✱ We need great, licensed architects. We need you.
I was driving in the car today and Hey Jude by the Beatles came on the radio. My car is old so it only has a radio, so please give me a break! I had a big grin on my face as my kids and I sang along to the hook at the end. It's called a hook for a reason:
Naaa, na, na, nana-na-na...
This is a weird analogy, but hang in there with me for a minute. Why do we like this song so much? For a few reasons, really. It's easy; It's the part of the song everyone knows and isn't afraid to sing along; You're not going to mess it up; It doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are - you'll still sing it; You get to be one of the Beatles when you sing along to that part.
We're all part of this big thing together. It's pretty epic if you think about it.
Then I thought about all my friends in Chicago this week for the American Institute of Architects National Convention. Everyone swooping in, congregating at the same place at the same time, just like being at a Beatles concert. It's my hope that for this one week, everyone is singing along to the same tune, and that it's indeed epic. Architecture is in some bad need of camaraderie and inclusiveness.
A lot of our podcast listeners, beyond being good looking, are students or unlicensed professionals. Hell, two thirds of our hosts are unlicensed. But not for long! That will change very soon. We need to dig in and get out hands dirty to become part of the community. Then we can start to help drive the big ship while designing it to be what we want, hopefully helping it thrive well into the future. The first step is make sure we are on the same playing field as everyone else so we can help as effectively as possible.
This is what I'm doing, and I hope you'll join me. Once I get my license, I have plans. It is not an easy nor a fast task. One step at a time.
We've been talking about a lot lately on the podcast about the NCARB exams, what's involved in them and what's changing. These exams are what all candidates (including yours truly) have to pass in order to become licensed architects, and become a part of the community that sets policy and steers where our industry is going. We've also talked a little bit about what tools are available to help us pass them. My friend David Doucette has a great little company that makes study tools for the exams. People I know who've used them absolutely rave about them.
On top of the affordable study guides for the exams administered by NCARB, David's company, Architect Exam Prep, also has a study guide (which is more of a bible really) for the California Supplemental Exam. This is an amazing resource, and I hope you'll check it out. If you use my link, I get a small kickback from David.
My goal here is to help spread the word about this resource because I think it's great, and because I want you to pass the exams. I hope we will all be singing the same song one day soon. Simple as that.