December 10, 2014 at 12:27 p.m.
Job market strong for Nicolet College architecture technology grads
Job market strong for Nicolet College architecture technology grads
The last graduating class posted a 100 percent job placement rate and many students had landed good-paying jobs even before they finished the program, according to Jeff Labs, Nicolet architecture technology instructor.
"There's no question, the job market for people with architecture technology skills is extremely strong," Labs said. "This is true for the Northwoods and across the state. I get calls almost every week from employers looking for people with these skills."
Kelly Heidenreich graduated from the program last year and is one of the students who started working in the field before she even finished her two-year associate degree.
"I'd have to say things worked out very well," said Heidenreich. "I really liked the program and learned the skills I needed."
What's interesting about Heidenreich's situation is that she lives in the small and rural Forest County town of Argonne, pop. 162, and she landed a job as an architectural designer with Argonne Lumber just down the road from where she lives.
"I was shocked, honestly," she said of that lucky turn of events.
As for the job market, the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 rocked the construction industry and its subsequent need for architectural designers but today the demand is back and going strong.
"There was one point last summer when I had 20 different house plans going at once," Heidenreich explained. "That's a lot of projects and it was starting to get a little crazy."
While the improving economy has been a big factor in the employment picture, Labs explained that changes in the architectural technology field and a new curriculum that is taught in the classroom have also been factors.
For many, images of blueprints, 3D computer models, and mathematical formulas to calculate any number of functions probably come to mind when they think of the field.
While students still study all of these things, that's only part of story.
"The field has really evolved into a science all of its own," Labs said. "Homes and other structures are actually quite dynamic. There're a lot going on. Different processes, different dynamics and that's why we take an integrated approach and incorporate building science into every class. This goes well beyond aesthetics and simply designing a structure that looks nice."
Earlier in her life Heidenriech had built two homes of her own and remodeled a third.
"Back then I knew what things had to be done to build a home but I didn't know why things had to be done a certain way," she said. "Now I do know why. It's very interesting."
For more information about Nicolet's architecture technology program, visit nicoletcollege.edu or call the college's Welcome Center at (715) 365-4493 or 1-800-544-3039, ext. 4493.
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