Being a young architectural profession can be a bit confusing. You are finally free of school but still need to pass six exams, and “intern” for roughly three years. And after a minimum of four years of school there is still a tremendous number of things you don’t know about the industry and designing buildings. Those are all self-explanatory reasons as to why it can be a big learning curve when you start out your career. But what about something simple, like your title? What can you call yourself? Who are you?
A simple thing like a name or title can be an important identifier to your career in architecture. But it seems to be a lot more complicated than it should. A few years ago the “Architectural Experience Program” changed the titles of unlicensed architectural professionals from interns to emerging professionals to move away from individuals beings called interns. Do you think that really helps? Before I was licensed and got the question “what do you do?” I would say I’m an Intern Architect. Then would have to proceed in explaining the process of IDP/AREs, and the reasoning to why I was still an intern for a period of time. Then when the profession changed the title and I started calling myself an Emerging Professional. People outside of the architectural profession were simply confused and it made it even more complicated trying to explain everything, or you get the blank stare of not comprehending what I just said.
So I decided to do some research. What are young professionals in architecture calling themselves on LinkedIn? (Individuals that are not registered) There were over 15 different titles found for literally the same thing. I have listed below the top 15 I found, but interesting enough nobody was giving themselves the title of Emerging Professional.
Intern Architect
Architectural Designer
Architectural Intern
Intern
Project Architect
Urban Designer
Project Coordinator
Designer
Architect Intern III
Project Planner
Graduate Architect
Project Manager
Project Designer
Design Intern
Draftsman
Any of those titles I find more informative than emerging professional. Especially to those outside the profession, all of those give them an idea of what you do. It can be frustrating to constantly have to explain yourself if you say the proper NCARB title. I believe that young professionals working toward licensure should have a period of time designation like how Doctors have a residency period as part of their career. Essentially you are working through an apprenticeship period. In my opinion young professionals should be called, an Architectural Apprentice. Or be able to say you are working through your apprenticeship as ABC Architectural Firm. Take a look at some basic definitions and see what you think.
Apprentice:
First definition on google:
a person who works for another in order to learn a trade (Source: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/apprenticeship )
Business related:
Method in which trainees learn a craft or trade by hands-on experience while working with a skilled worker, usually under a written or implied indentureship agreement. (Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/apprenticeship.html)
Intern:
First definition on google:
a student or trainee who works, sometimes without pay, at a trade or occupation in order to gain work experience.
The AIA previously defined Intern as:
“intern” is defined as “any person who by means of their education or experience has qualified to enter the IDP.” (Source: IDP Guidelines, July 2014, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards)
Emerging Professional:
First definition on google:
An Emerging Professional is either a student who is interested in lighting, who is seeking lighting education, or who is entering the lighting industry after graduation or a lighting professional that has been working in the industry for five (5) or less years. (Source: http://www.iesbc.org/about-iesbc/emerging-professionals)
AIA:
The AIA defines emerging professionals as architecture students, intern architects, and architects licensed for less than ten years. If you had to put them in an average age range, it’s roughly 18-38 years. But this broad age range may be too simplistic. Emerging professionals can also be second-career architects whose ages range into their forties and fifties. For simplicity’s sake, EPs are the group of architects in the first decades of the architectural profession, climbing its steep learning curve and establishing themselves as architects or allied design professionals. (Source: http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB08555 )
I don’t believe the AIA has a clear definition for an emerging professional for those outside the profession. They may have solved the internal issue of the word intern sounding degrading, but not the issue of having to constantly explain yourself to everyone else in the community. So even after the AXP transition there is still a major grey area for young architects. I don’t believe that the emerging professional title will catch on to those working and already calling themselves 15 different names when the standard used to be simply intern. This should be an ongoing conversation to try and help better define our industry as well as help the community understand the education and experience needed to be a registered architect in the United States as much as understanding the demands of professions like doctors and lawyers.
Written by Katelyn Rossier