So You are Graduating...What Now?

Phil Bernstein recently published a very nice post that all of my student readers so take a look at:

Winter Commencement

As December now rolls around it's the eve of my last lecture in my professional practice class at Yale.  Although I've been teaching for almost twenty-five years, I still can't believe how quickly the semester accelerates into Thanksgiving, and suddenly it's all over but the shouting (or, in our case, final projects and juries).  About the same time as the term slammed to a closed I received a note from a student at Prarie View A&M, asking many of the existential questions that must be facing architecture students nearing their degrees.  Seemed like a good time to speculate a bit about that future, and what this year's graduates might be facing as they confront the job market in the spring, with enough time between now and then to contemplate their options and plot their strategies, so here goes:

What does the market look like out there for a young architect? 

....Click here to see the rest of the post....

Phil brings up some excellent points in his post.  I think the underlying issue that is now haunting all of my peers and myself is the uncertainty of our future.  All of the facts and numbers point to such a gloomy future.  6,000 of us graduating while there are still 20,000 more experienced architects looking for jobs too?!   That means we are at a 3 to 1 disadvantage even before we walk across the stage and shake our dean's hands.  So what do we have that those 20,000 architects do not?  The Revit Mind.

The Revit Mind does not simply mean we know Revit and they don't.  It means we think differently.  We problem solve differently.  We naturally collaborate across disciplines without a hint of discrimination or hesitation.  We contain the ability to complete three or four different tasks at once (while texting, checking Facebook, and watching a football game).  We are the Generation X Reviteers and we should not be afraid of those 20,000 CAD generation baby boomers... 

Just as Phil points out in his post, we need to stay "in the grid".  If we can creep into every nook and cranny of the building industry and utilize our Revit Mind's to their fullest effect I honestly believe that we have the power to revive it.     

Competition open for Students. $2500!

I was contacted by an employee over at Turbosquid.com about a competition they just launched.  Really cool looking competition.  I am thinking about entering it myself.

Revit Architecture Contest - TurboSquid.com

The Revit Family Contest will run from Dec. 2, 2008 to March 31, 2009.

Prizes will be awarded in three categories:

Individual/Freelancer - Professionals submitting their personal creations
Corporate - Submissions on behalf of a company or other entity
Student - High school, university, or community college students

1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes will be awarded in each category:
1st prize: $2500
2nd prize: $1000
3rd prize: $500

All nine winners will get promotion on TurboSquid and a TurboSquid T-shirt.
You may submit as many entries as you like, but you must fill out a separate Revit Contest Entry Form for each entry. Entries can be interior, exterior, MEP, or any other kind of Revit design. TurboSquid reserves the right to use images entered in promotions of the contest. TurboSquid also reserves the right to eliminate one or more categories if insufficient entries have been received.

Entries will be judged on three criteria:
Quality of design (aesthetics, structural)
Number of published Revit families used in scene
Quality of published Revit families used in scene (correct flexing and parameterization)
Although you should strive to represent your entry as well as possible in the images you submit, the scene does not have to be rendered. Entries will be judged on the quality of scene as viewed in hidden line drawings.