Before addressing what I would change about internship, allow me to give a brief history. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I went to work for a small, dynamic firm. I worked there for two and a half years, during which I developed a fantastic working relationship with the owner and principal. Eventually the time came for me to move to a different city, and I informed my boss of my intention to leave the firm. He surprised me with the suggestion that I instead form a satellite office from which I could both work on projects for the main office and also solicit and design projects in my new city. My boss would review and stamp my work.

I accepted his proposal, and I have worked under this arrangement for the past four years. I have procured, designed, drafted, and supervised residential, retail, and restaurant jobs from start to finish, as well as working on projects for the main office. I have been in constant contact with my boss, speaking and corresponding with him every day.

What I have not done, however, is have face-to-face contact with my boss. We talk every day, he sees my work every day, but he does not see my face and I don’t see his. He is 850 miles away.

NCARB IDP literature does not address this type of working arrangement. In my case, I met with the state IDP coordinator, who assured me that my experience would count toward IDP credit. The wording of the IDP Guidebook gives me pause, though, since it states “you and your supervisor must both work in the same office under circumstances where personal contact is routine.”

I submitted my completed IDP training unit reports in February of this year. My status is still unresolved. I am horribly worried that I will be told that the last four years of my life don’t count, and that my state IDP coordinator was wrong. To this possibility, I counter that my internship has been far more complete than most. I have had to find work, prepare proposals, meet with clients, design and document
projects, coordinate with consultants, submit for and receive building permits, visit job sites, and bill clients. I have been involved with every aspect of the practice of architecture.

If my situation were unique, I would not feel it necessary to bring it to the attention of this conference. However, a college classmate of mine is in the same situation. I also know another firm that sent an intern off to Seattle to start a branch office.

The use of interns who work in remote offices is an emerging trend in the world of architecture. It lets firms hold on to their talent while simultaneously expanding their reach, and it gives the intern a chance to experience what it is like to supervise his own office and projects. In my experience, it has been the most educational internship imaginable. It deserves to be addressed in NCARB literature.