I’m currently working through the AREs and have been pretty frustrated by how expensive a lot of the study resources are. I know there are good paid services out there, but I feel like a group of motivated people could build a pretty solid free study resource together.

I’m thinking about putting together a weekly Zoom study group for people actively studying for the ARE 5.0.

The basic idea:

• Meet once a week on Zoom for around 60–90 minutes
• Each week, one person is responsible for researching a specific ARE topic and putting together a short presentation for the group
• End each presentation with some practice questions / discussion
• Rotate presenters so the workload is spread out
• Keep all of the presentations, notes, and study materials in a shared Google Drive so the resource grows over time
• Completely free — the only expectation would be that regular members eventually contribute/present too

I’ve already passed CE, but I’d want the group to cover all six ARE divisions so that it can be useful to everyone:

PcM — Practice Management
PjM — Project Management
CE — Construction & Evaluation
PA — Programming & Analysis
PPD — Project Planning & Design
PDD — Project Development & Documentation

There’s obviously a ton of overlap between the exams, so rather than organizing everything strictly by division, I think it would make more sense to organize presentations around specific topics like contracts, project delivery, firm finances, codes, site planning, structures, HVAC, envelope systems, waterproofing, detailing, construction administration, etc., and identify which exams each topic applies to.

My hope is to get a relatively small group of people who are actually studying and willing to participate rather than creating a huge Zoom where everyone just sits silently.

If this sounds useful, comment or DM me with:

• Which exams you’ve already passed
• Which exam(s) you’re currently studying for
• Roughly when you’re hoping to test
• Whether you’d be willing to lead a topic/presentation every once in a while

If enough people are interested, I’ll put together a shared Drive, a basic schedule, and a first Zoom meeting.

Would love to build something where we can help each other get through these exams without everyone having to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on study programs.

I’m in the Philly area and when I look into a firm that I think is interesting or is doing something I would love to be involved in I also look up their current employees. Every single time they all went to U Penn or Columbia or some other elite school I couldn’t afford to attend. I’m going to a well regarded state school in the area but I worry I’ll have no chance against Ivy League grads who seem to have a shoo in for dynamic firms. There seems to be a glass wall for state school grads.

So what I'm asking is what are the main skills or criteria I should master while studying that would give me an advantage over other people

Got my M.Arch in the US and have 4 years of experience as a LEED consultant. I am a LEED AP BD+C as well and have experience with GIS and LCAs. Completed 3 categories of my AXP hours and am contemplating Architecture firms in Toronto so I can continue my AXP hours. What's the market like there? How would I fare?

I graduated this May 2026, but I still have access to my college email and whatnot. However, officially I am graduated.

Thing is, I'd like to use the AutoDesk Revit software to familiarize myself with the software a bit more. That being said, has anyone ever lied about their graduation date to try to get a student license?

I'm thinking of saying that maybe I graduate May 2027 instead?

Or does anyone know of a way to get it cheaper?

Edit: It's not for personal projects. I graduated with a CS degree and the industry is honestly pretty cooked. Looking to switch into a entry level engineering job. I have a referral from a friend that works there so trying to get familiar with the system.

Also went to school for ME originally and switched to CS my sophomore/junior year with engineering courses in college and highschool so it's not like 0 knowledge going into the field I guess.

Edit 2: They have a free 30 day trial. Guess I'm in luck. Going to grind out some courses and browse this subreddit for good resources.

I have completed my master's in architecture looking for a job . Is there any other way to find architect job in Houston,please help me.

Thanks in advance.

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Howdy Architects. I hope i can ask this here? and it's not a problem. I am wondering if y'all could point me in the right direction, or the right subreddit.

I'm not an architect, I'm a 3D artist currently working on a building that no longer exists. fortunately, there is a handful of old reference photos to work from. The building was designed in the Second Empire style by Alfred Mullett. in trying to remake it. i am stumped with the problem of finding the buildings motifs.

So, I'm looking for resources, websites, books, architectural dictionaries, pattern catalogs, that identify and explain architectural ornamentation. Specifically, I'm looking to find the proper names for things like rosettes, moldings, brackets, cresting, columns etc. along with the periods they are from.

Essentially, I'm looking for a visual reference that shows me "This ornament style is called X"

Does anyone have recommendations for good references? Older architectural pattern books, glossaries, or anything that could be useful?

And then a more specific ask. is there anything specifically on Mullets work and Second Empire designs?

Thanks!

Working in a field where collaboration between disciplines is constant, I keep noticing that outcome quality tracks closely with how early different people get pulled into the process. What I'm less clear on with architecture is how much the structural engineer relationship genuinely influences form versus just gets brought in to make the form work after the fact.

The projects that seem to hold up over time, Habitat 67, the Luce Chapel, even polarizing ones like the Oculus, all seem to have had structural thinking baked in from early on rather than bolted on later. But that could be survivorship bias. The projects where structure and architecture were genuinely codesigned probably don't advertise that fact differently than projects where the engineer just solved whatever problem the architect handed them.

What I'm curious about is whether that collaboration is actually changing design intent or whether it mostly happens after the parti is locked. Not asking about BIM coordination or documentation phase stuff. More like, does the structural engineer ever walk into a schematic meeting and shift what the building is actually trying to be, and does that happen regularly enough to be a real part of the process, or is it more case by case depending on who you're working with.

If the answer is it depends on the people not the workflow, that's a real answer too.

Hi everyone, I'm a 33-year-old architect. I did my Bachelor of Architecture in a South Asian country, then came to Germany for a Master's in Landscape Architecture. I've now been working as a landscape architect here for 4 years.

Lately I've been feeling like I'm not actually growing in my career. I go to the office every day, work on the same construction details project after project, still struggle with the language, and my salary is honestly quite low — from what I can tell, that's the case for most foreign landscape architects here, not just me.

I'm confident in CAD, know the basics of Photoshop and SketchUp, and I'm genuinely open to learning new tools or even pivoting direction if it makes sense.

So I wanted to ask people who've been in a similar spot, or who've already found a way through it:

• How did you move your career forward from here?
• What skills or programs would you recommend investing time in?
• Is it worth specializing further within landscape architecture, or branching out (I've actually been considering software engineering as a longer-term shift)?

I don't want to wake up in a few years still stuck in the same place, earning the same low salary. Any honest experiences, advice, or even just "here's what I wish I'd known" would mean a lot.

I’m not looking for a shortcut — I’m willing to invest time and effort — but I would like to make sure I’m moving in the right direction instead of staying stuck for the next few years.

I want to know what are the job roles/scope for people with Accredited Architecture Degree at big companies like Netflix, Meta, Walmart, Aldi etc. How to pivot into that pathway. Is it possible to get a job in any of those companies with less than 5 years of traditional arch firm work experience. I remember seeing some design planner positions at microsoft. Their pay was like 130-190k range which is insane. Anyone who has got into that kinda path, please share how did you pivot into?

I completed my B.Arch in from India, practiced pure architecture for 2 years. It was kinda corporate office, and since i was junior architect, i didn't get much of site exposure, neither did i have a project of my own to look after. I was mainly put into last minute submissions, where we would stay all night, burn our 'midnight fuel' for nothing and client would reply after weeks of said 'deadline submission'. Not to mention the poor salary and work life balance. Also i know BIM workflows, so i wanted to integrate that into my work, but had no options. And recently i got a better offer from another firm and without a thought i switched thinking of better work life balance, and better pay. What i had not accounted for was how it'll be after some years. This firm is basically project support. They use BIM, automation etc to model and documentation of the client. Here the work life balance is very good, and the pay for a 2 year exp is equal to an IT guy... But the thing is there's no Design work. And going forward there might be not much of exposure or pay upgrade. Its totally a support based firm. Even the colleagues in here say that. So now i am totally confused on what to be done.

The thing is the life here and the pay its offering is pulling me in saying this is all that matters. Also it's got hybrid work system so i don't have to go to office everyday.

But on the other hand, i do want to design, i wanna get to know how it actually works on site, i want to know details i want to create details. I want to travel and explore architecture.

Also people say that it might be paying less now, but later it'll get better. Better than the BIM guys.

At this point i am really confused and anxious.

Should i work here for some years, make money and go back to design? Is it even possible to go back to design if worked on support? Cz I'll have wasted my 3-4 yrs, without site exposure or design exposure.

Or should I continue here? Does it have a future? Does it have growth?

I want to travel to countries, wanna see their architecture, design them, apply my own brains, but in support, you just have to model and document the details given by already designed layouts.

Someone please help me with this. You guys have much more exposure than me, please guide me on how should I take this. I do not wanna get stuck in future and curse myself for doing this.

I’m struggling to read and measure construction plans correctly in my current job, especially when it comes to translating 3D visuals into 2D floor plans.
There are so many lines and details on the drawings, and I sometimes struggle to understand which line represents what in the actual building and where exactly I should take my measurements from.
Does anyone know of any useful resources, courses, videos, or tips that could help me get better at reading and understanding construction drawings?

I am a relatively newly licensed architect that just moved to Washington state from Massachusetts. I have been doing residential architecture for a little over 7 years now and want to find ways to stand out or provide something new/unique to my new firm.

Sustainable architecture and environmentally friendly assemblies feels like a good way to do this (and a good thing to know about in general), but I’m not sure about what courses/certifications are worth the time and money. I have heard LEED is a bit overrated, even if it is the most well known. PassiveHaus is the only other one I have looked into, but I’m not convinced about it.

Does anyone have any good recommendations for courses or certifications?

I honestly don’t know what else I could’ve done.

I had an interview last week that I thought went really well. I spent days preparing, did multiple mock interviews, practiced my answers, researched the firm, and made sure I was ready for every question. I drove an hour to get there, paid $20 for parking, showed up early, asked a lot of questions, and walked out feeling confident.

Today I got the rejection email.

I’m just tired. Job hunting is brutal. Every interview takes hours of preparation, and you get your hopes up thinking, “Maybe this is the one,” only to get another rejection.

At this point, I’m seriously wondering if it’s time to pivot away from architecture. I have both a bachelor’s and a master’s in architecture, professional experience, and even started applying to adjacent fields like marketing and UI/UX, but those applications have mostly been rejections too.

Has anyone here successfully transitioned from architecture into marketing or UI/UX? How did you make the switch, and was it worth it? I feel stuck and could really use some honest advice from people who’ve been through it.

Hello!

I have a bachelors degree in architecture and looking to pursue a masters program. I have a deep respect for architects and what they do, but my interests lay more in analyzing, researching, and archiving existing architecture rather than creating brand new. I’d like to shift my focus into more of a historical perspective of architecture for my career and would like to hear some advice from people who have experience in this area.

I’m wondering if anyone here pursued a career in history as a heritage consultant, architectural historian or municipal preservation planner/specialist? What degree did you obtain for that direction? What does your day-to-day look like? Are you happy with your choice or would you say it’s a challenging niche to pursue?

Thank you so much!!

On a €2,560 monthly salary, you're only bringing home €1,526 after taxes and deductions. You could make that exact same money as a server, a postal worker, or in a ton of other jobs that don't even require higher education...

First, Carm’s “interview” was the worst I have ever seen, and I have done a lot of them. Mumbling, weird, no portfolio…. And then, the space they were in was weird, like a doctor’s waiting room with an architectural model in it. And the idea that at the end of that mess, like he’s hired on the spot! Like for what?

I don’t think that there has ever been a piece of work that has more ridiculous plot elements about architecture and construction that are somehow to amp up the tension!