Well, like most things I take on in life, this blog started out as a great idea, but has become secondary to the other things I find to fill my time. I know it's been awhile and I've left you all hanging on, waiting for more. That's the kind of cliff-hanger writer I am. I keep you wanting more don't I?
So I waited patiently for the scores of my first exam only to find that I had "moderate deficiencies" in 1 of 5 areas of the exam. It seems I need to study the AIA contracts and legal responsibilities more. I actually find it encouraging that the only part that I failed is the part that I have spent the leaset time on in my short career. This may be dissappointing to some of you, but I find it encouraging. I didn't really have a feel for the test style prior to the first one, and now knowing I barely failed it, I know I'll pass it the next time I take it (August 25). I know the exact date because I have to wait 6 months to take it. I plan on taking it the first day I am eligible to get all of these tests over with as soon as possible.
In the meantime, I just took my second exam (Programming, Planning, & Practice) yesterday. After getting a sense of how well I did on the first one, I feel pretty confident about this second exam. There was a quite a bit of overlap between the first two (I did that on purpose) so a lot of the questions from both tests covered similar topics. Hopefully, my gut feeling will prevail and I'll be batting .500 after I get the results in 4-6 weeks.
I have since scheduled my third test, Site Planning & Design, for the 28th of April (Mom's bday). I know what you are all thinking, "that soon?" Well yes. I orginally planned 2 weeks per test and am trying to get on track and stay close to that schedule.
I'll try to keep this updated more frequently as I take tests or receive results. I now you all find this so interesting.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The starting line
Well, as promised in my opening post, an addendum to exam schedule is already in order. Today is my first exam (Constrution Documents & Services). I must say that I thought I would know more about the subject as I spend most of my time creating CDs everyday. It has been the whole "services" part that is demanding most of my study time. I feel like I could pass the BAR, now knowing all of the legal vocabulary required to build a building. Well maybe not the BAR, but hopefully at least this section of the ARE.
Much of my delay in starting can be attributed to my lack of foresight as to how much I would need to learn as opposed to already know. Turns out that I don't spend most of my days reviewing AIA Document B141 - Standard form of agreement betwen owner and architect, or A201- General conditions of the contract for construction. Both of which are 20 and 50 page documents respectively full of legal obilgations between the architect, owner, & contractor. Don't get me wrong, I do need to know these things and quite frankly am a little embarrassed that I didn't already. The good news is, I'm pretty confident that I do now.
Switching gears, the format of the test is as follows:
100 multiple choice questions (2 hours)
A building section vignette (1 hour)
For those that need further explantion of a vignette, it is a design portion of the test where I actually draft a building section based on the floor plans that they give me. It has been rumored to be very easy on the ARE forum online, almost too easy, but I don't plan on taking it for granted.
With that, I am off to the first of 7 tests. I'll post an update later tonight after, to let everyone know how it went.
Much of my delay in starting can be attributed to my lack of foresight as to how much I would need to learn as opposed to already know. Turns out that I don't spend most of my days reviewing AIA Document B141 - Standard form of agreement betwen owner and architect, or A201- General conditions of the contract for construction. Both of which are 20 and 50 page documents respectively full of legal obilgations between the architect, owner, & contractor. Don't get me wrong, I do need to know these things and quite frankly am a little embarrassed that I didn't already. The good news is, I'm pretty confident that I do now.
Switching gears, the format of the test is as follows:
100 multiple choice questions (2 hours)
A building section vignette (1 hour)
For those that need further explantion of a vignette, it is a design portion of the test where I actually draft a building section based on the floor plans that they give me. It has been rumored to be very easy on the ARE forum online, almost too easy, but I don't plan on taking it for granted.
With that, I am off to the first of 7 tests. I'll post an update later tonight after, to let everyone know how it went.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Beginning of the End of the Beginning
A.R.E.
Is, in fact, the one acronym that every architectural intern fears more than death. I have decided to start a blog as I begin taking the final 7 steps on my journey to becoming an architect. Hopefully, I’ll be able to look back after these next 7 exams and see a changed man, and Architect. It's almost funny (although sometimes painful) to think about how long it has taken me to get where I am, yet understanding how far I have to go on this path to licensure as a professional architect and even further I have yet to becoming a great architect.
For anyone that doesn’t know, ARE or Architect Registration Exam, is a series of exams, 7 to be exact, that is the final step to obtain a professional license as an architect. Prior to this phase, I completed 4 years of undergraduate studies in Architecture at Arizona State, 3 years of interning in the IDP (Intern Development Program) at GSG Architecture in Casper, Wyoming, and another 2 years of graduate school at The University of Colorado at Denver, which I just completed in May ‘08. Since graduate school I have been working for Box Studios in Denver, Colorado. All told, I’ve spent the last 9.5 years of my life devoted to this profession of mine. Obviously, I’m anxious to get done, or begin rather.
Now that my long-winded introduction is over, I’d like to point out that I am beginning with the CDS (Construction Documents & Services) exam. As many interns will attest, this portion of the test “should” be one of the easier exams as we spend most days drafting, detailing, & coordinating construction documents. I have initial reservations about the “services” portion of the exam as it covers the in-depth knowledge of AIA (American Institute of Architect’s) documents that I don’t see everyday. While I did study them in school, I anticipate these documents to require extra attention as I prepare for the exam.
When looking for advice, I’ve come across some great sources. The first, and foremost has been my peers. Every architect or intern taking the ARE has some insight on how to pass the exams. From “take one per week for seven weeks” to “one per month” to “one whenever you feel ready”, I’ve had so much advice thrown at me that I didn't know where to start.So naturally I turned to the all-knowing internet for some semblance of direction only to find even more conflicting counsel. In response to all this advice, I, like any other stubborn architect-to-be, have decided to create my own system. Below is my initial schedule… to be altered through addendum once I take the first exam and redistributed as an ASI to relevant parties.
Jan. 29 – Construction Documents & Services
Feb. 9 – Building Systems
Feb. 19 – Building Design & Construction Systems
Mar. 2 – Structural Systems
Mar. 11 – Programming, Planning, & Practice
Mar. 18 – Site Planning & Design
Mar. 25 – Schematic Design
It's going to be fast and furious to try and keep up.
Is, in fact, the one acronym that every architectural intern fears more than death. I have decided to start a blog as I begin taking the final 7 steps on my journey to becoming an architect. Hopefully, I’ll be able to look back after these next 7 exams and see a changed man, and Architect. It's almost funny (although sometimes painful) to think about how long it has taken me to get where I am, yet understanding how far I have to go on this path to licensure as a professional architect and even further I have yet to becoming a great architect.
For anyone that doesn’t know, ARE or Architect Registration Exam, is a series of exams, 7 to be exact, that is the final step to obtain a professional license as an architect. Prior to this phase, I completed 4 years of undergraduate studies in Architecture at Arizona State, 3 years of interning in the IDP (Intern Development Program) at GSG Architecture in Casper, Wyoming, and another 2 years of graduate school at The University of Colorado at Denver, which I just completed in May ‘08. Since graduate school I have been working for Box Studios in Denver, Colorado. All told, I’ve spent the last 9.5 years of my life devoted to this profession of mine. Obviously, I’m anxious to get done, or begin rather.
Now that my long-winded introduction is over, I’d like to point out that I am beginning with the CDS (Construction Documents & Services) exam. As many interns will attest, this portion of the test “should” be one of the easier exams as we spend most days drafting, detailing, & coordinating construction documents. I have initial reservations about the “services” portion of the exam as it covers the in-depth knowledge of AIA (American Institute of Architect’s) documents that I don’t see everyday. While I did study them in school, I anticipate these documents to require extra attention as I prepare for the exam.
When looking for advice, I’ve come across some great sources. The first, and foremost has been my peers. Every architect or intern taking the ARE has some insight on how to pass the exams. From “take one per week for seven weeks” to “one per month” to “one whenever you feel ready”, I’ve had so much advice thrown at me that I didn't know where to start.So naturally I turned to the all-knowing internet for some semblance of direction only to find even more conflicting counsel. In response to all this advice, I, like any other stubborn architect-to-be, have decided to create my own system. Below is my initial schedule… to be altered through addendum once I take the first exam and redistributed as an ASI to relevant parties.
Jan. 29 – Construction Documents & Services
Feb. 9 – Building Systems
Feb. 19 – Building Design & Construction Systems
Mar. 2 – Structural Systems
Mar. 11 – Programming, Planning, & Practice
Mar. 18 – Site Planning & Design
Mar. 25 – Schematic Design
It's going to be fast and furious to try and keep up.
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