architect54

I’ve been meaning to mention my view on deciding which exam to take, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) exam or the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE). In writing I came to realize I really don’t know what LEED is and I’ve been meaning to stay ignorant about it.

I’m close to serious. At some point in my career I may learn more about LEED. I have no pressing need for it now, so I’m concentrating on the ARE.

This might sound like I’m discouraging staying on the cutting edge of our field or discouraging being prepared for the future of our profession. I don’t know. All I know is, I’m getting my license first.

To me, the fact, that some interns can take their architectural licensing exams concurrent with experience, is a good reason to focus on attaining the legal rights of our profession. Of course our profession is notorious for not financially rewarding licensed architects. In a future post, I will make a casual economic case about why LEED accredited professionals may get a pay reward and licensed architects may not.

I encourage those of you deciding which exam to take, in addition to considering a possible pay raise, do not weigh the exams equally and factor time. Time spent on one exam is lost for the other exam. I hope this helps, if only a little, in prioritizing these exams.

I’ve read on the areforum that fellow ARE candidates are failing BDCS due to the vignettes. It seems they underestimated the places for error. Through office conversation and visiting the forum, here are some things I’ve discovered about the stair and roof vignettes. (more…)

After taking Building Design and Construction Systems I think I may try writing notes to remember and review information. Right now I’m highlighting Ballast. Clearly I’m highlighting too much. This is a bad habit of mine. I had to buy a blue highlighter to highlight the yellow highlights!

I use highlighting to reread text. So in one sitting I’ll read important sentences twice. The highlighting technique emphasizes important information. Then when you review later, you skim the highlights. It’s safe to say I highlight too much. To me that doesn’t matter. I decided a long time ago in certain study situations to use this technique to slow down my reading. I take more time to digest information when I reread a sentence to highlight it.  In the end, I got the blue highlighter for when it’s time for a last minute review. Then I’ll just look at the blue highlights. Happy studying!