<p>Hi, my name is Kirill. I am 28, and I am already a practicing architect in Moscow,Russia.
I’m working here in this proffesion for 11 years (starting from a technical to an architect in chief (meanwhile). I have realized several buildings as a chief architect, among them multistory living house with an underground parking, standing alone multistory parkings, individual living house, etc. As an architect in chief I/m working for 3-4 years. The firm where I work belongs to my father… Here in Russia there is a lot of architectural work actually… Even at a glance if you’ll take a look at the territory of our country you’ll get the idea of what I’m talking about. The amount of "used’ territory is seriosly small… But … There are some reasons why I want to get educated in USA, and maybe try to get a job here, and in the further perspectuve - maybe try to move here and become a citizen at once.
The reasons for this strange at the first glance decision as I said are plenty, it deservse another topic here on the Forum )). </p>
<p>I’m curious to know are there any chances for me to pass to a postgraduate programm to one of the architectural schools in USA ? Preferly I’m looking on top-schools like Harvard, Columbia Unvr. in New York etc. The money for the entrance is not the biggest problem for me, the problem is a clear understanding is it perspective for me…</p>
<ul>
<li>I know that my 6-year of studies in Moscow’s architectural institute with our Russian M.arch degree doesn’t match M.Arch in the USA. Only as a Bachelor as far as I know…</li>
<li>I know that if even I will pass somewhere I will probably start everything from the beginning … I mean I will start over learning theory of architecture, practice in modelling, etc etc etc… Lectorials, “homework” and everything what I have forgot for years… Everything that I was studying from 2000-2006, only in using my native russian language.</li>
</ul>
<p>And I’m ready to do it, maybe, if not the periodical information that in your country there are problems with the employment in architectural sphere… Even for citizens. For me it means twice if not more harder efforts to get a job (even if I’ll imagine that I graduated an architectural program in USA).</p>
<p>So the point of my question and the long pre-story above (I appologize if it was boring) - is it worth it ? Is my (crazy ?) dream sounds nonsense, or there are real chances to get well employed after taking the post-graduating program in USA (keeping in mind my good expereince in Russia in architecture… or no one would care ?) ?
Is it a real disaster on the “architectural market” of America, that there is no need in architects (because as I suppose - there is no need in new architecture perhaps ?) ?</p>
<p>Yes, the market in the U.S. is pretty tough right now, but some members of this years graduating class are getting jobs, unlike the last couple of years. I have no idea how things will look by the time you graduate.</p>
<p>I currently have three Korean architects that I have hired from graduate school at UT Austin, and over the years I have probably hired 12-15 foreign nationals graduating from U.S. schools. I am looking for people with outstanding portfolios, and as long as your English is good I have no problem hiring foreign nationals.</p>
<p>When you graduate from a U.S. school you get a one year work visa. This allows you to get a job immediately and then apply for an H-1B visa (good for three years and renewable). This makes it easy for an employer to hire you. If you were applying from overseas it might take me six or seven months to get a work visa for you to come over.</p>
<p>We also look for individuals who can help us get work back in their home countries, so you might be very appealing for a firm looking to develop work in Russia.</p>
<p>My english is OK for now I think…) (but could be much better…) because I lived in the USA from 1994 - 1996… I lived in Connecticut and my middle school offered me a grant (or scholarship ?) to continue my education in any college. But the circumstances were that my family had to return back to Russia…
Is the level of english is so important when you hire somebody ?
I thought the first problem is the professionalism or even the adaptation of the foreign professional skills of an architect to the US architectural-building standarts… ? Perhaps for this case postgraduation in one of your college is the top matter I suppose… Does it matter where I postgraduate ? Yale… Harverd… Cornell… Columbian… MIT ?? Is there any priority for a firm when choosing a potential ?</p>
<p>About the outstanding portfolio which you mentioned… What does the employer admires most in the portfolio… What does he look at - the creativity (beutiful pictures, ideas) or the amount of real work done (being a part of a realised project, drawings etc)… ? I suppose you’ll answer “both”, but nevertheless as I understand the employer (In some case I am an employer here in Moscow), the creativity is very emportant, but the “outstanding” is somewhere in the middle or even more often is on the side of efficiency of a worker… The ability to get the job done minding all deadlines and the client’s whishes, despite your own “architectural ego”…
What I’m trying to say is that a good efficient worker maybe not the top-creative level, is much more valuable, than an over-creative self-minded personality.
The all creative and architecturally cognitive work is done by the empoyer the owner of the firm, or I am wrong ?</p>
<p>Is it true that on the first hand any employer in USA is looking for a good “homeland” architect neither for an international one even if he is more interesting “on the paper” ? (I mean the employers which are not interesting in an international work like you mentioned above)</p>
<p>Why is English so important? Because it will set how far you can go in the company. Even if you are technically sound and can communicate within the office, the ability to lead the owner and consultant team will determine the level of responsibility you get. You don’t have to have perfect English, but you need the ability to stand up in front of a room of people and speak confidently. It may take 4 to 6 years in the office, but at some point you will hit the glass ceiling without good communication skills.</p>
<p>The portfolio represents your body of work. It shows a potential employer how hard you worked in school. It should have solid, professional, well thought out work that the applicant can speak clearly to. You can tell a great deal about an applicant’s passion for the field by the way they talk about their projects. We look at their use of technology in the work, what software are they skilled at? For design positions we also look for a spark, something that makes their work stand out. Layered on top of all this is how the person comes across in the interview; are they going to fit into the firm? Do they have leadership potential? In the past we might not have been able to combine a great portfolio with strong leadership skills, but in this economy we have found some great kids.</p>
<p>Do employers just want a good homeland kid? Many do, but not all. Some firms are scared off by the visa process, but most large firms are pretty experienced with these issues. You just have to talk to the firms that are happy to gain some global diversity in the office.</p>
<p>No question about english… It’s absolutely understood.</p>
<p>About portfolio, maybe I didn’t formulate correctly, but you are speaking about portfolio of a young applicant, who has just graduated ? Or even who continues educating…
But what would an employer look at if a fair experienced professional seats infront of him… Which has participated in a row of projects (realized and not), who has realized as a chief architect (in our country this is the top architectural position) several projects of different types… And his “school portfolio” is somewhere in the past, and he has only real work on hands ?
I do not mean me myself in this role, because I have zero experience in excecuting architectural projects in USA, I mean anyone who I described.
School (college) projects are fantasies (perhaps in our country what we create while studying and what we start creating (not everyone is capable of growing in to such level) while working in real life is uncompareable. It’s like if would compare fantastic films with documental…
The most important thing in Russian architecture is the economy of clients money.
First it reflects the architect’s payment, because now whe have a-financial-crisis situation (which continues for 4-5 years), and the client wants us to work for free, and that is not a joke ! Money which an architectural firm gets payed are humiliating.
The second thing the client’s economy reflects is the architecture itself. Whe do not have any opportunity here to make an art object or something really outstanding, because, as a rule, it takes more money then the client is planning to spend. And so mostly our architecture is disasterously primitive, or looks like the client wants, minding his good relations with firms which produce finishing materials, glass, etc.
Our proffesion of an architect is a farce. The client knows everything much more better then the architect.
I think such sort of problem in some way is everywhere even in USA, but in our country it has disgusting scale… The price of an architectural work is about 0.5-1.5% of the whole price of the development of the building.</p>
<p>So finally my point is that, forexample I do not have something “sparkling” in my portfolio, I have only real-life projects, and many participations in different other projects, and most of them are not interesting as an architectural-art projects.
Besides, my institute portfolio (which is dating 6 years ago) also is not worth admiration because lonly in 2004 we started using the computer, everything before is on paper and the presentation quality is to bad.
The only chance where I can show my self is free-from-work time or the time when I potentially will spend educating in one of your schools of architecture.</p>
<p>The final point is what the employer will pay attention in this case, described above ?
(or maybe what you would have payed at as an employer) ?</p>
<p>It is very hard to judge a foreign national from places such a Russia, India, or China because the work process can be so different. If you came to graduate school here, then you would mostly be judged by the work you produced in school. the additional experience would be a plus, but one that is hard to put a value on. This is why of all the foreign nationals we have hired, only one did not graduate from a U.S. university (and we met him while he was studying in a foreign exchange program in the U.S.).</p>
<p>What is the approximate salary for an architect in USA (I understand that it varies, but something around ?) … For an international especially.
After graduating US architectural school, the applicant (foreign for sure) has a chance to be hired on the “lowest” position in the firm as I understand ?..
What is the position grade in the USA by the way ?
From junior architect to Project manager ?</p>
<p>I would also consider whether the smaller (or even mid sized) architecture firms are familiar enough with the process of hiring people with alphabet soup visas (i.e. H1B etc). As far as I know architecture is one of the ‘listed’ professions that qualify for H1B type visas. Engineering / IT type firms do it on a regular (too-regular :)) basis and either know how to navigate the visa challenges or farm them off to a competent lawyer that deals with temporary work permits and the like.</p>