Entry
into the "real world" should be a time of excitement, enthusiasm,
and exploration for you as a college graduate. School, for the time
being, really is over. Now is finally the time for you to apply some
of the knowledge and insights you acquired during all those hours
of studio. A yearly salary assures financial independence. All kinds
of doors are opened presenting a world of new opportunities.
However,
this transition from the world of higher education to that of your
first career position is a dramatic and perhaps a challenging one.
Many college graduates are not fully cognizant of the magnitude of
the transitions and adjustments that need to be made on virtually
all fronts, and are unaware of the consequences for not making these
adjustments in a mature and speedy manner.
What
a shock it can be to discover that you, a new graduate, drop to the
bottom rung of the career ladder. Just as a new college student has
to learn the ropes of the new environment, the recent graduate starting
a career position faces a whole new world. The challenges you face
range from maintaining a budget, dealing with your personal life,
and adjusting to your first career position. The difficulty is that
the real world is less tolerant of mistakes, offers less time and
flexibility for adjustment, and demands performance for the pay itoffers.
INTERN
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (IDP)
Created
over twenty years ago, the Intern
Development Program (IDP) serves as a structured transition between
formal education and architectural registration. Now a requirement
for professional registration in over 45 states, IDP is a profession-wide,
comprehensive program that contributes to the development of competent
architects who can provide exemplary architectural services; it helps
you achieve comprehensive exposure to architectural practice.
Established
jointly by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National
Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), IDP has five
objectives:
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to
define areas of architectural practice in which interns should
acquire basic knowledge and skills; |
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to
encourage additional training in the broad aspects of architectural
practice; |
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to
provide the highest quality information and advice about educational,
internship and professional issues and opportunities; |
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to
provide a uniform system for documentation and periodic assessment
of internship activity; and |
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to
provide greater access to educational opportunities designed
to enrich training.
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The
heart of the IDP is the completion of specific periods of training
in four major categories: design and construction documents, construction
administration, management, and related activities. Each of the IDP
training categories is subdivided into training areas. Training requirements
are measured in value units equaling eight hours of acceptable experience.
You earn value units for training acquired under the direct supervision
of a qualified professional in one of two ways: participation or observation.
Experience is gained by performing a particular task (preferred) or
by observing a professional with whom you work perform the task.
An integral
part of IDP is its mentorship system; in IDP, two key individuals
share the responsibility of providing interns with the best possible
advice relating to the day-to-day training and long-range career plans
-- the supervisor and the mentor. The supervisor is the individual
within the firm or organization who supervises you on a daily basis,
regularly assesses the quality of your work, and periodically certifies
your documentation of training activity. The mentor or mentor is
a registered architect, usually outside your firm, with whom you meet
periodically to review your training progress and discuss your career
objectives. In many respects, the mentors plays the traditional role
that is as old as the profession itself.
As a
participant in IDP, you are solely responsible for maintaining a continuous
record of training and supplementary education activities. This record
has several functions. For you, the intern, it identifies areas whether
training is being acquired and areas where deficiencies may exist;
for supervisors, it is an assessment and personnel management tool;
and for state registration boards, it is verified evidence of compliance
with the IDP training requirements.
To ease
the process of tracking your training, a nationally recognized record-keeping
system has been developed by NCARB. In addition, you may develop
your own record-keeping resources or use your firmÕs time management
system that may accommodate the IDP training categories and areas.
Because state registration boards may require NCARB's national system,
you are encouraged to contact your board regarding acceptable record-keeping
procedures.
Supplementary
education is not designed to substitute for required training in each
IDP training area, but rather to enrich day-to-day experience. It
serves two primary purposes: 1) to expand upon knowledge and skills
you acquire through training, and 2) to keep you abreast of new information
affecting architectural practice. You canearn value units for a post-professional
degree in architecture if the degree follows receipt of a professional
degree in architecture from a NAAB accredited program or by completing
supplementary education resources recognized by your state registration
board. This includes most professional development programs offered
by the AIA at the national, regional, state, and local levels.
More
recently, a task force developed core competencies to give guidance
to interns, supervisors, and mentors who are participating in IDP.
A guidebook, Threshold Core Compentencies (see appendix) defines each
of the training areas and presents activities which identify the threshold
skills, knowledge, and understanding that form the basic core competencies
an intern should master during the internship period. Interns and
their supervisors should use the suggested activities as a tool to
enhance the quality of the internship experience.
Two
types of activities -- awareness and understanding, and skills and
application -- are identified for each of the 16 specific training
areas. The awareness and understanding activities identify the concepts
and principles interns should be able to articulate both orally and
in writing and refer to reference documents important to the profession.
The skills and application activities are performance-basked tasks
that form the core competencies that an intern should master during
the internship.
For
example, the guidebook defines design development as follows:
the further development of the projectsÕ details and materials selections
following the approval of schematic design by the client. Further,
awareness and understanding activities include reading chapters in
the ArchitectÕs Handbook of Professional Practice and the Construction
Specification Institute Manual of Practice and skills and application
activities include preparing design development documents; document
meetings and evaluate their impact of the program, identify conflicts
between building systems and coordinate consultants in resolving conflicts.
