The Post-Passing Blues
Jordan Rhodes
Licensed 2019

Setting: Me sitting in the testing center looking at computer screen
Thank You…blah blah blah…Would you like to view the provisional feedback on your performance today? I literally submitted my answers with 40 seconds left. I really shouldn’t have moved up this exam. I wonder how close I am this time. I’m SO ready for a nap. What am I doing still sitting here?

I click Yes, View Feedback.

Provisional Feedback. This feedback…blah blah blah…Based on the preliminary assessment, you will likely pass this division. This concludes your test administration. Please collect your… WHAT! Based on the preliminary assessment, you will likely PASS this division. How in the world? I don’t remember checking out of the testing center or taking the elevator down to the lobby. My next memory is of me sitting in my car thinking I’m really done…What’s next?

My Testing Journey
I work at a great, but small, firm which has exposed me to a range of tasks and responsibilities and allowed me to complete my AXP hours in no time. While priceless in terms of experience there has been little to no incentive to get licensed. Experience is viewed as equivalent to licensure. The only office purchased study material was a Ballast book and at the time was being shared by three or four of us.

Clueless as to where to even start, I attended my local AIA chapter’s “Getting Licensed” presentation. I will just say they mentioned only one study material brand and it led to the single greatest waste of time and money during my entire process, I joined that brand’s small group coaching program. I got spiritually burnt out with the pace of the schedule, the guilt at falling behind, and, of course, failing exams repeatedly. I would forget the content that was a part of the earlier learning objectives by the time I reached the end of the materials for each division, and having a single source for practice questions, led to a false sense of security. The “easy” ProPrac divisions were kicking my behind. PjM FAIL. PA PASS (yay interior Design degree). PPD FAIL. CE FAIL. PjM FAIL Again.

Following the conclusion of my lackluster coaching experience, I went on a hunt for more effective study resources. By joining ARE Facebook groups, I was exposed to several new resources that worked better for the way I needed to study, which was two to three weeks of intensity, a test, followed by a break week. I listened to audio components all day long, did quizzes at lunch, and did a practice exam or read source materials in the evening. My thoughts shifted from thinking I was being tested on what would be the most “architect like” answer to thinking that I was being tested on the (surprise!) study materials.

After a year of failing (outside of PA) I passed PcM on my first attempt, January 1, 2019 and PjM on May 11, 2019 (my third and final try for that division).

Then CE, June 1, 2019, PASS. PPD, August 24, 2019, PASS. PDD August 31, 2019 PASS.

That final pass was the culmination of 14 years of college and $6204.14 worth of exam seats and study materials. I should be ecstatic right? Well…My body had other plans. I’ve spent a month plus feeling sick and rundown. It was like I had been holding in every sniffle and sneeze for the past two years and the floodgates opened with that last pass. The reaction at work was underwhelming to say the least. I looked around and saw family, friends, and co-workers traveling or getting married or starting families and I wondered if it was really worth putting my life on hold.

What is Next?
Roughly a month after my last pass, I went to my first local NOMA meeting and I finally got the acknowledgement and shared excitement I had been seeking for so long. It also planted the seeds of what could be next for me. I know I want to be a resource for my classmates, my co-workers and any other ARE candidates within earshot; keeping them from making the same mistakes I did. For example, start with what you know based on your education and work experience AS IT ALIGNS WITH TESTING MATERIALS. Have a background in space planning and sustainability, like me? Start with PA! Like math and physics or been doing details forever? PPD and PDD. Work at a firm that actually uses AIA contract documents? PCM, PJM, CE.

I am not sure if this will take the form of a leadership role within BMore NOMA or seeking a role within NCARB itself. I have concerns about how NCARB certifies study materials and questions. For example, why are there not three variations with the same level of difficulty instead of the three levels of difficulty you are assigned at random.

Turns out getting licensed got less anti-climactic once I accepted that it is nowhere near an end or even a pinnacle. I’m just getting started.

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