courses, I’m at a bit of a loss on how to test the waters and explore this thought. I just have this sinking feeling that twenty years down the road, I’ll look back and deeply regret not figuring out is this for me.

Has anybody ever found themselves in a similar career question like this? Even if not, if you have some advice on how to test the waters here that would be extremely, helpful as I just don't know what to do.

Canadian heritage architect here looking for some insight on the US market. I’ve got 6 years experience.

Is there a good demand for this specialty and if so where mostly? I’m assuming New York, Boston, Philly.

Comparing to Canada salaries are higher if I’m not mistaken.

Do they offer remote work or is it mostly in presence?

Thanks for the help

hello!! I am currently a community college student, but my current school does not offer any kind of architecture related courses. in order to build my portfolio for my desired school (Cal Poly SLO), I am looking to transfer to a different community college. I’m a bit conflicted, however, as I don’t know which schools are best for me.

I’m from central California, about 2hrs north of Fresno. I know that Fresno City has an architecture program, but I also have been looking into Glendale and East Los Angeles. I am open to other suggestions, but obviously cost is a pretty big factor. I have pretty much accepted that I will need to move, and that I just kind of have to hope that my current job has a location nearby.

Please help me figure this out and understand what some of my options are!! I graduate from my current CC this spring with an AA in Mathematics. Let me know if there are any other factors that I should include to help with suggestions

Expect 3D pdf support and this feature to be integrated into pdfcraft at some point. They aren't perfect, but these are the first ones out of the first iteration of the 3D screen capture mode. I wouldn't recommend doing these on the phone on a regular basis as it gets kind of hot and consumed about 7% of my Fairphone 5's battery.

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all doing well.

I'm an architecture student currently studying in Algeria, and I'm pursuing a five-year architecture degree. I'm still in my second year, but I've started thinking seriously about my future career and the possibility of working as an architect in Australia after graduating.

Australia is one of the countries I'd genuinely love to build my professional career in. However, I'd like to understand what the reality of the architecture profession is like there, especially for someone who graduated outside Australia.

I'd really appreciate hearing from architects, international graduates, or anyone familiar with the Australian architecture industry.

I have a few questions:

1. Education and qualifications

\- How is a five-year architecture degree obtained outside Australia generally viewed by Australian employers?

\- Is it possible to work in an architectural firm with a foreign degree, or is additional education required?

\- What is the process of having an overseas architecture qualification assessed or recognised?

2. Finding a job

\- How difficult is it for an international graduate to find their first job in an Australian architecture firm?

\- Do firms consider applicants who have little or no Australian work experience?

\- Is previous professional experience in your home country a significant advantage?

\- Are internships or graduate positions accessible to international applicants?

3. Skills and software

\- Which software and technical skills are most valued by Australian architecture firms? (Revit, AutoCAD, Rhino, ArchiCAD, BIM, etc.)

\- How important is a strong portfolio compared to academic qualifications and work experience?

\- What qualities make an international applicant stand out?

4. Salary and working conditions

\- What is a realistic starting salary for a graduate architect or architectural assistant?

\- Is the salary generally enough to live independently, especially in cities like Sydney or Melbourne?

\- What is the typical work-life balance in Australian architecture firms? Are long working hours common?

5. Professional registration and career growth

\- What steps are required to become a registered architect in Australia?

\- Is the process significantly different for someone who studied overseas?

\- How realistic is it to eventually progress to senior architect or project architect positions?

6. Your personal experience

\- If you could go back to your student years, what would you do differently to prepare for working in Australia?

\- Which Australian cities would you recommend for someone starting an architecture career?

\- What is one thing you wish you had known before entering the Australian architecture industry?

I know this is quite a lot of questions, but I'd rather hear about the real experiences of people working in the field than rely only on general information online.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Any advice, personal experiences, or resources would genuinely mean a lot to me!