Architecture Registration Exams Story: Ephraim Fields

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:

Ephraim Fields, AIA, NCARB

Ephraim Fields is a licensed Architect who resides in Bowie, Maryland. Ephraim graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Masters of Architecture in 2015. After graduating, he continued working for a small architecture firm in his hometown of Shreveport, LA, where he was able to gain hands-on experience in various aspects of the business, working on commercial, government, and mixed-use projects. In October of 2018, Ephraim moved to Maryland to work for the Department of Defense. He leads domestic and international projects with the DoD and currently exercises leadership, coaching, and mentoring skills as the Branch Chief for his department.

Outside of work, Ephraim is a plein air artist and photographer. He loves traveling and telling the story of each location he visits through sketching with watercolors, and other mixed media.

“Treat work as study material application time. Seek out ways to expose yourself to on-the-job application of NCARB exam concepts and processes to help you retain information and have a lasting impact on your career.”

April 28, 2016	In Person	CDS (4.0)	FAIL
May 15, 2018	In Person	CDS (4.0)	PASS
June 29, 2018	In Person	PPP (4.0)	PASS

Transitioned to ARE 5.0

December 19, 2019	In Person	P&A	FAIL
May 10, 2021	In Person	P&A	FAIL
June 14, 2021	In Person	PPD	FAIL
July 12, 2021	In Person	P&A	FAIL
August 16, 2021	In Person	PPD	FAIL
September 7, 2021	In Person	PDD	PASS
September 20, 2021	In Person	P&A	FAIL
October 18, 2021	In Person	PPD	FAIL
November 22, 2021	In Person	PPD	FAIL
May 20, 2023	In Person	PPD	PASS
June 11, 2023	In Person	PDD	FAIL
August 12, 2023	In Person	PDD	PASS

You can read more about Ephraim’s Architecture Registration Exam story and more tips on his blog, Fields Sketch Book. And if you haven’t checked out his website before, he has absolutely STUNNING architectural artwork for sale in greeting cards and prints.

Check out Ephraim’s website. He has some amazing sketches and watercolors! And you can even purchase his artwork!

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 think the best place to start is NCARB’s website. The NCARB website provides all the resources you will need to get an understanding of the AXP process, the exam division format, and recommended study materials.

Grab a calendar and plan your study time. Take into consideration holidays, vacations, and other busy seasons in your life. I found it helpful to schedule an exam and then create a study plan working backward from that date. This helped me commit to studying.

Join a community or form a study group. I found it very beneficial studying with previous classmates who were also testing, not only because we were able to hold each other accountable, but we were also able to share insights and, more than often, vent about our paths to licensure.

Embrace the studying process and journey of becoming an Architect. Start with a bigger perspective of becoming an expert in your field, rather than simply memorizing information for the exam. I found reading through textbooks more enjoyable when I shifted my focus to gain a deeper understanding of the industry. 

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

Over the course of 7 years, I have found my study material collection to be quite overwhelming and eventually came to realize that no perfect study material exists. They all seem to have gaps and should be supplemented with other materials. I personally started off using Architect Exam Prep (the audio companion was a convenient supplement) and Ballast.

Toward the end of my exam journey, I focused on reading NCARB’s recommended textbooks and was finally able to pass my last exams. I realized all the other exam prep materials were referencing those same books. After consecutively failing PPD & PDD I committed to reading Fundamentals of Building Construction and MEEB books from cover to cover, focusing on relevant chapters. 

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

For anyone like myself who is not a good standardized test taker, I would recommend spending extra time developing an exam strategy to help decrease testing anxiety and improve your success. Learning how to take the exam is just as important as learning the actual material. 

Remember, the exam questions are designed to evaluate your comprehension of a particular concept. Try to identify and focus on the concept in question and avoid overthinking. This is where I personally struggled because I would approach the exam questions analytically and pull in industry experience, which ultimately steered me away from the actual concept that NCARB was evaluating my comprehension of. 

Take as many practice exams as you can. NCARB provides a free exam simulator that uses the exact interface of the exam and gives feedback after each question. This helped to increase my speed in quickly identifying what particular concept NCARB was evaluating me on.

Strive to fully understand your professional role and responsibilities within the practice of architecture. This seemingly basic knowledge will guide your approach to various exam questions.

Treat work as study material application time. Seek out ways to expose yourself to on-the-job application of NCARB exam concepts and processes to help you retain information and have a lasting impact on your career.

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 Ephraim Fields for sharing your story!

Edited by

Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB