Architecture Registration Exams Story: Brian Baril

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:

Brian Baril, AIA

My licensure story can best be summarized by trying to beat the rolling clock and navigating life events to find time to study. 

I graduated from Norwich University in 2005 with a Masters of Architecture, and began working for a small architect in Connecticut.  In 2009, when the economy crashed, I was laid off and began working for a construction management company as an Assistant Project Manager, thinking that I’d only be working in the “dark side” for a year… which has turned out to be almost fifteen years now.

I began the exams in 2011 with a whirlwind of taking and passing Construction Documents, Schematic Design, Site Planning and Programming within six months of each other, as the exam content was similar, and I was able to leverage a lot of the same study materials for multiple tests.  I lost momentum with the final three exams, due to a combination of life changes and some apprehension with what I anticipated as the more difficult exam content in Structural Systems, Building Systems and Building Design & Construction Systems.  My daughter was born in February 2015 which changed my available time to prepare, but also provided laser focus on getting the exams completed so I could move on with my career. 

Professionally, I’ve worked for construction management companies since 2009 in project management and preconstruction management roles, so I was able to leverage my professional experience on some of the exam content. 

“Lean on your network; if you have great relationships with your engineers, ask for some of their time over coffee or a lunch to have them explain concepts to you.”

October 19, 2011	In person	CDS (4.0)	Pass
December 5, 2011	In person	SD (4.0)	Pass
March 5, 2012	In person	SITE (4.0)	Pass
April 2, 2012	In person	PP (4.0)	Pass
September 29, 2014	In person	SS (4.0)	Pass
August 1, 2015	In person	BS (4.0)	Pass
March 26, 2016	In person	BDCS (4.0)	Pass

I often get asked “why do I need to get licensed?”. Why did you decide that you wanted to be a licensed Architect?

It’s something I knew I wanted to achieve since deciding I wanted to pursue architecture when I was younger.  My career move to construction management increased my desire to obtain my license, as I’ve always wanted to maintain a connection to the practice of architecture while working first as a construction project manager, then a Director of Estimating for a smaller Construction Manager, and now as a Preconstruction Manager for a $400m/year construction management company. 

It’s been incredibly valuable for my career progression, as I now oversee preconstruction for projects ranging between $50,000 through $250 million.  It’s been an incredible value add for my employers to have a licensed architect as an estimator.  I’ve been able to leverage my background and license to accurately budget conceptual projects by filling in the design gaps, or to know what to look for when competitively bidding a complete set of construction documents.  The license also provides me the flexibility to move back to the architecture field if I ever decide to open my own practice, which is a goal of mine.

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?

I found a lot of success leveraging the same study materials for the similar exams of CD’s, Schematic Design, Site Planning and PPP.  I’m not as up to speed with ARE 5.0 and how the content has evolved, but I would encourage candidates to strategically schedule their exams so they can focus on the same study materials, take, and pass the exams, and build momentum so they can be successful with completing the entire gauntlet.

I also took advantage of AIA Connecticut’s ARE Preparation Sessions, which were invaluable.  Standalone study sessions can be a firehose of information, but they can provide the context and framework for understanding what you need to focus on in your individual or small group studying.

I’ve heard a lot of people have had success with group studying.  Personally, I didn’t use this method, but I can see its value.  Bottom line, don’t be afraid to try different tactics, but find what works for you and stick with it.

What type of study materials did you use? Any particular ones that you’d recommend?

I bought both the Kaplan and Ballast books.  I used areforum.org religiously (RIP) and found the AREndurance notes to be very helpful.  Structural was challenging (thus the over two-year gap between passing PPP and structural systems), but what unlocked it for me was Dorf Solutions.  The Amber Book was helpful for Building Systems.  I did buy MEEB but wasn’t able to get through the whole thing.  I used flash cards sparingly, but I can see how they’d be useful for small windows of time to study.  I’ve heard great things about the ARE Boot Camp.

How did you fit study time into your schedule? Was there anything in particular that worked well for you?

It was mostly nights and weekends.  My methodology was creating a notebook for each test, working through the study materials with copious notes, and then re-reviewing the notes until I had the material drilled. 

Do you have any other advice for someone studying for their exams?

The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be done.  Don’t fear failure.  Lean on your network; if you have great relationships with your engineers, ask for some of their time over coffee or a lunch to have them explain concepts to you.

We hope that this information helps you through our ARE journey, setting goals, and giving you some insight on how to get started.

Thank you again to Brian Baril for sharing your story!

Edited by

Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB