Expert: Nazim Nice - 5/7/2009

Question
QUESTION: My name is Bradley Nason and I am a student at Bellevue College.  I'm doing a project at my school.  Would it be ok to send you an informational interview e-mail about being a Commercial Designer?  The questions will only take five minutes.

Informational Interview Questions

NAME OF COMPANY:
PHONE NUMBER:
NAME OF PERSON INTERVIEWED:
TITLE OF PERSON INTERVIEWED:
MAILING ADDRESS:

Please answer the following questions:
•   What is a typical day like at work?

•   Do you usually work independently or as part of a team?

•   How many hours do you normally work in a week and is your schedule flexible or set?

•   Why did this type of work interest you and how did you get started?

•   What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position?

•   What skills or abilities have you found to be most useful for this job?

•   What entry level jobs in this field are best for learning as much as possible?

•   What other kinds of experience, paid or unpaid, would you encourage for anybody pursuing a career in this field?

•   Lastly, what special advice do you have for a student who is interested in learning more about this occupation?

Thank you for your help!

ANSWER: Hi Bradley,

Here is the information your requested:

Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC
206-204-0490
Nazim Nice
Principal / Architect
3104 Western Avenue #107 Seattle WA 98121
http://www.motion-space.com

1.  A typical work day is a mix of working at a computer, designing, and coordinating with clients.  When running projects there is a large amount of time spent coordinating information with clients, municipalities, etc. Design is a not a 9-5 job.  Inspiration can come at any moment.  It can be difficult to 'turn this off', which can make it seem like you're always working.

2.  Depends on the project.  I think the best results are achieved when working with a good team of people, which tends to generate better ideas than someone working alone.

3.  Architecture always interested me and I never had any questions that I wasn't going to be an architect.  For some reason, this seams to be common in this profession.  I like working with my clients to achieve their goals/dreams.  I like to make things happen.  And I like to build things.  So architecture was the right fit for me.

4.  I taught at Carnegie Mellon University and the Knowlton School of Architecture at the Ohio State University which helped me learn how to evaluate work quickly and test ideas.  I practiced at three other firms before starting my own practice.  Two of the firms were small practices (I got my best experience here) and one firm was a large practice with offices around the world (different experience here, but not as broad a range of experience as the small firms).

5.  Design and analytical skills are important. You need to know how to take a lot of information that may be overwhelming and make something of it all that makes sense.  Without good design skills, you may find it hard to be involved the design of a project when working at firm.  You'll probably become more of a technical architect (nothing wrong with that, but not what I wanted).

6.  I feel I learned a lot more working in a smaller firm than a large firm, so I would recommend starting in a smaller firm.

7.  Internships at large or small firms are good first experience.  Some firms have summer internship programs.

8.  See if you can visit some architect's offices to see what work is like.  The AIA may have some programs available, or office tours.  This might help you focus on the type of firm you want to work for.

Let me know if you have further questions.


Nazim Nice
Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC
http://www.motion-space.com
Check out our newest product:
http://store.lumenid.com
 


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I noticed that you missed a question, and it was How many hours do you normally work in a week and is your schedule flexible or set?
Can you please answer this question and send me an answer as soon a possible?

Thank you.
From, Bradley Nason

Answer
Sorry about that.

I probably work about 60 hours a week, but some of that time is spent on overhead stuff like working on our website and other things I do that are business related.  My schedule is pretty flexible, although I try to keep regular office hours so people know when they can reach me.

Good luck on your classes.

Nazim Nice
Architect / Principal
Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC
http://www.motion-space.com
Lumen ID LLC
http://store.lumenid.com