[Sigia-l] Re:Career Questions

[Patrick Debois]

It may comfort you that you're not the only one asking this question.  
(see http://argus-acia.com/strange_connections/strange005.html year 
2000). Maybe the change is that there is now specific education 
available for specific parts of IA.

One of the key things to answer is "why would you become an IA 
architect". What parts do you like about IA. If it's just the title then 
look deeper. Information architect can not be the goal as such. It may 
be that you like making things work, with a deeper need to help people 
;-) I know this sounds like general career advice, but when you know why 
you want to become an IA architect then you're probably halfway. If you 
really like some parts in IA then focus on these parts and you will see 
that you probably can sum up some related experiences on this.(like your 
thesis) Use this as a lead to  continue, as these are the parts that 
probably interest you. Interests might change so be aware you're honest 
about these and don't take the old ones for granted.

In planning for a career or a new job, when you think people are 
interested in "degrees" ask yourself if these are the people you want to 
work for. One tip might be to split you CV in two parts (your vision of 
what you're trying to reach) and a second part for your skills. If you 
find someone that likes you because of your interest then you're better of.

Still, because the term "information architect" seems to recall 
different things for different people, focus on your own definition 
first and then look for other definitions. Try to organize things in a 
way that people with a different vision can see their own defintion in 
it, but make your definition clear too.
A witness about the difference in idea is the discussion 'what is an 
information architect' on this list or 
http://www2.atl.ualberta.ca/downes/threads/mm1.htm

Hope this helps and motivates you in your new career.