Hello everyone!

This is a question that for once goes the other way round...
I'm Swiss, grew up and have been educated here in Switzerland and want to work abroad (it looks like it'll be England) for a year or so. The problem is, that this kind of education I've done seems not to exist in England...

I've done the following things:
4 years of apprenticeship (Berufslehre) as "Hochbauzeichnerin" (draughtsman specialised in building construction/ structural engineering)
3 years of in-service training (berufsbegleitende Weiterbildung) as "Hochbautechnikerin"
you can find a detailed german description of my job on the following link, but basically it's a mixture between draughtsman, architect and technician:
http://www.orientation.ch/dyn/1391.asp?fid=3337&id=&search=J&searchabc=true
In England it might be a mixture between architectural technician, construction manager, architectural technologist and building engineer.
The professional organisation in Switzerland tries to give this education an “international title” what is called Professional Bachelor, but that doesn’t really sais something in my opinion…

I hope, someone can help me with some information, cause I'm quite confused…

Looking forward for responds

Basilea

Mine either...




maybe you can find what you're looking for here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British..._abbreviations

well... no, when you look at "professional bachelor" in that way it really doesn't makes sence, especially since i'm female...

thanks for the link, but that exactly is the problem. this education does not exist as a "bologna-harmonised" title because it's an in-service training. means it's based on the combination between work expierience and school knowledge, what seems to not really exist in UK (or at least as far as i've found out till now)...
but well, we'll see... thanks anyway...

A bachelors degree doesn't relate to gender, but to the degree.

Quantity surveyor?

Would it be similar to a Chartered Engineer?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Engineer_(UK)

Hey there!
Thanks for your answers... A quantity surveyor seems to me to be someone who deals mainly with costs and less with building and planning...
bur a Chartered Engineer might be something. just that i have less expierience with my 24 years on earth... but yeah, it goes into this direction...
at least it is a start to describe what i do.
thanks!

Basilea,

Hey there.

In answer to your question, your job title would be Architctural Technician or Architectural Technologist. A comparative qualification is a degree in Architectural Technology.

Similarly to Switzerland you would be working alongside the architect producing working drawings and detailing.

There is a professional body you can join too. The Chartered institue of Architectural Technologists. http://www.ciat.org.uk/
There are various levels of membership depending on your qualifiactions.

Your qualifications are important but also experience within the industry are valued also.

Also if you may want to have a look at the Building Regulations. We have ours broken down into 9 section Part A, Part B, Part C etc and can be found for free here....
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/eng...314110382.html
They are generally the same for the entire country with the exception of some area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Conservation Areas (not that theres much left as the government use it for houses and more roads)

I am looking for work in Switzerland as a technician. Do you have any tips?

I would really like to get into the Swiss building code / regulations but have not been able to find them on the internet. Can you help?

Also would you recommend any employment agencies?

Location within Switzerland is not important but a German canton would be ideal.

I hope the above is of use.

If you need any additional info on architectural recruitment agencies etc in the UK let me know.



Regards

Andy.

Hey Andy

Thanks for your post. Yes, my profession is called Architectural Technician... The only problem I now have is the credit crunch. It's nearly impossilbe to find a job as Architectural Technician in London, especially when you don't have UK-experience... but well, working in a winebar is nice as well and I know that by the end of November, I can go back to my old Job in Basel. so everything alright i think.
About your questions:
A good homepage to look for Hochbautechniker-Jobs in Switzerland is the following one:
http://www.swiss-architects.com/inde...te=ch_index_de
There's a job-section on the page. Often, the Hochbautechniker-Jobs are hidden behind titels like Bauleiter or Projektleiter.
And then, the daily newspapers and their jobmarkets.

About the Building Regulations: These are called SIA-Normen, you can find them on the following page, but i think they're not to download for free:
http://www.sia.ch/d/praxis/normen/index.cfm. These because most of the architecture offices are members of the SIA and therefore have access to the regulations.
for the security on constructionsites, there are the SUVA-Normen.

I hope this is any help for you... And good luck for your jobhunting.

Basilea

Basilea,

Yep, credit crunch has hit the architecture industry pretty hard.

I have been checking out Swiss Archietcts .com for a while and the link to the SIA Normen was very useful. Thanks a lot.

In terms of recruitment agencies in the UK try the following.

http://www.siv.co.uk/
http://www.hays.com/architecture/
http://www.focusresourcing.co.uk/focus_arch/about.htm
http://www.hunterdunning.co.uk/

Happy hunting too.

Cheers

Andy.