64 years old and just passed the A.R.E
I never finished school and didn't realize until about a year ago there was still a path to a license. It's scary and humbling to have to prove you know as much as you think you do.
To put this in context, when I was in school "computer aided drafting" was an elective. And My Ching (Building Construction Illustrated) does not even have Low E listed as a type of glass.
Elif's practice tests got me through PDD & PPD, and I used Designer Hacks for the others. And one 45 minute video from the Amber book guy, very helpful because back in the olden days we didn't care about thermal bridging and steel structures. There were three categories of material on the practice tests; the first was "Is this a trick question?" because it was stuff I knew well. The second category was "I'm familiar with this, need to brush up," and the biggest category, was "OMG I have never even heard of this, I'm going to fail."
I am living proof that it's never too late! My best advice to anyone in the same boat is tell your colleagues you're doing it, that way it's embarrassing if you quit. And you'll need the support.
I'm not sure this (passing) would have felt as good 30 years ago as it does today. Okay, yes it would have, but today feels special. Oh, and my 91 year-old mother doesn't ever get to mention the not finishing school thing again.
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Kudos to you! Congratulations!
Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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Absolutely congrats. After many years of distance and talking myself out of testing I’m going for it thanks to the encouragement of my boss. I’m 55, and found there is something to be gained.you are another inspiration. I didn’t grab the chance for college, only many years of practice and sacrifice.
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Victor - As I took the tests I would often think "I wonder how one could pass this without years in an office." Your experience will serve you well, in my case it far outweighed the things I'd never heard of, and if your boss thinks you can do it that's even more reason to go for it. Go in first with your strength, (I took Construction & Evaluation) once you pass your first one you'll have a enough confidence to get through the rest. The idea that we (old people) can pass the ARE seems overwhelming, but once you get into it, you'll find it's really quite doable. You've got this!
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Congrats, congrats and congrats because I too am also a mature 58 years young ARE test taker having graduated 30 years ago.
I passed one and failed two and am wholeheartedly embracing Amber book approach and with the migration to PSI am determined to pass.
Congrats, congrats and congrats again
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Congratulations again, Susan!! I am so happy to be part of your fantastic journey. This is a very inspiring story, and we all have a lot to learn from your perseverance. Congratulations!!
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That's an amazing story Susan! Congrats and thanks for sharing!
Chris Hopstock RA
Black Spectacles
ARE Community -
Congratulations!
No time like the present.
That's why we always say, "Start your Exams - TODAY!"
Mark, Archizam
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WOW Susan that is awesome!!
I too have had a very long career working in Architecture Offices my whole life and now after 12,611 IDP Units and involved in countless projects and design from Schools to Hospitals to Residences all over the Country and at the age of 65, my first exam is February 10th. 2022.
I'm sure all my ex Professors from Pratt might be interested in hearing about this. It's touching to me because this profession has been my only mistress for many many years. Too every young person pursuing this magical profession, I can tell you even without my license, it continues to allow me to reinvent myself.
I cant wait to get my LICENSE
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Way to go Paul!! Scheduling that first one is the hardest part.
Not that I would recommend people wait until they've worked thirty years to get their license, but the experience was a huge benefit in taking the exam. Especially the administrative categories. I can appreciate how hard it is for early career candidates to pass some of these tests because a lot of them consist of things learned through actual project management.
Which one are you taking first? I took CE because I've done a lot of CA and I figured not too much could have changed. I got through that pretty fast so it was a confidence builder.
You'll do fine! Please update.
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Hi Susan again,
That is funny that your last name is Anderson. For most of my career I had a licensed Architect partner and his name is Stephen Anderson.
The first one I am studying for now is PcM and I think most people take this one first. Going forward, I thought PjM then PA. There is so much information out here as to what to study that I'm finding it difficult to wade through all the conflicting opinions.
I'm reading through and studying the single Brightwood PcM study guide and I just ordered a brand new AHPP which I'm very excited to get started in that monster when it arrives It would be greatly appreciated if you might shed some light as to what to study since this process is no cheap. The materials are quit pricey and I feel that this exam now is more practical and attainable with my knowledge base. I know that without the proper information to study there is no chance of passing at all.
Thank you for your reply and your insight. -
Do NOT spend too much time looking for obscure ARE information because NCARB will HAVE to test you on the most common architectural knowledge and information. At least 80% to 90% of the exam content will have to be the most common, important and fundamental knowledge. The exam writers can word their questions to be tricky or confusing, but they have to limit themselves to the important content; otherwise, their tests will NOT be legally defensible. At most, 10% of their test content can be obscure information. You only need to answer about 71% of all the questions correctly. So, if you master the common ARE knowledge (applicable to 90% of the questions) and use the guess technique for the remaining 10% of the questions on the obscure ARE content, you will do well and pass the exam.
On the other hand, if you focus on the obscure ARE knowledge, you may answer the entire 10% obscure portion of the exam correctly, but only answer half of the remaining 90% of the common ARE knowledge questions correctly, and you will fail the exam. We have seen many smart people who can answer very difficult ARE questions correctly because they are able to look them up and do quality research. However, they often end up failing ARE exams because they cannot memorize the common ARE knowledge needed on the day of the exam. ARE exams are NOT open-book exams, and you cannot look up information during the exam.
The process of memorization is like filling a cup with a hole at the bottom: You need to fill it faster than the water leaks out at the bottom, and you need to constantly fill it; otherwise, it will quickly be empty.
Once you memorize something, your brain has already started the process of forgetting it. It is natural. That is how we have enough space left in our brain to remember the really important things.
It is tough to fight against your brain's natural tendency to forget things. Acknowledging this truth and the fact that you cannot memorize everything you read, you need to focus your limited time, energy, and brainpower on the most important issues.
The biggest danger for most people is that they memorize the information in the early stages of their exam preparation but forget it before or on the day of the exam and still THINK they remember.
Most people fail the exam NOT because they cannot answer the few “advanced” questions on the exam, but because they have read the information and can NOT recall it on the day of the exam. They spend too much time preparing for the exam, drag the preparation process on for too long, seek too much information, go to too many websites, do too many practice questions and too many mock exams (one or two sets of mock exams can be good for you), and spread themselves too thin. They end up missing the most important information of the exam, and they fail.
Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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Thank you Gang, that was an excellent assessment on the strategy and approach to using my time effectively. I am getting the idea that too much useless information before taking any part has to be a bad thing. Having not taken a test for a long time, I feel like studying the key point as you discussed is best for me. Thank you so much for your insight. I'm doing quite well with this Brightwood book as I have just started studying through this Holiday. I am enjoying it a great deal. I feel like if I apply my knowledge base and study the important things on this test I will do well. Perhaps you can send over some suggestions and thank you for your advice about the practice tests which I will most certainly do, thank you again,
Paul -
Hi again Susan, I am starting with PcM then PjM then I'm going to take your advice and move CE into the 3rd slot. I did review the ARE Handbook and it seems very familiar to me because I too have worked for many years in and around the Construction Industry.
I want to open an Architecture firm of my own sometime in the near future. I hope your doing well, thanks again
Paul
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