Intern Survey Part 1: Summary and Response

The first in a series of Intern Surveys was concluded in 2009. The results of that survey reveal interesting information which will be considered by not only the Intern Architect Committee, but also the Registration and Licensing Board and, ultimately, Council itself.

If you would like to see the summary results of the survey, they are available at the Survey Monkey site.

First of all, we were gratified that 84 interns chose to respond to the survey (about 20% of the intern group). Thank you to all who responded. This survey covered background information such as route of entry to internship, employment situations and compensation. Future surveys will drill down into more specific areas and issues of concern for interns and the profession.

Some of the interesting “learnings” from this survey include:

• The most important factor for interns’ choice of firm appears to be the level of responsibility granted. This is overwhelmingly so, with over 90 percent of responses in the somewhat to very important range. Compensation, reputation of firm, firm practice emphasis, and commitment to interns fall in a roughly equal band at 72-78 percent somewhat to very important. Surprisingly, benefits and personal/family considerations, rank relatively low on the scale.

• A considerable number of respondents (35%) that they do not get sufficient exposure to the necessary range of work to complete their CERB hours. The detailed responses reveal that contract and construction administration are the areas of most concern. This is borne out by results of oral review exams where these areas are the most common ones in which candidates fall short.
• On the brighter side, perhaps, is that almost half of the respondents report salaries of $55,000 or more. This is tempered by the comments received on the survey that it was not sufficiently granular at the $60,000 or more level and by the fact that 30% of interns report that they are not being compensated for overtime as is required by employment legislation in BC.
• Most telling of all are the responses to questions 16 through 19 which reveal general dissatisfaction with the way in which interns are valued and compensated. A large majority (over 70 percent) of respondents feel that they have not been adequately compensated and almost 60 percent of respondents report that they do not feel that the time and energy spent towards getting registered has not been worthwhile. The detailed responses to this question reveal a range of issues ranging from educational experience, length and difficulty of the registration process, compensation and work-life issues, and direction of the profession itself as contributing factors. Future surveys will look at some of these issues in more detail.
• Closing out on this theme, question 20 asked for ideas and suggestions about intern surveys. There were a number of useful responses/themes which will help improve how we do surveys and provide topics for future surveys. Stay tuned.

ARE Scheduling

With the June 30, 2009 deadline for completing ARE 3.1 before the conversion to ARE 4.0 fast approaching, the Burnaby Test Centre has been very busy with bookings. Therefore, this site (#5129) has just opened their schedule on December 22, 23, 27, 29 and 30 to deliver exams. Please go online at www.prometric.com/ncarb or call 1-(800) 479-6215 to schedule your examinations for these dates. Don't forget that NCARB has scheduling guidelines and guarantees so if you are having difficulty scheduling an exam please fill out their ARE Scheduling Verification Form and fax to NCARB. If you continue to have difficulty with scheduling please contact Róisín O'Neill, AIBC Registration Coordinator at roneill@aibc.ca and provide the exam information and time frame you are hoping for.

Corrected Intern Committee Email

Last month we published an incorrect email address in our newsletter and 20 x 20 poster. The correct email is interncommittee@yahoo.com. If you went to the trouble to send us a comment or question, please re-send it to this account. We apologize for any inconvenience. Your email goes directly to your Intern Architect Committee (Patrick Schilling IA, Johnnie Kuo IA, Abdel Amin IA, Baldwin Hum IA, Anthony Milkovich IA, Jason Herzog IA, Scott Staniul IA, and Paul Sukava IA). We hope this gives you the confidence to send us your unfiltered thoughts on the program, courses, fees, exams, oral review preparation, and all things intern related. So let’s hear from you!

Feedback

This newsletter is formed and compiled by interns for interns of the AIBC. Do you like it? Find it useful? Have comments? Suggestions? Send us an e-mail to interncommittee@yahoo.com. Do you have any concerns about the process, structure, fees, or requirements of the AIBC’s Intern Architect Program? If you send us an e-mail, we can bring forward your issue for discussion at the next Intern Architect Committee meeting. Proposals for change begin with expressions of concern, so please take five minutes to let us know what's on your mind.

Intern Architect Focus Group - Expressions of Interest

The AIBC remains committed to making the internship experience as meaningful and fulfilling as possible. Part of this commitment is to remove unwarranted barriers to registration as a fully fledged architect. We remain concerned at the growing pool of interns and the relatively low conversion rate from intern to architect. While this phenomenon is not unique to the AIBC ­— it appears to be occurring across North America — we remain undeterred in our search for solutions.

The AIBC has surveyed the IA and MAIBC community on a range of possible contributing factors and has undertaken steps to address some of those factors. However, more work clearly needs to be done. We would like to host a series of dedicated focus group sessions to consider the full range of issues impacting internship (from education through to state of practice) as well as possible solutions for consideration by the AIBC Council and its national counterparts. If you are interested in representing the IA community as part of a focus group, please contact Jerome Marburg, Director of Registration & Licensing and General Counsel, with an expression of interest and your current CV. We hope to select a number of IAs representing the full spectrum of practice areas and conditions. Results from the focus groups will be posted on this blog for consideration and comment by all.

Intern Architect Blog - a new look and format

Welcome to the new blog site for AIBC Intern Architects. We are very excited about this new format that combines the monthly Intern Update newsletter, AIBC information and a Message Board available for you to connect with the Intern Architect Committee and other IAs.

From this blog site you can access various articles, course and events listings as well as information and tips regarding intern issues, exams and courses. If there is anything you would like us to add to this site site, such as announcements, IA-related events or “FYI” information, simply send an e-mail to the Intern Architect Committee at interncommittee@yahoo.com.