Tech School or University?


 
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traveler08



Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:37 am    Post subject: Tech School or University? Reply with quoteFind all posts by traveler08

Straight out of highschool I wasn't sure what I wanted to study so I started traveling hoping it would help me make up my mind. It has. I love drawing, I'm facsinated with Architecture, and as far as I can remember Maths and Sciences were my strongest subjects in highschool.
I've been wandering around for 3 years and am just now deciding to go back to school.
I want to go to school in Canada, preferably Quebec. I can't decide if I'm better off looking into a technical program or University. If anyone has any arguments regarding job opportunities, cost, and genreal experience for one or the other I love to hear them.
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teamjdc



Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 145

PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quoteFind all posts by teamjdc

Tech schools vary wildly in their effectiveness and value.

I am not a fan of tech schools. Their programs tend to be weak and they are very expensive. I once taught at one and would not recommend them to anyone.

If you want to keep expenses down, go to a good jr/community college first -- I assume Canada has them.

The most important factor is what you want to do for a career. If you go to tech school you can expect to be a draftsman for life.

If you want to be an architect, you should go to a university with a CACB/NAAB-accredited architecture degree.

As for the experience, tech school is a big zero. Architecture school can be, and usually is, something you'll never forget.
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traveler08



Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:13 pm    Post subject: I'm a bit interested in Mcgill actually Reply with quoteFind all posts by traveler08

Thanks for your imput. I know very little yet as I'm just starting to begin this process of choosing a learning path. I'm late for registration I'm afraid, plus I'm not in Canada yet and have no access to any of my work, which I need for a portfolio, so that's one of the reasons that I started to think about a Tech school instead.
On another note; I'm not actually 100% sure what the difference between and Architect and a Draftsman are. In some areas I've heard from friends that in the long run they were better off going to a Tech school and getting hands-on experience verses book-smarts in University when it came to job shopping.
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teamjdc



Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 145

PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quoteFind all posts by teamjdc

The difference is is vast.

Drafting is a dead end job. Will you be happy drafting someone else's designs for the rest of your life?

The choice to go to a university is deeper than any career. Which person do you want to be, the college grad or the VoTech guy?

If you were my son, I'd tell you to go to college and eventually, your VoTech friends wil be working for you.

Back to the architect/draftsman question. I have ot say that if you don't know the difference then you're really not prepared to choose a career.

Check this out: http://www.archcareers.org/

There are other sites as well. Do your homework. Visit some firms and ask if you can talk to an architect and see what they do.
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