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Kim Tran
English 1A, STACC
Feb, 21, 2015
Dr. Kuroki
My Future Profession
As a child, I had always wondered what I would be when I grew up. When I was in fourth
grade, I was determined to become a teacher. One of the few reasons why I wanted to become a
teacher was because I wanted to be able to make a difference in a childs life just like how some
of my teachers have made a difference in my life. However, my dream changed as I grew older,
and throughout my lifetime I have had many different dreams about my future; such as becoming
a forensic science or becoming a manager of a flower shop.
By the time I entered college, I realized what I truly wanted to do for the rest of my life
was to become an architect. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always had an interest in art in
the form of shapes and objects. Personally, architecture is not just a job but a lifestyle.
Everywhere I go, I see different houses and buildings surrounding me that are formed in certain
shapes and structures.
The environment became one of my motivations and inspirations for me to become an
architect. Architecture is among one of the most fascinating manmade works since the beginning
of time. There are many important aspects in architecture therefore I am slowly working towards
my future profession to understand the art, structure, and form of architecture.

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In the article The Concept of Discourse Community, John Swales establishes the
definition of a discourse community. He defines discourse community as a language used in
a form of social behavior, that discourses is a means of maintaining and extending the groups
knowledge and of irritating new members into the group, and that discourse is epistemic or
constitutive of the groups knowledge.(Herzberg) In another words, discourse community is a
groups of people that work towards a common goal through communicating about a particular
topic, issue, and field. For architects, their common goal is to build better world for all people
through communication to carry out research and inspire each other.
Buildings have become a part of a culture because it entails a timeline, as well as an
expression of life, the society, and the talents of many people. Architecture is defined as an art or
a practice of designing and constructing buildings. In another words, architecture can also be
extent from the macro level of town planning, urban designs and landscape architecture to the
micro level of furniture.(Career Information) The world of architecture is everywhere. It has
been one of the major conquests of humanity to design structures to bring thrill of a lasting
beauty to the eye of the beholder. Without architecture, there would be no buildings or art of any
kind.
As an architect, their job is to turn an empty white space into a gateway which opens
different aspects. In an interview, I was honored to be able to interview Professor Gregory. He is
a professor at PCC; he worked for research and development firm that has a wide array of
clients. Through the email, I asked Professor Gregory what is the common the common public
goal for an architect? he said the common goal both my colleagues and clients is to work
toward improving peoples lives.(Gregory) Their job is to come up with a thoughtful design to
build better world for all people when problems occur.

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Architectures have been one of the major conquests for human being to be able to design.
It is the architects job to design and create structures from their imagination that can be seen
later in the future. An architects job involves designing new buildings, extensions or alterations
to existing buildings, or suggesting on the restoration of old properties.
Many architects work on public or private projects and design both indoor and outdoor
spaces. When they work on individual buildings or on large redevelopment scheme, they need to
cooperate with financial advisors and real-estate agents. Architects also work closely with clients
and users to make sure that the project designs match their needs. Everything needs to be
functional, safe, and economical.
The daily basis of architects may involve various meetings with building designers and
other important figures. They meet up with clients to discuss the objectives, requirements, and
budget of the project. In some cases, they provide various predesign services, such as feasibility
and environmental impact studies, site selection, cost analysis, and design requirements. After
the proposal with many clients, architects develop a final construction plan that shows the
buildings appearance and detail for its construction through heavily consist of renders,
diagram, and text.(Gregory) Each design or texts is meant to give an overall view of the projects
to the clients. The design must meet a certain requirement which includes building codes, zoning
laws, fire regulations, and other ordinances such as easy access for the disabled.
There are many responsibilities for an architect. They need to consider the many
possibilities to leading a project on a structure or a building from start to finish. As the
construction proceeds, architects will do a regular site visit to ensure that contractors follow the
design, keep to the schedule, use the specified material, and meet work-quality standards. They

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will also resolving problems and issues that arise during the constructions. Architects also
cooperate with numerous professionals on the construction site such as structural engineers,
civil engineers, electrical and mechanical engineers, landscape architects, cost experts, acoustical
specialists, lighting designers, interior designers, artists, photographers, city planners, facility
managers, regional planners, land developers, real-estate firms, sociologists, demographers and
many more.(Career Information)
In order to become an architect, they have to speak in a certain way to be trusted. They
have to build [theirs] own language and way of communicating. (Gregory) The words that are
used by architects are rarely uttered during a normal conversation with other people outside of
work. If architects use vocabulary only with their coworkers, people who are in another
profession may not understand what they are saying. A great example is when architects deal
with construction projects.
Architects will often use vocabulary such as headers, girders, and joist to describe the
horizontal structural members. However, not every architect is required to speak this way. For
some who is in an academic field will use more of the words such as parti, a gestural diagram
that explain a project.(Gregory) The term parti is usually referred to the project designs big
idea and the overall guiding idea for a design.
Also in order to become a successful architect, they must have variety of skills. Number
one important qualities are analytical skills, the abilities to understand the content of design and
the context in which they created. Next, architects must have good communication skills to
communicate their ideas to clients and understand their requirements.(Thakur) As an architect,
they must able to communicate so they can share their ideas, both in verbal presentations and in

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writing, with clients, other architect, and co-workers. The third skill that architects must have is
organizational skills which they need to manage all contracts and record keeping of a project,
including total cost, materials used, and progress. Also, architects need to have a technical skills
and visualization skills. Most of the times, architects need computer to created plans as part of
integrated building information modeling. Lastly, architects must have the ability to visualize the
overall building will look once completed and able to point out the relevant of structure part.
In order to achieve a degree, I must transfer to Cal Poly Pomona, with all the
requirement courses taken. First, I need to finish all the support courses which are Speech 6,
Argumentation and Debate or Speech 12, Argumentation and Critical Thinking, English 1B,
Reading and Composition or English 1C, Intermediate Composition-Critical Thinking and
Argument, Math 8, Trigonometry or Math 7B, Mathematical Analysis, Physic 2A, General
Physics. Next is the core courses, which are Arch 10A, Arch 10B, Arch 12A, Arch 20A, Arch
20B, Arch 15, Arch 16, Arch 18 and Arch 12B.(Assist) To become an architect one must earn a
professional degree in architecture that is a requirement of all states.
Most architects earn their professional degree through a 5 year Bachelor of Architecture
Degree program, intended for students with no previous architectural training. For students with
a pre-professional undergraduate degree, they are offered with a 2-year Master of Architecture
program. Many earn a Masters Degree in Architecture, which can take 1 to 5 years to complete.
After completion of the degree, architects must complete a three years of internship or training
for experiences in firm, and needs to pass the entire ARE (Architect Registration Examination).
In order to be employ for architectural firm, architects must be up to date technical skills and
training in sustainable design. Also license architect in most states stated that they must
continuing education is required to maintain licensure.(McKay).

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In conclusion, finding a profession for each individual is always the most difficult
including myself. During my life time, I had been changing my career for many times and now I
finally decided to become an architect. Architecture is defined as the practice of building design
and is also a social art. In order to become an architect one must finish all the requirement
courses that prepared for professional practice. After a period of training process and passing the
exam, architects are able to earn a license and get hire by firms.

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Work Cited
"ASSIST Report: PASADENA 14-15 CPP Articulation Agreement by Major." ASSIST Report:
PASADENA 14-15 CPP Articulation Agreement by Major. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Jones, Chris. "Architect: Job Description." Prospects. N.p., Apr. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.
McKay, Dawn Rosenberg. "Architect - Career Information." About Carrers. N.p., n.d. Web. 25
Feb. 2015.
Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Genre Analysis: English in Academic
and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge UP, 1990.21-32. Print.
Thakur, Anubhuti. "Stepping Into The 'Real World': Architecture Students' Preparedness For
Professional Practice." College Student Journal 43.3 (2009): 910-923. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Zamora, Gregory. "Future Profession." E-mail interview. 15 Feb. 2015.

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