Welcome to the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE) experience stories series! This series is to share experiences, timelines and advice of professionals that have completed their AREs. We know it can be a daunting task to get started and overwhelming on the number of resources out there. We hope you find this information helpful in organizing how you proceed through your exams. Good Luck!
This is the experience, timeline, and advice from:
Shane Daves, AIA
Hi, my name is Shane Daves. I was born and raised in the Houston, Texas area. I went to school at Texas Tech University for the Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master’s program. After graduating in the fall of 2015, I began working at PhiloWilke Partnership, where I had completed my internship the previous summer, full time in January 2016.
“My advice for finding time to study is to find someone who will keep you accountable and some form of support to make sure you can commit to studying. For me, that was my wife.”
Exam Order
Upon graduation, I very quickly became interested in testing as the transition from the ARE 4.0 to 5.0 had just been released. The only things that kept me from testing that year were lack of experience and meeting a girl. In 2018, after getting enough professional experience to qualify for testing, and getting married to that very same girl, she encouraged me to get back into testing like I talked about when we started dating. I took some time to study and within the last 3 months of 2018; I had completed my first 3 exams. I decided to try PPD as my 4th exam and failed twice throughout 2019.
At the end of 2019, with my first-born son on the way, I decided to switch study material from the Brightwood and Ballast books to Black Spectacles with a goal to finish before he was born in May 2020. I started back in 2020 with strong momentum passing my 4th test (Programming and Analysis), and as I tried to take that momentum into passing PPD, the testing centers shut down for covid 3 days before I could take it again.
Testing came to a halt with covid shutting down the testing centers and my son being born. Once the centers reopened, I set a new goal. I wanted to be licensed before I turned 30. Learning how to balance working from home, being a new dad, and adding a full-time study schedule was challenging, but made possible thanks to the support of my wife, who was always encouraging me to keep going and supporting me along the way. I finished my last test in May 2021, right after my son turned 1, and a month before turning 30.
| September 29, 2018 | In Person | C&E | PASS |
| November 16, 2018 | In Person | PcM | PASS |
| December 1, 2018 | In Person | PjM | PASS |
| March 31, 2019 | In Person | PPD | FAIL |
| September 28, 2019 | In Person | PPD | FAIL |
| February 23, 2020 | In Person | P&A | PASS |
| April 4, 2021 | In Person | PPD | FAIL |
| May 19, 2021 | In Person | PDD | PASS |
Advice for you!
I often get asked “why do I need to get licensed?”. Why did you decide that you wanted to be a licensed Architect?
I felt that I wasn’t finished with what I started in school back at Texas Tech until I got licensed. It truly felt like a continuation of the Master’s program, learning part of the profession that is often missed in school.
Often people don’t know where to start, do you have any advice for those looking to start their exams -or- how did you start?
The best advice I can give is to just schedule your first exam. Having a date for your test will put the pressure on you to study. Paying for that test will also motivate you to use that money wisely. I have witnessed so many people put off starting testing, myself included, because there is always an excuse. Money, time, personal commitments. The list is endless and easily justified. But once you commit to taking a test, you can’t make excuses.
You can’t go wrong with picking an exam either, although looking back now, I wish I had started with Practice Management and went in order. Finding study material can be challenging too, but if you can’t make a decision, just start with the NCARB approved study material. I found it difficult to know what to study, but found very quickly what material resonated with me.
What type of study materials did you use? Any particular ones that you’d recommend?
I started reading the Brightwood and Ballast books (favoring Brightwood), and the material provided by my company for my first 3 exams. I completed the entire Brightwood material and found I was unable to pass PPD. At that point I was tired of spending money failing tests and went to the paid study material of Black Spectacles.
This became my favorite study material overall. The price for the study material paid off when I passed my last 3 tests on the first try using their videos and practice exams to study. My recommendation for study material goes to Black Spectacles. After that, I would recommend the Brightwood books.
How did you fit study time into your schedule? Was there anything in particular that worked well for you?
This is my least favorite memory of getting through my exams. Finding time to study was very challenging even as a young newlywed practicing Architect. That study schedule got even harder after my son was born and taking on more responsibilities with my company. Often times, staying vigilant with my studying meant saying no to parties or dinners. I even had my dad come help with my lawn once, right before an exam I was stressing over.
For the last two exams, I was working 50 to 60 hour weeks with a newborn baby with a very active family and church group. My weekday schedule for those few months was:
6am – wake up and help get my son ready to go to daycare
7:30am-12pm – working from home
12-1pm – sneak in an hour of studying during lunch
1-7pm – working from home
7-8pm – dinner with family, bath and bedtime with my son
8-11pm/12am – study
Saturdays, I would get the morning to study with an empty house for roughly 4-6 hours while my wife did bible studies or visited her mom, and Sundays I would go to church, have family time until my son went to bed, and then stay up late studying.
All that being said, I found that when it was time to get serious studying, I had to change my mindset. I was no longer planning my time to study, I was planning my time to take breaks from studying.
My advice for finding time to study is to find someone who will keep you accountable and some form of support to make sure you can commit to studying. For me, that was my wife. Make a schedule, stick to it, and only allow yourself to reschedule an exam for extenuating circumstances.
How did you fit study time into your schedule? Was there anything in particular that worked well for you?
Do not allow yourself to take too long of a break between tests, pass or fail, and sign up for your next test within a week after your previous test. Failing a test was the most discouraging feeling, but if I hadn’t kept to my study schedule and signed up for my next test, I could have easily lost momentum. Being signed up for a test is what kept me motivated to just keep pushing.
We hope that this information helps you through your ARE journey, setting goals, and giving you some insight on how to get started.
Thank you again to Shane Daves for sharing your story!
Edited by
Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB
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