Architecture is an excellent career for those who are creative, have a passion for design, and are always keen on every detail, even the seemingly trivial ones. Like with every career, however, getting your architecture certifications and/or degree papers isn’t where the journey ends.
You have to keep investing in yourself to keep excelling in this field, which is where continuing education (CE) comes in. Not only does investing in the right CE program help you retain your licence, but it’s also what you need to keep soaring higher in your career. Here’s how to choose the right course.
1. Understand the Licence Renewal Requirements
Before investing in a CE course, you should first ensure that it meets your state’s licensing renewal requirements. The main reason for this is that every state has different procedures and prerequisites for architects who are looking to renew their licences. With CE being one of the main requirements, you want to ensure that the course you are taking covers the right content and meets the minimum CE hours.
It’s always recommended to take expertly written architects continuing education from a recognised provider like RocketCert. This way, you are sure the course you are taking has all the topics that the state requires and is structured in a way that makes it easy to understand.
2. Analyse Your Needs
After assessing the course you are about to take based on the first point, you’re usually ready to go, but then, you’d just be looking at the basics, and that’s not all you want to do. That’s why you should go further and assess your needs. Think about your professional goals and the areas you’d like to grow in. For instance, you might be interested in sustainable design, or you have a thing for historic preservation.
In some cases, you want to improve your technical skills, which means training yourself with the latest design software. Whatever the case, there will always be a unique goal or two you want to achieve with your CE program. So, think about such goals when choosing the course you want to take.
3. Check the Accreditation
With so many course providers promising to offer the best courses in your region, it’s usually obvious that not all will meet state requirements. In most cases, your state will direct you to take board-approved courses or take a course that’s recognised by certain architectural bodies. Even if this isn’t a requirement for renewing your licence, you should still take it upon yourself to find such courses.
The reason you should take accredited courses is that they are designed to meet higher standards of training. As a result, you are sure that you are investing your time and money into a course that will not only count towards your continuing education requirements but also give you new skills that will be instrumental to your success.
4. Pay Attention to the Course Variety
The majority of CE course providers only focus on offering education that’s necessary for licence renewal processes. However, this is just the bare minimum, and that’s not what you want to go with. While it’s crucial to ensure that the course you’re taking covers everything the licensing board needs for a successful licence renewal, you should also go beyond that.
So, look for courses that offer a broad selection of additional topics that you can take just to enhance your knowledge. With architecture being such a wide and dynamic field, you can’t run out of options that will tickle your fancy. Continuous learning will introduce you to new opportunities for success and even make you feel more confident about your capabilities.
Excel With RocketCert
Knowing which CE course is right for you is more than just a combination of the factors mentioned in this post. It’s also a matter of researching the best course providers in your region to ensure you aren’t missing out on what your peers are getting.
RocketCert, as one of the top education providers in the United States, is a great option if you’re just starting to evaluate the course providers in your region. So, visit rocketcert.com to see why you want to add it to the list of education providers that you want to spend your resources on.