Ethical question on project credit

[Married To The Job]

I was recently reading a bio on a local designer who flies rather low on the state's radar. Said designer's m.o. is to act coy when others claim this person is an "Architect" -- neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the claim. As you know, the general public rarely makes a distinction between someone licensed by the state and people who are not. (To set the record straight, this designer is not an architect.)

But in this case, the issue of licensure is not what I'm asking about.

What I noticed in the online bio is a list of "Recent Projects" which includes an amazing breadth of work. I won't list the projects, but they include at least a couple of nationally-known (and published) works. There is no description of the type of work done for these projects. There is no doubt that this person DID NOT design the works listed. But we all know it is possible to work as an intern in a large firm and be a part of a large team handling a substantial project.

What is the ethical way to credit one's experience in a project on a resume?

Unfortunately, the bio I'm referring to is (deliberately, I feel) light on details, heavy on the grandiosity, which is par for the course for the person I'm thinking of.

[mx2]

Ethically proper curriculum vitaes should neither under-sell nor exaggerate. Honesty is the best policy because afterall, it is a two-way street...the relationship between client and architect bodes well if the two are on the same page. However it is not unusual for firms to compete heavily for jobs and they....exaggerate. But in this case, you have yet to provide any information that lends to anything particularly illegal although you hint at the ethical question.

What I mean is, firstly, a DESIGNER can design a building (the layout, the look) and then have another firm prepare the working drawings. MOST large firms do just that...I've worked on HOK, SOM and Pelli projects...they were essentially the design consultants and they make a helluva lot more money than the guys in the trenches...mainly people like me who have to battle the inspectors and put togther bid sets and piece together a project manual....

But secondly, there is a difference between being called an Architect and soliciting work as an Architect. I refer to myself as an architect but I am not licensed. The minute I am asked about workm I explain I am not a licensed architect and cannot provide any services and steer the potential client towards any number of firms I either work for or have worked for (I get a piece of the action if it pans out).

But lastly, one pet-peeve of mine is to be everything on a project from draftsman to project manager and even designer but NOT the architect-of-record and I get absolutely NO credit. It's not in the paper, I don;t get the awards, I can't even complain...because I'm not the architect. If I want credit, I need to get licensed and make my own way...however, on a few occasions, depening on the architect, I do get honorable mention. I like being a footnote more so than a forgotten peon that was actually the catalyst and fireman on so much work while the architect jetsetted around the nation on other business...

Soooo...on a resume, it's quite simple. " I was a draftsman,/project manager/ associate /whatever at such and such a firm and I was responsible for detailing, design, coordination, shop drawing review, client liason, specs, yada, yada, yada...". Tell them what you can and can't do...but tell them you did work on every project you did work on.

mx2.5

[Married To The Job]

I actually tried earlier to post a reply to my original description in order to give examples, but the forum locked me out for spam. (???)

As I mentioned, the issue of architect or not isn't the point here (I already have evidence of this person being listed as an architect on a state project proposal, so I'm already of a particular opinion as to the lack of ethics of this person), so I'll try again for examples. These are made up, but of the same 'scale' as those on the actual bio.

Recent projects: Levittown; Pennsylvania State University Architecture Building; Google Asia Headquarters; Getty Museum, etc.

And yes -- laugh as you like. Anyone who had a clue about architectural design would know that the actual buildings in the real bio were done by top-tier world renknowned architects. This is someone practicing (using this word loosely) solo.

[csintexas]

How in the hell should we know based on a bit of hearsay evidence?

If he says he worked on those projects than I would assume he had some minor supporting role unless he states specific responsibilities.

If you feel this person is doing something illegal or not ethical report it and be done with it.

[Married To The Job]

Report to whom?

Licensure is a state issue. Ethics (at least in architecture, USA) is mostly coded by the AIA. As a non-architect, this person doesn't answer to either. Although it is rather vague, the AIA supports credit to all team members; however, it does not support overstatement.

So again, report to whom? To address this on the level of that on which the statements were made -- and others like them -- would mean taking USA Today and a national magazine to task for their fact-checking.

In addition, it appears as if the degree which is being claimed may also have been 'massaged'. As in the difference between a M. Arch. (professional degree) and a M. S. in Arch. (1 year non-professional degree at the university listed).

To whom is that reported?

[Madimel]

You still can report the person to the Board of Technical Registration in his State. In California, misrepresentation is a misdemeanor and he could be fined and/or jailed. The Board will look at the matters themselves and dispense the fine as fitting. His name will be published and be set on record. Misrepresentation is fraud, plain and simple.

[Married To The Job]

Yes -- I do live in a state that makes an effort to prosecute. Right now the fines are running in the $2000 to $4000 range (plus court costs) for cases of misrepresentation. For cases where the person has contracted under the misrepresentation, fines may be as high as $25,000 or so. That's for licensure issues. There is a fairly long time lag, however, due to backlog.

[Madimel]

So how is it that you know this person so well? It's one thing to have misrepresented their work intentionally. It's another if you've made an assumption of this person's credentials.

[Married To The Job]

We've lived in the same community for several years. Our children attend school together. Because we operate in the same (general) field, we find ourselves thrown together at community events, etc. Because we have had some of the same clients (at different times). The list goes on and on.

[teamjdc]

Spill it already!

What's the name?

If you don't have the guts to report the guy, I will. I've reported, among others, Vern Yip from "Trading Spaces". He's one of 5 or so that I have reported.

If you're not sure about the misrepresentaton, I'm sure someone here can figure it out.

If there really is some funny business going on, to sit by idly makes you just as guilty.

[csintexas]

[teamjdc]

[Married To The Job]

No troll. I (and one other person) reported them to the state almost 10 months ago. There's no sign of them even making it on the roster for the review with the board yet.

But as I said in the beginning of my post, those are licensure issues.

I was really wanting to know how people handle project credit, but I can see the original question has gotten completely garbled.

[csintexas]

I guess we are all having trouble understanding the point to this.

I don't know of any specific laws which require a person to give a complete description of their past experience. My experience is that websites are often poorly done.

[Married To The Job]

Yeah, I can see that.

Maybe this will clarify -- you would look at someone's resume differently if you were acting as a potential employer or if you were acting as a client. If someone came to you looking for a job, and you saw "Getty Museum" under their list of projects, you would have enough background in design to ask more specific questions -- What part of the project? Management? Technical? For how long? -- ones that would help you ascertain the actual character of their experience.

If you were a designer, and a client came to you, it would be feasible that you would mention your work on a project they'd heard of, then give the specifics which couple your experiences from that project to ones that would be useful on their project. That would be expected and appropriate, as long as you didn't claim design credit when all you did was monitor the plotter so that it didn't run out of paper.

I suppose it truly is caveat emptor for the client. People who are led astray by what others says about someone's work, and the vagueness of the information are really on their own, I guess. I'm not sure how else to describe it, except to suggest a parallel between the the situation I see and the movie "Six Degrees of Separation".

As you say, there's really aren't any laws that punish people for others' assumptions.