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Career Development

by ria

We fight to promote the value of architects across the country while advocating for legislation that removes obstacles to education and professional advancement.

Our focus

Relieving student debt

Debt is a primary reason why graduates are leaving the field and why we are fighting to lighten the student debt load.

This is why we developed the National Design Services Act, bipartisan congressional legislation that would let architecture graduates pay off student loan debt through community service.

Managing encroachment

Architects face practice encroachment by other professions looking to carve out a piece of the design business for themselves. And it comes at a significant cost: Not just the livelihoods of architects but also reduced building safety, quality and returns on community and private investments.

We developed guides and tools to tackle professional encroachment by clearly defining different roles and defending our space in the marketplace and the value of our profession.

Including architecture in STEM

We are working with government agencies and academic institutions to ensure that architecture is included in the STEM definition and highlight the importance of the architecture profession to all students, opening up new avenues for the next generation of architects.