Exam Difficulty
Someone posted about the difficulty of the exams... but the post seems to be gone. I wanted to respond.
I actually agree that the exams are very hard. I did pass them all the first time and took them all in a little over a year. But I also got licensed at 39, after many years in and out of the profession.
Compensation versus licensure difficulty versus number of licensed professionals etc is a very common "complaint" among architects and I agree that the profession has allowed this to happen. I will say however that in my experience, NCARB has actually made it much EASIER to get licensed in recent years than it was when I graduated from college. The allow for alternatives to professional degree education, they allow for AXP and ARE to overlap and run concurrently, there are 6 exams instead of 7.
Becoming a licensed architect is hard. My coworker failed his PCM yesterday for the second time and I get it. Its frustrating. But actually being a licensed architect is really really hard, I know I work harder than my kids pediatrician... and don't make nearly the money. That I think is the real shame in all of it. But being licensed is a prestigious achievement, and one I wouldn't trade for the world. It really is worth it...
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Hi Mollie,
I saw your post about the difficulties of the exam. I know this all too well considering I took PcM for the second time and PjM for the first time yesterday, and I failed both. I'm no newbie when it comes to the profession either. I've been in it for a long time, and studied with my butt off using every testing material that I could find, and still no luck.
It's hard to see value in the license, when the requirements are so stringent and the rewards so minimal. There are twenty year old gamers, and youtubers that are making an income that I could only dream of, with no more than a high school degree. We are told that the profession is a service to the public, and that the reward is making lasting change in our society, but how many new age Frank Gehrys can you name, that are willing to push the boundaries, and are well compensated for it. Having prestige is not worth much if you're living less of a lifestyle than the guy who just invested in bitcoin early.
Being an architect or any type of design professional is a lot of risk, a lot of work, and few, if any, clients will be appreciative of your efforts. Where is the "worth it" part?
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I guess it depends on what you value or makes it “worth it” for you. For me it’s 100% worth it. I get to see the lines I draw on paper built into buildings. Who else on earth gets to do something like that? That’s worth it. I love my job. It’s freaking hard work. It was freaking hard to get that license. And I don’t get compensated at the same level as drs and lawyers. But it’s still worth it. I don’t have to be Frank Gehry to impact the community. I impacted mine with a bbq joint and a fire pit. And I watch people sit there and enjoy that space and I love it. I created that and it’s worth it.
My clients absolutely appreciate what I bring to the table. A school board in a meeting last month were over the moon excited by the design I put forth for their kids new school building. And that’s worth it.
Bitcoin and video games wouldn’t give me that thrill. Which is how I know I’m in the right profession.
If it doesn’t feel worth it, personally I wouldn’t do it. Life’s too short.
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Passing the exams are difficult, and I think part of the reason is based on how NCARB scores and evaluates the exam. I think NCARB really have two scoring system where the number of questions are based on a percentage of correct responses, those correct responses are than pass thru a scored competency level. For example, according to the ARE 5 Handbook PDD section 5, PDD have target percentage 2-8% with 2-9 questions. If NCARB decided to put only two question on the exam for that section and if you miss one of those questions than does this mean you fail the exam because you fail this section? On top that, how can you judge the competence of a candidate with just two questions, if the competence score is on a 4 level system?
So I am very confuse on how NCARB is determining the competence level of an candidate. I will prefer for NCARB to balance the test more effectively by requiring each section to have atleast 20% or at least ten question to prove competency of candidate. if this was to happen, NCARB will be able to judge a candidate competence level (which is the ultimate pass/fail grade) more effectively and accurately even if it means NCARB adding more questions.
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Hi Michael,
We want to clear up some confusion on how the ARE is scored specifically related to your graphic showing exam sections. The ARE is not graded at the section level. You're 100% correct, you can't reliably judge the competence of a candidate with only two questions.
A candidate's total score is determined by adding up the points earned for all correctly answered items across all sections of the exam. Each item, regardless of item type, is worth one point and is scored as either correct or incorrect. If your score is equal to or greater than the cut score, you’ll receive a passing score. In your example, a candidate could incorrectly answer all questions in section 5 and still pass the exam.
You can read more about how the ARE is scored in this blog post.
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Thank you for the clarification and the link. The link concerning how the ARE is developed (pretest Items) is connecting to a webpage that does not exist anymore.
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Hi Michael,
Try this link - https://www.ncarb.org/blog/how-are5-items-are-developed.
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