Welcome back to the 3rd instalment of our series, "Why Architects Merit Their Fees." We've been navigating the multifaceted world of architecture, focusing today on the challenging journey of internships and the pathway to becoming a licensed architect. I initially planned to broach the topic of overtime and work-life balance next. However, it's crucial first to comprehend the demanding internship process fully.
Upon graduation, the journey to licensure begins by applying to the provincial or state architects association. In British Columbia, it's the AIBC. The process kick-starts with an application and associated fee for the Intern Architect program, a cost many architecture firms graciously cover.
Once approved, the Intern Architect embarks on a meticulously outlined roadmap towards licensure. This journey involves logging around 3720 hrs across different disciplines: 2800 hrs in Design and Construction drawings, 560 hrs in Construction Administration, 280 hrs in Management, and an additional 80 hrs in an area of their choice. These broad categories are further split into 17 subcategories. These hours were significantly reduced around 2012 due to dwindling interest in pursuing licensure. Depending on a firm's project portfolio and flexibility, completing these hours could take anywhere from 3-5 years.
The pathway to licensure is challenging. Some firms may not provide the diversity of experience required to accrue hours in all necessary disciplines. This lack of opportunity often pushes interns to change jobs to accumulate the requisite hours. The relationships between interns and employers can strain, resulting in a delicate dance between securing job stability and advocating for progress towards licensure. To help navigate this rocky landscape, many find solace in having a mentor architect external to their firm as required by the program.
I was fortunate to gather many challenging 'construction' hours working for a startup firm. But when I worked in Japan, my hours didn't count due to certain stipulations - project locations or living abroad, or being out of province for example.
After their workday, interns must manually record their hours, a task that's all too easy to forget. Some employers might even strike hrs from interns' logbooks, seemingly devaluing hrs without any provided rationale. I have also heard of stories where employers will on purpose hold back logbook hrs because they don't want to pay a higher salary once the person becomes an architect or fear that they might lose that person after they are registered. These experiences can make the process appear painstakingly gruelling, leading many to leave the profession or forego licensure, remaining an Intern indefinitely.
These narratives may appear negative, but it's important to relay these experiences honestly. Stay tuned.
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