Mentoring Emerging Professionals
Gordon E. Mills
"One of the dilemmas encountered by emerging professionals occurs after they complete their formal education and enter the work force as interns. At issue is the failure experienced by so many to connect with a supervisor and a mentor who can act as guides in their formation as design professionals.
A combination of demographics and a troubled economy make it more important than ever that we solve this problem, both as individual professionals and as firms. Demographic studies suggest that architects will soon retire in greater numbers than new workers entering the profession. And if architecture faces a generation that departs the profession because they cannot find work that enables them to advance their careers, we may see a repeat of the 1990s, when abandonment of the profession was common. Individuals, firms, and clients all suffered and continue to suffer from that loss of a generation.
As an architect who has led a good sized firm and spent recent years engaged in a volunteer capacity with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, I have some thoughts about how we might improve what established professionals can do for the benefit of interns, the firms in which they work, and the clients they serve... Continue Reading..."
