The firm aims to help them to become something more than form makers. At the beginning of design, for example, a senior practitioner within the firm will discuss with an intern the practical program requirements of the particular building type. And for some projects, interns in the design department are allowed to follow the project as it progresses through the firm, working temporarily within the other departments that handle such aspects as design development and construction documents. What students can do The dilemma for students is that computer technology is giving them more, not less, to learn during their school years. There is probably no single school that regularly turns out graduates with solid grounding in all areas of design, theory, and practical experience.
Every student is required to work in a firm full-time while going to school at night.
If students can survive this grueling regimen, which can take them eight to 10 years to complete, they emerge with practical skills that make them more readily em-ployable than most graduates of more traditional programs. She says her background and broader experience enabled her to come to her first job with a more realistic view of the kinds of work interns are typically given. 2D drafting courses. Now she uses these skills in creating a computer-based graphic standard for the firm's master plan projects. Still, like any intern, she has to be vigilant, making sure that her employer allows her to expand her skills into all of the areas laid out in the Intern Development Program, a plan developed and jointly run by the AIA, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, and the American Institute of Architecture Students to hone the professional skills of young architects.