Moving to San Luis Obispo, how to find a drafting job (credit, employment)

[architecturalgirl]

Hi, I am moving to Slo next month with my husband. He has a job there already. Yet, I am looking for a drafting position and haven’t scene any posted anywhere. I am an architecture student at an accredited university and am a year away from completion. I am going to be transferring to Calpoly to finish. However, I need to work until I gain residency status. Is it possible to send my resume and portfolio to firms in the area or is it best to wait and see if any positions are posted? Furthermore, if the firms here do post for drafting positions, where is the best place to find them?

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by architecturalgirl

Hi, I am moving to Slo next month with my husband. He has a job there already. Yet, I am looking for a drafting position and haven’t scene any posted anywhere. I am an architecture student at an accredited university and am a year away from completion. I am going to be transferring to Calpoly to finish. However, I need to work until I gain residency status. Is it possible to send my resume and portfolio to firms in the area or is it best to wait and see if any positions are posted? Furthermore, if the firms here do post for drafting positions, where is the best place to find them?

You havent "scene" any posted anywhere? I hope your resume has better spelling because the competition could be rough. Good luck though.SLO is paradise!

[Shawn_Estrada]

Originally Posted by architecturalgirl

Hi, I am moving to Slo next month with my husband. He has a job there already. Yet, I am looking for a drafting position and haven’t scene any posted anywhere. I am an architecture student at an accredited university and am a year away from completion. I am going to be transferring to Calpoly to finish. However, I need to work until I gain residency status. Is it possible to send my resume and portfolio to firms in the area or is it best to wait and see if any positions are posted? Furthermore, if the firms here do post for drafting positions, where is the best place to find them?

Have you been accepted into poly yet? As a alum from CAED (College of Architecture) the employment picture is really bleak simply because the demand for jobs simply outstrips the supply in this area. Simply put, there are too many students in the area to compete for what little jobs there are. To complicate things, CAED requires an internship to graduate (if you haven't had one yet, good luck). What type of drafting can you do? Have you tired craigslist for odd jobs in drafting? Do you have CAD experience? Can you draft site plans from scratch to advertise your skills for smaller projects that require permits (hooking up with a local engineer or others)?

You can try sending out a resume to some of the larger arch firms out there, but in reality you really need to network down here to really get you going. Even my former employer is advertising a position, however without a degree or knock out portfolio the chances of you getting an interview are slim to none. In this town it is all about who you know. Try networking with SLOGreen Build or other organizations to see what connections you can make.

The best place to find local firms is this cool site call google and enter in architecture firms+san luis obispo. All the large players are there. duh

Good luck.