The Education of Architects
Lifelong learning may not have worked its way into our consciousness yet, but it's a fact of life. In today's fast changing work environment, we must constantly refine our knowledge and update our skills in order to remain competitive. In a world where it is expected that most people will work past the age of 65, we cannot expect the degree we earn in our early twenties to last us the rest of our working lives.
To some degree, the architecture profession has always recognized this. One does not become a licensed architect immediately after school; an internship period of at least three years is required before one is even eligible for the licensing exam. But learning does not stop upon licensure, being a practicing architect means staying abreast of new products, techniques, changing codes, etc. In recent years, the AIA has formalized this continuing education process by establishing certain minimum requirements for learning experiences. In Texas, as in the other states where continuing education is not mandatory for maintaining licensure, it sets the AIA architect apart from the non-member architects, but it is expected that most states will adopt mandatory continuing education as a condition of licensure in the near future.
Despite this, there is a minority of our members who are far behind on fulfilling their continuing education requirements. Although grace periods have been extended, some members will be dropped beginning next year. This is unfortunate, because the continuing education requirements are not hard to fulfill; in many cases these architects are engaged in activities that would qualify for education credits, but they are not taking the time to record it.
Perhaps our older members who are near the end of their careers do not feel as compelled to keep learning, but for the rest of us the need is urgent. I do not refer to the AIA's requirements so much as the evidence one can find everyday in the news: layoff notices, changing business climates, downsizing, global competition, etc. Keeping our skills current and relevant is not just a matter of maintaining a competitive edge; it's a matter of survival.
Consider also what most practicing professionals find to be the gaps in traditional architectural education: too little emphasis on the technical aspects of the profession, insufficient development of communication and inter-personal skills, and almost no exposure to business and management knowledge. While this has been the subject of constant friction between the schools and the profession, perhaps this is only telling us something obvious: there is simply not enough time in the traditional educational structure to cover all of these topics adequately; literally, it would take a lifetime to master them all. Regardless of what discipline one studies in school, the fundamental mission of higher education is to teach us to learn. The education that truly matters is the one of personal experience in the real world.
James Hill, AIA
