1. JOIN A FIRM THAT SPECIALIZES IN WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED
Architecture firms vary in different specialties residential, commercial, mixed-use development, landscape, sustainability, and much more. The first internship I chose was at a large-sized firm in New York. I was excited and yet super nervous. At that time I was familiar
2. TOUCH UP ON THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE YOUR MAIN TOOLS
If you are kind of rusty when you use a drafting program like Revit, it’s good to touch up on them prior to your internship. It’s helpful to reach out to a studio friend or anyone you may know who is good at the program you’ll be using.
Note:
If using Revit as a tool for construction
documents- Please know at least the basics of phasing (demo and new construction). Don’t forget to duplicate your views if you are editing just in case you mess up!
3. ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS
You may have learned your 2D or 3D programs in school, but when the scene switches to real-life matters it can be different. Great if you may learn programs like Revit in an architecture or engineering trade school prior to university. You my friend may have an advantage. Though, if you were like me who newly learned Revit, but doesn’t have the confidence for the program yet.
4. TELL & REMIND YOUR SUPERVISOR WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
If you seem like you’re doing the same task for most of your internship. It should not hurt to ask your supervisor to learn something new. While doing my first internship, I stuck to mostly illustrator and Rhino. To me, to make the internship worthwhile is if you request what you want you to learn.
5. DOCUMENT WHAT YOU LEARN
Document what you learn- You don’t have to write
a long summary of what you learned during days of interning. What I found most helpful for me is to take bullet point notes. Even if you do mapping exercises in Adobe Illustrator, you never know what you’re going to learn.