Last fall, ArchVoices profiled a new online resource for interns and all architecture professionals, which we continue to believe has more potential to improve the professional experiences of young people in particular than any other initiative currently underway. That online resource, InsideArch.org, is the work of a single intern in New York City, who developed this website in response to the sheer lack of information he encountered during his job search. Over the past few months, this same individual has significantly improved and upgraded the website, and the purpose of today’s issue of ArchVoices is to announce those improvements and new features. But it’s also to ask you to take 10-15 minutes to fill out a survey on your own firm as well as fifteen seconds to encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.

There is much talk about the architecture being a "knowledge-based" profession. Every profession is "knowledge-based" to some degree–what varies is simply the amount and quality of "knowledge" upon which we base our decisions. Architecture interns have always had incredibly little knowledge with which to make incredibly important decisions about employment. This lack of knowledge on the part of consumers is what economists call a "market failure"–ironically, the same condition that is the basis for architectural licensure in most states (architecture requires specialized knowledge, which the public doesn’t have, and so the state identifies those individuals who are qualified to provide these services). The failure of our employment market is based on a lack of available information, not a lack of technical comprehension.

In the architecture profession, however, we pride ourselves on individual creativity and initiative more than on institutional responsibility and capacity. So it’s no surprise that the closest thing we’ve got to a qualitative nationwide employment survey is largely the result of volunteer work by one intern in New York City.

1. How it Works
2. Newly Added Features
3. Filing a Firm Report
4. Make InsideArch Work for You
5. InsideArch, Inside Out

1. InsideArch: How it Works

InsideArch consists of two pieces: the Firm Survey and the Firm Report.

The Firm Survey is a 70-question, multiple-choice survey, covering everything from employees’ level of responsibility to how they feel about their work, their colleagues, and their managers.

Interns and architects respond anonymously about firms at which they currently work or have previously worked. Individual responses are then scored, weighted, and combined with other responses for the same firm to create the other major component of InsideArch, the Firm Report.

For each firm, the Firm Report presents an overall score and several other ‘Key Metrics’ including ‘Professional Development’, ‘Attitude Toward Interns’, ‘Compensation’, and others. The Firm Report also presents quotations from respondents, links to news items, and other information.

2. Newly Added Features

InsideArch’s firm search features have recently been expanded and enhanced. If you’re checking up on a specific firm, you can now not only search by the firm name (with greater accuracy), but you can also search by city, state, and zip code.

3. Filing a Firm Report

In about 10-15 minutes, you and other architecture firm employees can complete the InsideArch Firm Survey about your work experience. The resulting Firm Report allows you to benchmark your experience against that of your peers. Additionally, a comprehensive search feature helps you target firms for your next position, directing you to those firms where you’ll learn the most and where your contributions will be most appreciated.

The Survey covers a wide range of factors that affect the quality of the experience at a particular firm. Site visitors who are former or current employees of a firm rate the firm according to these factors, with the scores tallied and used to compute an overall rating for the firm. Firms themselves can use a high rating to attract the best candidates–improving the way interns and architects market themselves to potential employers and the way firms market themselves to potential employees.

Visit InsideArch right now and see for yourself the valuable tool that this unique site makes available to current, prospective, and past employees and employers alike.

4. Make InsideArch Work for You

The more interns and architects who complete a Firm Report, the more valuable InsideArch becomes.

Take 30 seconds, right now, and forward this message to your friends and colleagues, encouraging them to file a Firm Report about their work experiences.

Also, click on the image at right to download a poster (.pdf) that can be printed and posted in your office or studio.

5. InsideArch, Inside Out

InsideArch was founded, and is operated by a single intern, Stephen Simon, Assoc. AIA, based in Brooklyn, NY. InsideArch receives no funding from, and is not affiliated with, any firm or organization.

Email ssimon@insidearch.org to contact Stephen directly.

As always, we welcome your thoughts by email at editors@archvoices.org.