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Employment in an architectural practice

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James Pittam

Hi my name is James from Ireland. I am considering moving to Medillin, Columbia and would love to get some info. I will be looking for a design job in an architectural practice or a lecturer research job in a university. It doesn't have to be Medillin, I would also consider other locations. What is the best way to about finding work or is it best to do so from there and contact practices directly? I am unsure as to the best way forward. Any help with the above would be hugely appreciated

OsageArcher

I can't be of much help, sorry, but I can tell you this:  Available jobs go first to Colombian citizens.  Without fluent Spanish I don't think a lecturer would be something you'd be considered for.  Even though English is taught in universities, few are fluent and conversant enough to understand technical spoken English at the level necessary for a university course.

I have a civil engineer brother-in-law who works with architects in Colombia to design and build large buildings - he is a Colombian.  One area of demand is earthquake-proofing, not just the engineering end but of course the architectural design end.  So if you have training and experience in that, there may be some interest by a potential employer. 

The best way to find a job in my opinion would be to be there on the ground to convince someone or some firm to hire you - it's far too easy to reject someone from thousands of miles away, based on their resume which may only marginally satisfy their requirements especially in the communications/language area which is very important.

To get at least some idea of commercial architectural firms you can do a search for
colombia empresa arquitectura diseño

For universities and faculty and courses in architecture search for
colombia universidad arquitectura

But do not be discouraged - as the saying goes, No hay peor lucha que la que no se hace - there is no worse struggle than the one never undertaken.

James Pittam

Thanks so much your detailed response, it's really appreciated. I agree that the best way is to be there amd approach companies directly. Thanks again

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