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ARE 5.0 PcM Pass - Study Resources and Tips

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Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own. I almost can't believe it, but the screen at Prometric confirmed it, so I'm not going to dispute it... I passed my Practice Management (PcM) on the first try. I have been studying on and off for this exam since May last year, but I only started studying intensely for this exam since around November. I worked full time, and organized for lunch time study sessions, where I would often be the only one to show up. I mostly studied after work, since I am not a morning person, and haven't given up my night owl lifestyle since architecture studio. Just this week (wish I had found it earlier), I found this very informative NCARB forum post that helped give me a structure in terms of what content I should focus on, and making sure I truly understand the study materials. My ma
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ARE 5.0 - My Number One Rule for Buying Study Materials

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When you first decide to take the ARE, you will normally go into full research mode. You treat it like a site you are doing analysis on, combing the net for study materials, handy guides, YouTube tutorials and practice questions, exam focused blog posts (guilty!), everything you can get your hands on. You assemble a treasure trove of PDF documents and a wish list full of textbooks and online courses, and you start reading. Fast forward a few hours, and you are completely overwhelmed. The ARE is full of SO MUCH CONTENT and the sheer amount of information that you need to not just absorb, but be able to use for problem solving, can be extremely intimidating. What can be even scarier, if you've been working for a while in the field, is the practice of unlearning what you thought you knew, and memorizing the way that NCARB wants you practice. This can make you second guess your own memory and possibly your own professional judgement. I got to this same point after ordering my Ba
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Major Hangups On Starting My Own Firm

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It is my eventual goal to own my own architecture firm. I'll have, in theory, freedom, control, complete personal accountability and the profits of my own work. However, though I've worked in multiple countries, on construction sites, on large and small scale projects, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm not ready, and that I still have more preparation to do. And that makes me wonder when or if my preparation will ever be enough. These are some of the major factors I think are holding me back: Technical Knowledge - this is a ridiculous reason, because so many methods of buildings can be learned and developed easily through new methods of technology. Some construction methods that I know I want to attempt, such as adobe or compressed earth construction, would never be used in any of the practices that I have worked with in the past. Geographic Unfamiliarity - I have moved around a lot both personally and professionally and it has made it difficult for me t
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