course summary
course
requirements
making the most of
the internship
professional protocols
list of questions
salary negotiation
letter of agreement
legal issues
My goal in founding this program is
to assist your 40+ year career and final study at Cal
Poly. This program begins a mentor relationship and
critical contacts for your future, giving you a competitive
edge. You must make this happen!! Now
is the time to take an active role in shaping
your professional education. The following suggestions
may help you.
- Try to go beyond what is expected of you in your firm. Set your own goals to get there. Be self-directed. School is really for you. The faculty already has their degrees, architectural licenses, and built buildings. This program was designed for your needs. It is a structured introduction to the profession of architecture. The architecural internship should help you figure out which aspects of architecture you are most interested in. Then you can begin to focus and make informed choices about your career path.
- These contacts are critical to help you get a position when you graduate--they hear first who has work and can recomment you personally. Most jobs are filled by word of mouth. They will be lifelong resources. (It is useful to get a copy of the phone list so you remember everyone's name.) When get your first freelance job, they are excellent resources for questions about fees, contract, etc. Thus, thank you letters at the end of the internship are essential protocol (and, I presume, genuinely felt).
- Keep in contact with the people you have worked with--phone calls, postcards, visits.
- List the SFUDI on your resumé. List key people you worked with--your supervising architect in your firm--and planning staff members. Architects in the community recognize these people.
- Show examples from you Architectural Intership in your portfolio. You must translate the internship into visual images. This makes it real for architects (who think visually). Architects will recognise these offices and these projects. So you must take photos of the models you worked on--even study models. Get prints of details you worked on. List trips to the building department to pull permits, construction site visits, interviews with the marketing director, etc. You daily journal will help you remember these experiences.
- Request a portfolio review near graduation. Most supervising architects are generous in donating their time to review your work because they appreciate the architects who helped them when were starting out. They are an excellent resource for you. They will have extremely valuable suggestions about your portfolio and resume particularly because they have had time to get to know you. They can answer questions about what salary you should ask for, what firms may be looking for personnel, etc.
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