Mentors & Logbooks

As interns we should be meeting with our mentors frequently. What keeps some interns from meeting their mentors as frequently as they should is often a simple case of not getting the experience log book hours ready for review and signature. Since the mentor’s signature is required on logged experience, the frequency of meeting a mentor to discuss work, experience, the profession etc. has become contingent on getting a signature in the logbook - no logbook, no meeting. Logging hours is a task that often gets put on the backburner for months, sometimes years! This is a bad habit to get into particularly if it is causing you to decrease the frequency of meetings with your mentor.

One solution is to create motivation to complete the logbook. There are many ways to do this of course but one we’d like to suggest is to make a meeting schedule with your mentor in advance of completing your logbook. At your next meeting, for example, set a date for your following meeting 4 or 6 months. That will give you a deadline to complete your logbook, make sure you get your experience in on time, and make the most out of you mentor relationship.

Aside from all this – and a much preferred additional option – is to make a regularly scheduled appointment to meet with your mentor to talk shop. You don’t have to, and should not limit the relationship to one of log book signing but rather should seek to gain as much knowledge out of your mentor as you can.

Another solution is to make the process of logging hours easier. Many of us have created spreadsheets to help automate the task. These spreadsheets often start out saving time but end up becoming cumbersome and complex especially as the number of projects increases. At the intern committee we are working on creating a spreadsheet to help handle this task. If you have a spreadsheet that you think works well and would like to share it with us, we’d love to see it. Our email address is interncommittee@yahoo.com. Thank 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.

ARE 4.0 Study Material

The AIBC has two complete sets of the Kaplan ARE 4.0 Study Materials as well as a complete set of Ballast Study Materials. These are available for loan (one week maximum). If you reside outside of Vancouver, the AIBC will cover the cost of couriering the material to you. However, you will be responsible for any return courier arrangements and costs. Plan ahead and make sure the study material you require is available before you book your exams. If you or the firm you work for would like to purchase a set of study materials, they are available at a discounted rate. For the Kaplan Study Guides, go to kaplanarchitecture.com where they can be purchased at 20% off. Each study guide costs approximately $200 and the entire set is $1300. For the Ballast Study Guides, go to ppi2pass.com where they can be purchased at 15% off. The prices of individual books range from $29 - $67, but if you are looking for a “one-stop guide” you can acquire the ARE Review Manual, which covers all seven exams, for $127. Don’t forget that the NCARB website has some free practice questions.

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.