Becoming a licensed professional. It should be the holy grail. You work hard, you log your hours (if required in your design specialty), you take the licensing exam, and boom: suddenly, you’re allowed to offer professional services. And it’s up to you to not only make sure those designs/services don’t just look good, but also function.
Where I am in my current professional licensing journey:
I’ll put it gently: I’m terrified. Why am I in my mid-20s and allowed to be doing that?
Here’s some fast facts about me:
- Few years out of school (5 year B.Arch), In a big city, under 20 people company
- My State’s Licensing hours: Scary close to finishing my required hours. Couple hundred to go!
- My Work Experience: 2 Small companies. Small projects completed. Pretty much have touched every part of a project. Currently getting comfortable with construction but not feeling so confident on site or with my own construction knowledge
And…I’m…allowed….to….get…my….license? What? That….shouldn’t be a thing.
Here’s the thing about any professional license. You probably feel like you should have 75 years of knowledge to be licensed or at least that’s how I feel. Being a Licensed professional you feel pressure to know it all! They’re supposed to run meetings, sign papers, have all the answers, and probably reem you out when you get something wrong. In my profession they should make you cry! They should be like your professors did all through college, but meaner, with bigger glasses (mine might only grow because of all the screen time).
Plus, it’s dangerous! Liability it’s a HUGE thing. Maybe you will get sued, hopefully you don’t. At the end of the day it could happen at any time and its not always the end of your career. Also don’t forget you can basically get sued at any point in your life, license or no license.
I’ll say this right now. I rarely have all the answers. I’m quiet in meetings, I ask lots of questions, and I’m moderately confident in most things I do (and sometimes I’m not). Plus, sometimes I get yelled at by my bosses. But I’ve already decided: I’m going to get my professional license, in my case that’s an Architecture license.
I’ll say that again: I’m going to get my architecture license.
Now, is that a good idea?
Here’s the straight answer: I have no clue. I know that I’ll be learning my whole life, but sometimes I feel like no matter how much I learn, it’s still going to be scary as hell. Yes I know insurance covers a good amount of mistakes. Yes some people specialize or are better in different categories than others. But also…like in any field, there are a lot of “dumb” licensed professionals. I could be a dumb licensed professional!
Here’s the bottom line on licensing: No one is perfect. But ultimately, licensing is great for your career. And, the longer you work, the more you’ll grow into the role. Plus, it pays! Lots of people see their salaries bumped up several thousand dollars. Don’t forget that licensing can also come with a good amount of fees, which could offset that raise somewhat.
And that’s not to say licensing is a requirement. I know there are people out there who never get licensed, don’t want to, or whatever it is and that’s fine too! But I’m willing to go through all the hoops to get my hours, pay for a big long test, and then buy a crap-ton of liability insurance so I can’t get sued into oblivion, so that’s something I’ll have to figure out, I guess. Plus, the clock for the licensing I’m aiming for doesn’t start until you pass the first exam so in theory I have plenty of study time! So no pressure, kinda.
Here’s the advice I’m giving myself:
-Set a timeline and a schedule. STICK TO IT
-Make said schedule to study (Test sections/format, review what you’ve learned in your career so far, whatever you think you will need to know)
-Repeatedly ask for more tasks in the places you feel the weakest
-Research in the areas you feel the weakest, whether that’s watching simple videos or reading articles, whatever it is
-If by the end of your schedule you still feel unprepared, re-evaluate and reset your schedule (also postpone the test if you have already scheduled it, its better to waste a small fee postponing it than blowing the test money on failing)
Again, the worst thing that can happen is that I 1. Fail the Licensing test 2. Pass the licesning test, feel unprepared for the responsibility of my license, and decline to use it at the workplace until I feel ready. And that’s not so bad! If the worst thing to come from all this is passing, someone out there thinks I’m knowledgeable and responsible enough to have my license even if I FEEL I’m not. Once I get there no matter what I will keep learning even if I feel I know “enough”.
Let me know what you guys are feeling, where you are with your exams/licensing (or like me where you aren’t), and what you guys think! Hopefully we can get you and me some advice about what the hell is going on.
Until next time!
Unsolicited Design Advice
Unsolicited Design Advice 