How to Become an Architectural Journalist

The job market for architecture school graduates is highly competitive due to lofty industry standards and international competition. You need to expand your career possibilities after graduation by looking at your areas of strength. You can become an architectural journalist if you can write clearly and possess an encyclopedic knowledge of design.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Pursue a journalism degree at a university that offers an emphasis in architectural journalism. There are a few major universities in the United States with certification programs in architectural journalism that allow students to build up necessary skills and writing experience.

2. Choose elective courses at the university level that give you the basic knowledge necessary to write stories on architecture. Introductory courses in engineering, architecture and art can help you visualize building projects as you write articles in the future.

3. Enter the world of architectural journalism in your senior year of college as an intern. An editorial internship with your local newspaper can give you the grounding in daily news writing to help you land a job after graduation.

4. Experiment with essay writing and news writing on architectural blogs at the beginning of your career. It is important to keep an eye on grammar and the originality of your topic when writing a blog to use entries as writing samples.

5. Build up a long list of clippings by writing general interest stories for your student newspaper in college. Your editorials and news stories and your collegiate experience will give potential employers a view at your development as a journalist.

6. Contact experienced journalists directly to ask advice and build relationships after graduation. Informal contacts with architectural editors and writers help pave the way for meetings at conferences and freelance opportunities in the future.

7. Meet with journalism professors and recent alumni of your university who have worked in the field of architectural journalism. These individuals know the skills needed to become a writer in this niche market and have connections to potential positions for the right graduates.

8. Sharpen your skills as an architectural journalist while gaining exposure to your name through freelance opportunities. Industry magazines and newspapers use a pool of freelancers who compete to become well-known writers in the architectural field.

Tips & Warnings

• Find a fellow architectural journalist to work on academic papers that will build up your credibility in the industry. Academic journals on media and architecture look for submissions on historical trends and leading architects. Team-written articles can cut down on writing time while you work on freelancing projects.