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ARAE (Architects Register Admission Examination) & RIAI Route F

DJPC1989

Hi All,

New to boards.ie and looking to advance my career...

Has any Architectural Technician or Technologist undertaken the ARAE and applied to the RIAI through Route F to become a Registered Architect?

The course has been around for over a decade and I'm considering doing it.

Any information / guidance / experience would be high appreciated! 😀

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kieran.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058237058/arae-architects-register-admission-examination-riai-route-f

Hi DJPC. I lodged my ARAE Stage 01 application in 2020 then sat Stage 02+ 03 exams last year have to repeat one subject now in may and hopefully that will be me done. If you have any specific queries feel free to ask.

Ercon

I am hugely interested in any information on this please! I have been searching extensively and cannot find any info on what the interview process is like or even past exam papers. The ARAE website seems very out of date, and when I e-mailed them, they say past papers are only available AFTER you've been accepted to take the exam!

Please could you enlighten me?

How did you get your "7 years experience"? Were you under a registered architect who helped you learn, or working alone?

Any idea what someone can actually do to prepare themselves to learn the appropriate topics well enough?

What did your portfolio look like for your interview? Level of detail/ projects undertaken etc?

Sorry for all the questions!

It all seems very obscure and secretive.

Thank you :)

kieran.

The process is broken up in to 3 stages. Stage 01 is the porfolio to prove you have the required experience. Stage 02 is Design were you demonstrate skills in design. Stage 3 is Architectural Practice were you show you have the ability to be a architect from with an understanding of contracts, insurance, H & S, legislation etc. there is also an oral interview in this stage.

Past papers are only available AFTER you've been accepted to take the exam

You get approx 10 years of previous papers at the start of each stage and these are the basis for your study.

How did you get your "7 years experience"? Were you under a registered architect who helped you learn, or working alone?

I was was working in a engineering / architectural practice the princpals were building surveyors and structural engineers. I'm now the managing director of that pratice.

Any idea what someone can actually do to prepare themselves to learn the appropriate topics well enough?

You would need full job running experience from inception to completion ideally varing project commerical and residential with experience in bith public and private projects. 90% of the preparation is through on the job experience. There is a course for the stage 3 subjects and that was somewhat useful.

What did your portfolio look like for your interview? Level of detail/ projects undertaken etc?

I had 20 projects in my porfolio to demonstrate I had the required architectural and management skills required. If you were working on large schemes 3 or for projects may be enough. Make sure you have plenty of hand sketches.

It all seems very obscure and secretive

It is :). FYI they love hand sketches for everything.

siubhannc

Hi,

I am also looking at this route at some stage in the future,

Are the costs as per the website - €9,210.00?

TIA

DJPC1989

Thanks very much @kieran. Sorry for the delay, I'll think about it further and come back to you if I have any questions.

DJPC1989

@kieran. Were you able to hold down a job while doing the course and exams?

What were the hours like, had you to attend day time / evening / weekend lectures?

I'm from the west and don't think I'd be able to get time off if I needed to be up in Dublin during a weekday...

The Stage 01 preparation is key I guess, I'd be looking to apply in about two years when I'm 35.

kieran.

My advice is apply now you only need to be 35 when you are looking to register with the RIAI after passing all. You should be able to hold down a job no problem, I did the UCD course for part 3 which covers stage 3 and that was a couple of hours a week. Around exam time I would take off the day before the exams and the two exam days for exam/study. Probably 2-3hours a week other that that. Most of the subjects are quite difficult to study for in Stage 2 as they are very broad and it is very much down to experience.

DJPC1989

Thanks @kieran. In demonstrating 7 years of experience, was it absolutely essential to show your involvement in every stage of each of your 20 project examples from inception to completion?

kieran.

Absolutely not you could do it in one or two project if they were start to finish and large enough.

siubhannc

@DJPC1989 Did you end up applying for Stage 1? I'm considering it this year

DJPC1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120531125#Comment_120531125

@siubhannc Not this year, life got in the way. Have you? If so, the very best of luck

KevMayo88

Can an Arch Tech do the course to be an architect if they have only been doing small domestic extensions and one off houses?

kieran.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120661716#Comment_120661716

Short answer is yes. Personally I think you you might struggle with the competencies to pass stage 01 and then when it comes to stage 2 & 3 they are mostly down to experience which would be difficult if you have not had any exposure to public works or commerical type projects.

KevMayo88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120665741#Comment_120665741

So basically an arch tech who has only spend their career in small offices doing small domestic stuff can technically do the course, but will ultimately come undone as they do not have big public or commercail work to their name?

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120667459#Comment_120667459

Not necessarily but the career could be limited. As kieran. said you really need a good variety of work. If you do have a natural flair and talent it will be recognized.

kieran.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120667459#Comment_120667459

The mistake you are making here is calling it a course. There are no lecturers or teachings you are given a reading list of about 100 books and the previous 10 years exam papers and thats that. As part of the assessment you have to complete a design project ( large comercial project.This route is about proving you have been doing the work of a registered architect for 7 years not training you to be an Architect.

KevMayo88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120681396#Comment_120681396

My whole time as an architectural technician has been a complete waste. I got stuck in small offices doing small jobs, and thrown years of my life away. I've never 'ran' a job- all I've ever been is a glorified cad monkey. Theres no chance of me ever becoming an architect.

kieran.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120681605#Comment_120681605

Nothing wrong with being an Arch Tech or a CAD tech but if you have aspirations to become an Registered Architect you will need to move office to one with an Architect who will mentor and train you. After say 4-5 years you would be a position to apply.

KevMayo88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120689595#Comment_120689595

The offices I worked in all had architects, but there was never any mentoring- just being handed stuff to draw in CAD. Life is very sad sometimes.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120681605#Comment_120681605

If you don't have an architectural qualification, have never studied architecture, and haven't been working as an architect, then there is really no expectation that you would become an architect via that pathway.

Architectural technology is it's own discipline and is not typically a pathway to becoming an architect. If that's what you want, you likely have to go get it for yourself.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120695899#Comment_120695899

Did you ever ask anyone about mentoring, or discuss with senior staff about progressing to architect? Or even to job running, which doesn't require an architecture degree.

Many people have no real aspirations and unless you speak to people above you, it would be rare for them to randomly start mentoring and upskilling you to advance your career, unless you seek it out.

DJPC1989

Was anyone asked for Further Information after submitting their Stage 1 Application? Interested to hear if there are particular elements the assessors look for...

kieran.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120809909#Comment_120809909

Yes, sketches (they love sketches)!!

Mellor

Out of curiosity, what is the time/cost involved?

kieran.

2.5 years from start to finisk and about €10k

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121262828#Comment_121262828

Hmmm, would have that kinda of time to invest. I was think it was more a professional competency exam for those providing equivalent services, via on the job knowledge .

kieran.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121330543#Comment_121330543

The exams are run in groups of subjects and two sessions per year, so it is quite on / off. Its probobly more like 5-6 months of study / exams spread out over 2.5 years.

Jamie P

Purely money making exercise……

Jamie P

Run by idiots 🙄

katieoh94

Hey everyone,

Have a bachelors degree in architecture and am currently working in architecture with the last few years. Not keen on doing a masters / part 2. Wondering if anyone knows if those years of experience will have to be done in Ireland or if I have worked in an architectural firm as a lead in Australia will those years count towards the 7?

Thanks 😊

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553047#Comment_122553047

as far as i know, international experience counts towards it