Reclaiming my title
Today, I received my final letter for the ARE and I opened the envelope with dreaded fear and anxiety over a negative result. Fortunately, I was delighted to have found that I finally made through this last section. My numerous temple visits in India did not go waste . May be there is a god after all who grounds your ego that nurtures self assurance and self belief. Finally, I am closing towards the end of my path to reclaim my title of an "Architect".
About 8 years back,as I took my Alitalia flight with a brief stop in Milan, I lost my title as I was crossing the US border at 32,000 ft at a speed of 800 km/hr. Then, I was still unaware of the fate that lied ahead of my professional title , earned from my Mumbai university education from one of the largest uninversities of the world.My title of an "Architect" in a country of a billion plus population does not mean anything in the US of A. Well, not that any other foreign national can rejoice considering no license from another country is considered equivalent in another foreign land, but my gripe is that you can't even use that professional title in identifying yourself. Identity that is the basis of our existential effort and our co-ordinates of relative location on this vast planet among 6 billion people. This identity is revoked, relegated and demoted to that of an "Architectural Intern". The raison d'etre of this requirement or law in the United States is that the use of the title should not mislead the people in seeking services from a "non architect", thereby jeopardizing HSW( Health Saftey Welfare). So, you may be an architect in Italy, Spain, Japan or anyplace ..in America you are an architectural Intern.
This is the most unimaginative, bureaucratically myopic, stupid, dumb public policy framed for professional licensure and use of professional titles. Can the license and its use not be regulated through documentation? Does every architect need to sign and approve documents for built construction? Does merely having a title of an Architect absolve the consumer(client) of all responsibility to pursue services of legally licensed architect in the jurisdiction he is practicing in ?
Well!..for the agony of all interns who have to use the "intern" title, it should be abolished and a new title of an "apprentice" or alike should be brought in to define the non licensed members of the architecture profession. For now I will relish my opportunity to leave the title of an "intern", which I share with White-house trainees who undergo sexual harassment and win book deals about their experience..I have had no such luck..fortunately.....
About 8 years back,as I took my Alitalia flight with a brief stop in Milan, I lost my title as I was crossing the US border at 32,000 ft at a speed of 800 km/hr. Then, I was still unaware of the fate that lied ahead of my professional title , earned from my Mumbai university education from one of the largest uninversities of the world.My title of an "Architect" in a country of a billion plus population does not mean anything in the US of A. Well, not that any other foreign national can rejoice considering no license from another country is considered equivalent in another foreign land, but my gripe is that you can't even use that professional title in identifying yourself. Identity that is the basis of our existential effort and our co-ordinates of relative location on this vast planet among 6 billion people. This identity is revoked, relegated and demoted to that of an "Architectural Intern". The raison d'etre of this requirement or law in the United States is that the use of the title should not mislead the people in seeking services from a "non architect", thereby jeopardizing HSW( Health Saftey Welfare). So, you may be an architect in Italy, Spain, Japan or anyplace ..in America you are an architectural Intern.
This is the most unimaginative, bureaucratically myopic, stupid, dumb public policy framed for professional licensure and use of professional titles. Can the license and its use not be regulated through documentation? Does every architect need to sign and approve documents for built construction? Does merely having a title of an Architect absolve the consumer(client) of all responsibility to pursue services of legally licensed architect in the jurisdiction he is practicing in ?
Well!..for the agony of all interns who have to use the "intern" title, it should be abolished and a new title of an "apprentice" or alike should be brought in to define the non licensed members of the architecture profession. For now I will relish my opportunity to leave the title of an "intern", which I share with White-house trainees who undergo sexual harassment and win book deals about their experience..I have had no such luck..fortunately.....
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