执照是成为建筑师的漫长道路上的最后一步。国家建筑认证委员会 (NCARB) 委员会的认证代表了对专业能力的官方认可，并开辟了重要的职业机会。在这方面，建筑师执照类似于法律、医学和心理学等其他领域。

 

然而，不稳定的就业和低工资会导致高流失率并影响建筑中的种族和社会公平。一个最近的NCARB报告显示，建筑师的只是63％下榻的道路上执照，并略微超过半数合格建筑师注册考试（ARE）。按种族划分，存在显着差异——66% 的白人候选人仍然在获得执照的道路上，而黑人候选人的这一比例为 46%，西班牙裔候选人的这一比例为 57%。NCARB 主席 Alfred Vidaurri Jr.、FAIA、NCARB、AICP 将这种差异描述为“不可接受的”。 

 

为了获得许可，NCARB 概述了五项要求。

 

*从国家建筑认证委员会 (NAAB) 认可的计划中获得建筑学位

*在该领域有文件证明的工作经验

*通过 ARE

*满足任何额外的当地要求

*将您的 NCARB 记录发送到当地司法管辖区

每一步都有其自身的经济负担。州外本科建筑学位的平均费用接近 180,000 美元，不包括额外的 50-100,000 美元的硕士学位。从建筑学校毕业的第一年尤其困难，因为建筑师试图在一个众所周知的低薪领域获得工作经验，并且必须开始偿还学生贷款债务。鉴于经验是获得执照的必要条件，雇主可能会认为向刚毕业的学生提供工作经验是在给予帮助，而不是一份工作。 

 

考试准备是另一个昂贵的障碍。在对属于基线 由NCARB和发布的研究民族建筑师的全国组织（NOMA）在 2021 年透露，多名考生在 ARE 的准备材料上花费了超过 500 美元。作为回应，NCARB 正在开发将于 2022 年发布的免费材料。考试本身由六个部分组成——实践管理、项目管理、编程和分析、项目规划和设计、项目开发和文档以及构建和评估。综合起来，考试的考试时间超过 24 小时，总费用为 1,410 美元。重考或单独部分考试的费用为 235 美元。由于通过率为 54%，重考通常是该过程的必要步骤，占所有考试管理的 35%。

 

尼基起重机，副教授。AIA 和 Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects 的设计师对考试费用如何经常落在个人身上表示担忧，并在没有公司支持的情况下为建筑师带来了不可逾越的障碍。“这些测试太贵了，如果我的公司不帮我支付费用，我自己负担不起 6 次测试，这只是测试，不包括准备测试。我已经（个人）在材料和学习计划上花费了大约 150 美元，但我只完成了一半。” 

 

对于 Crane 来说，职业的改变“从我们开始”。为了产生影响，“我们应该在当地倡导改变我们城市/州的这些数字的方法。开始在我们的 AIA 新兴专业团体中进行这些对话。如果有办法帮助使这条道路更加公平，我们可以与新兴和潜入的同事合作。”

 

组织无疑是创造持久变革的重要一步，但结构性障碍令人生畏，需要重大的社会和经济转变。在Baseline on Belonging 中，一位候选人评论道：“在 2008 年经济衰退期间失去了一份建筑工作，让 [他们] 无法及时获得相关经验。” 由于建筑特别容易受到建筑繁荣和萧条周期的影响，因此必须考虑确保在经济衰退期间获得工作经验的公平补偿机会，以降低人员流失率。

 

NCAR B 已承诺进一步调查许可和审查过程中的不公平现象，新上任的 NCARB 主席 Vidaurri 誓言要“分析、理解和解决这些差异……一个关键焦点”。作为这项工作的一部分，NCARB 正在邀请建筑师分享有关许可的演变对话的想法。

 

英文版

 

Licensure is the final step in the long road of becoming an architect. Certification by the National Council of Architectural Certification Boards (NCARB) represents an official endorsement of professional capacity and opens up important career opportunities. In this regard, licensure for architects is akin to other fields such as law, medicine and psychology.

 

However, precarious employment and low pay create a high attrition rate and impact racial and social equity in architecture. A recent NCARB report revealed that just 63 percent of architects stayed on the path to licensure and slightly over half passed the Architect Registration Examination (ARE). Broken down by race, there are significant disparities — 66 percent of White candidates remained on the licensure path compared to 46 percent of Black candidates and 57 percent of Hispanic candidates. NCARB President Alfred Vidaurri Jr., FAIA, NCARB, AICP described the disparity as “unacceptable.” 

 

To achieve licensure, there are five requirements as outlined by the NCARB.

 

*Obtaining an architecture degree from a National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited program

*Documented work experience in the field

*Passing the ARE

*Fulfilling any additional local requirements

*Sending your NCARB record to local jurisdiction

Each step comes with its own financial burden. The average cost of an undergraduate architecture degree out of state is almost $180,000, not including an additional $50-100,000 for a Masters degree. The first years out of architecture school are particularly difficult as architects attempt to gain work experience in a notoriously low-paying field and must begin paying student loan debt. Given that experience is a requirement for licensure, employers may feel that by offering work experience to newly graduated students they are giving a favor, rather than a job. 

 

Test preparation is another expensive hurdle. The Baseline on Belonging study released by the NCARB and National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) in 2021 revealed that a plurality of test takers spend over $500 on preparation materials for the ARE. In response, NCARB is developing free materials to be released in 2022. The exam itself consists of six sections — practice management, project management, programming and analysis, project planning and design, project development and documentation, and construction and evaluation. Combined, the sitting time for the exam is over 24 hours with a total cost of $1,410. Retakes or an individual portion of the exam costs $235. As the pass rate is 54 percent, retakes are often a necessary step of the process and account for 35 percent of all exam administrations.

 

Nikki Crane, Assoc. AIA and Designer at Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, voiced concern on how the cost of exams often falls on individuals and presents an insurmountable barrier to architects without the support of a firm. “These tests are so expensive and if my firm wasn’t helping me pay for them, I couldn’t afford 6 tests on my own, and that’s just the tests, not including preparing to test. I’ve spent (personally) around $1.5k on materials and study programs and I’ve only made it halfway through.” 

 

For Crane, change in the profession “starts with us.” In order to make an impact, “We should be advocating locally on ways to change these numbers in our cities/states. Start having these conversations in our AIA emerging professional groups. We can collaborate with our emerging and submerging colleagues on if there is a way to help make this path more equitable.”

 

Organizing is undoubtedly an important step to creating lasting change, but the structural barriers are daunting and require major social and economic shifts. In Baseline on Belonging, a candidate remarked on how, “Losing an architecture job during the 2008 recession prevented [them] from gaining relevant experience in a timely manner.” As architecture is particularly susceptible to boom and bust building cycles, ensuring fairly compensated opportunities to gain work experience during recessions must be considered to combat attrition rates.

 

The NCARB has pledged to further investigate inequity in the licensure and examination process, with newly inducted NCARB President Vidaurri vowing to make “analyzing, understanding, and addressing these disparities…a key focus.” As part of this effort, the NCARB is inviting architects to share thoughts on the evolving conversation on licensure. Feedback and comments to the NCARB can be submitted here.

 

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