Getting a Job in Architecture and Design

David W. Patterson

Overview

Some designers look for jobs. Some designers get them—good ones. Readers of this book will join the ranks of the latter group. The process of job hunting is as important as the job itself. Better job-hunting practices lead to better jobs. Better jobs bring about greater professional fulfillment, stability, and reward—financial and otherwise. Through feast and famine, good design jobs are always available; it is just a matter of finding them.

Whether you are an architect, interior designer, or in a related area, and whether you are a student, intern, or project manager, this guide is an invaluable resource for getting a job. You will learn both tried-and-true—and more unusual—strategies for job hunting. No friend or relative in the business is required.

You will also learn about the complete realm of job possibilities and what makes each an integral part of the profession and the market. This includes jobs in design-build, corporate design, facilities planning and management, graphic design, construction management, sustainable design, law, education, real estate development, internships and apprenticeships, and more.

Major topics are arranged in the order of a basic job hunt: getting started; research, particularly computer-based; occupations; résumé and portfolio preparation; interviewing; wages; and working out-of-town. As a bonus, David W. Patterson—who has worked in the design field for more than thirty years—shares his knowledge of the eccentricities, trade secrets, and "learned-the-hard-way" experiences of the profession.

About the Author

David W. Patterson is a registered architect in New York City. A graduate of The Catholic University of America, Patterson has worked on projects both at home and abroad, for private, corporate, and civil service employers. This book is a product of his highly varied career of more than thirty years in design, with experience in job hunting to match.

ISBN 10: 0-393-73217-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-393-73217-7
January 2008; 208 pages; paperback