Hello! I am an incoming high school senior in Southern Ohio, and I have a few questions regarding my decisions as I approach the start of my studies. I have know since I was a toddler that I wanted to be an architect, but where I want to settle to practice has always been up in the air. I know that in an ideal world, I don’t see myself living in the United States; ideally I would love to live and work in Rotterdam (Netherlands), but I am extremely open to moving to most major cities in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Italy, or Belgium. I speak German, Dutch, Danish, and Italian, so I don’t foresee language being an obstacle, but I am definitely concerned with licensure. I know that there are very different regulations and requirements to licensure in the U.S. And in the EU (varying even from country to country), and I don’t know if I would be even able to work as an Architect even after a B.Arch. and an M.Arch. from NAAB accredited schools (my current plan for study). Is there anyone out there who knows what it is like for an Architect to move abroad in search of work? How common is it for American Firms to have perminent positions in their overseas offices? Is it even feasible to study architecture in the U.S. with hopes of leaving not soon after graduating from University? Thank you, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
Two quick and basic questions… Can you get (or do you have) EU citizenship? and can you afford a couple years in Europe for an M.Arch? I can’t see the material being similar between the USA and EU at least (things like structures etc, not design stuff). A 4 year BA or BS Arch plus a 2 year M.Arch say, at TU Delft would work well.
Architectural firms are increasingly global with foreign trained architects practicing in the U.S. and American trained architects practicing all over the world. I don’t know the mechanics of licensure in the countries you mention, but I’m sure that it can be done and is commonly done, and many of the architects working abroad are not licensed in the country where they work. Wherever you end up you will certainly start working before you are licensed (and while you are going through the licensing process) so you don’t have to cross that bridge just yet.
My advice would be to take it step by step and concentrate on your BArch and/or MArch first. The top architecture schools have huge global presence both in their students and in their faculty and visiting instructors. You will get plenty of exposure to international businesses.
While you’re studying, you could leverage your language skills into summer internships in the places that you’re interested in, but be aware that internships at prestigious firms may be unpaid – or just paid a stipend. The connections that you make and internships that you hold while you’re in school will be stepping stones to your early post-degree job.
Read about Craig Dykers and Snohetta.
Turbo93, unfortunately both my parents were born and grew up in the United States, so that makes obtaining citizenship a little more involved in most countries. From what I’ve read, student and work visas are not at all impossible to get, it is just a lengthy process. If I were to go with TU Delft, for example, I could live in NLD for the first part of the amount of required time of residence before applying for citizenship; after that I would be able to begin the naturalization process which would take about 3 months of paperwork followed by citizenship aptitude tests, and once I renounce my American nationality, the process would be finished (for the most part). Aside from citizenship, I would be able to afford living in Europe as a student and for several years afterwards before /seriously/ entering the workforce, so money shouldn’t really be of concern either. Thanks for the help!
Momrath, thanks for all the great advice! Definitely a few things to consider. I actually have always been a huge fan of Snøhetta, both their designs and global presence (and that beautifully minimalistic logo). I completely agree, I think it is probably best for me to focus on my professional degree here in the States first. It also will give me time to see how the field further evolves; I know I have spoken to two program head at prominent northeastern schools of architecture who say that the current U.S. method of Licensure (NAAB, ARE, etc.) is extremely likely to change within the next three years. And as architecture is, as you said, a rapidly globalizing field, hopefully this change (if in the near future) will better accommodate international recognition of qualifications. Thanks again for all the great advice!
Student visas are easy to get but I am not sure about getting citizenship via option - things are not quite as obvious as they appear. My kids got EU citizenship thru me and even that took a year. In general (and the main reason I’m not working in Europe) it seems to me the EU idea of moving for a job (or hiring outside the geography) is not happening. The company I work for (consumer electronics) has divisions all over Europe and it is unusual to find more than a few expats out of a hundred even in a field with big demand like software. The other issue is that of job availability. EU regulations make it very difficult to fire anyone and as a result hiring anyone is just as difficult.
If you want to work outside the US as an expat or move for good (like I did) I would say the developing world is a better bet. My older daughter is the architect in the family and could well end up in the Middle East or Gulf or Asia somewhere. So keep your options open and you’ll be fine. But above all, make sure you have your degree(s) lined up first, from a good school that has international recognition (yea, Cooper Union is awesome, but even in the middle of nowhere people know Georgia Tech and Michigan and the like :)) so consider that too…