Current age: 56
Higher education: Yes
Major? Engineering Technology, Construction Mgt '93
Age when first prepared specs: 22
Have a mentor: yes and no
Mentor Relationship: Manager of the NEX Maintenance Department, purchased Hans Meir’s Specifications Handbook to guide me in writing specifications, and converting NAVFAC Guide specs into 3Part format for Navy Exchange renovation jobs. Otherwise, it was SOP (seat of the pants).
Age at first formal education: 21
Education provider: Community College 73-74, 80-82; Old Dominion University 86-93
Age at CCS: 31
Age as full-time specifier: 30
Current age:45
Higher education: Yes or No
Major?BAchelor Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science of Architecture, & Master of Architecture
Age when first prepared specs:38
Have a mentor: No
Mentor Relationship: NA
Age at first formal education: 34
Education provider: Masters of Architecture program, University of Utah (wasn’t particularly helpful)
Age at CCS:46
Age as full-time specifier:38
I would like one more piece of information if it is available.
Of those of you that consider yourselves as being full time specifiers and are CSI members how are you catagorizing your membership when you renew.
I know there are many specifiers who are also licensed and degreed architects. The membership form only allows for one occupation designation and I have a feeling that our numbers are somewhat skewed and that there may be many more specifiers than are indicated on the data base because the member indicated they are a "100 Architect’ and not a “109 Specifier or Specification Consultant”.
When the Board is looking for direction from the membership demographics this is the tool that is being used and the Specifiers on the database might not be getting the full attention that would otherwise be given if the numbers were to show a larger proportion of the membership.
Then again we might just be only 7% of the membership in which case that too is useful information.
Current age: 52
Higher education: Yes
Major? BS Sociology, BS Anthropology, Barch (5 year pro degree),masters work in Geology - no degree
Age when first prepared specs: 42
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: Friend who was going to an office to write specs as I was establishing my own practice for architecture and spec writing. and CSI member
Age at first formal education: 6. Oh! you mean specs, age 28 or so. I had a pro practice class in school and read Hans Meier’s books
Education provider: University of Idaho and then later - CSI CDT/CCS class
Age at CCS: 41
Age as full-time specifier: 42
Current Age: 64
Higher Education: Yes
Major: BA Sociology (Started as an English major - 18 months)
Age when first prepared specs: 24 (Doors/Hardware)
Mentor: Yes - An in-house specification (technical) writer & a Senior Architect/Project Manager
Age at first formal education in specs: No formal education - learned on the job
Age at CCS: 59
Age as full-time specifier: 50
Current age: 55
Higher education: Yes
Major? BArch, but somehow took degree in Philosophy
Age when first prepared specs: 45
Have a mentor: Yes, previous specwriter at this firm and the firm we were at before
Mentor Relationship: Obi-Wan-Kenobi, travel guide, wine coach
Age at first formal education: 44
Education provider: seminars at local AIA by CSI
Age at CCS: when time permits
Age as full-time specifier: 45
Current age: 60
Higher education: Yes (BA, BArch, MBA)
Major? Architecture/Fine Arts and Management
Age when first prepared specs: 31
Have a mentor: Yes (although no specific mentor)
Mentor Relationship: Colleagues at CSI Chapter
Age at first formal education: 35 (actually don’t remember if I every had a course; I am talking about the one I helped to teach)
Education provider: CSI Chapter
Age at CCS: 35
Age as full-time specifier: 31
I did forget to mention the spec school I attended in Phoenix given by the Phoenix CSI Chapter, just before I took and passed the CDT in 2001 (Age 56)
Current age: 45
Higher education: Yes
Major? Construction Technology (B.S.) and Architecture (M.Arch.)
Age when first prepared specs: 25
Have a mentor: No
Age at first formal education: 20
Education provider: Purdue, as part of a Construction Documents class
Age at CCS: 37
Age as full-time specifier: Not full-time, but have written all specs for the firm for ~12 years
Robert:
What year did the CCS program start?
All I remember is that I took the exam in it’s first year. I had to take the exam because I missed the 5-year grandfathering requirement by 6-months.
Current age: 48 (but feel - and sometimes act - much younger)
Higher education: Yes
Major? Construction Engineering, then switched to Architecture.
Age when first prepared specs: 25
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: Spec writer at competing firm (and fellow member of local CSI Chapter)
Age at first formal education: 31
Education provider: CDT/CCS Study Class (self-taught prior to that).
Age at CCS: 31
Age as full-time specifier: 30
Ron
I cannot remember exactly. I was either working as a govenment owner’s representative or as a general contractor at the time and did not need it for the responsibilities that I had. I took it in 1982 (or very close to there) when I became a spec consultant and I know it had been in existence for a few years at that time. I believe it was in the late 1970’s but don’t know the exact year.
Someone else on the forum might have worked on the program or taken it as it came out and can give us the year. Hans Meir was chair of the committee that produced the first CCS program. Weldon Nash was one of the members.
A little history for those not active in CSI at that time. CCS was the first certification program. At the beginning there was a “grandfather” clause that allowed experienced specifiers to obtain their CCS without taking the exam. The CDT certificate program came later in the 80’s - again can’t remember the exact year. It was made a prequiste for CCS at that time. CCCA became a working certification program in the mid-90’s with a CDT prequiste requirement. For quite a few years, almost three times as many people are receiving their CCCA each year as compared to CCS.
Current age: 48
Higher education: Yes
Major? BS (Biology), Master of Architecture
Age when first prepared specs: ~42
Have a mentor: Yes, a very good one.
Mentor Relationship: Full-time specification writer in the same office. This individual has an architecture degree and forty+ years experience, almost half of those as a specification writer.
Age at first formal specification education: 39 (joined CSI and passed the CDT exam)
Education provider: CSI
Age at CCS: 48 (last April)
Age as full-time specifier: 44-1/2
I received my M. Arch and started practicing in 1991. I benefitted greatly from my first boss’ “benign negelect” (his term). Because I got to “do it all” from the outset, I learned a lot and learned it fast - like first learning to swim in the ocean instead of a back yard pool. After about a decade of “normal” architecture I was internally motivated to concentrate on specification writing. Having that particular skill set has been a boon to me in the current economic situation. My mentor is simply the best in terms of knowledge and attitude. It’s like taking driving lessons from Mario Andretti.
Current age: 66
Higher education: 6 years
Major? BA in Humanities (art, English/other languages, music) + 2 years toward M.Arch.
Age when first prepared specs: 34
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: Apprenticed to firm’s other fulltime specifier.
Age at first formal education: No formal spec education.
Education provider: –
Age at CCS: 44 (?)
Age as full-time specifier: 34 years.
Robert,
I attained my CCS in the 2nd quarter of 1990 and do not remember the CDT being a prerequisite at that time. Perhaps it existed but was also grandfathered in for existing specifiers?
Average so far = 46.16 years
Current age: 57
Higher education: BS Arch
Age when first prepared specs: 25
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: senior architect in firm
Age at first formal education: 25
Education provider: on the job and CSI
Age at CCS: 29
Age as full-time specifier: 32
We had the “when did it start?” discussion at the Certification Committee meeting last weekend. Here are the “authorized by the board” dates:
CCS - 1977
CDT - 1985
CCCA - 1991
CCPR - 1989
However, the concensus guess on when they were first offered was:
CCS - 1978
CDT - 1988 or 89
CCCA - 1995 or 96
CCPR - 2000
Interesting to note that although CCPR was authorized first, we are fairly certain that CCCA was first offered before CCPR was. Dates in the “authorized” list were verified, but dates in the “first offered” list are best guesses.
We’d welcome all confirmed corrections to the “first offered” list.
Results from first 26 responders:
Age:
High: 73
Low: 41
Average: 55
Median: 55
Age at writing first specs:
High: 49
Low: 22
Average: 32
Median: 31
Age at first formal spec education:
High: 56
Low: 21
Average: 36
Median: 34
Age at achieving CCS:
High: 55
Low: 29
Average: 41
Median: 42
Age at becomming full-time specifier:
High: 60
Low: 20
Average: 38
Median: 40
So based on this limited survey, today’s “average specifier” would be 55 years old with an architectural education (80%), wrote their first specs at about 30 years old, had a mentor in their office (79%), got their first formal specification education from CSI (76%) in their mid 30’s, achieved CCS certification at about 40, and became a full-time specifier at about 40. We can update this data if we get a significant more number of responders.
There are a few that started in their early 20’s, but not many. This would seem to indicate that lack of young specifiers in today’s world is not a new story and that most people do not become specifiers until they have been around the “professional block” a few times and discovered where their talents lie and what part of the professional they are most interested in.
Current age: 50
Higher education: BS
Major? Construction
Age when first prepared specs: 21
Have a mentor: No
Mentor Relationship: NA
Age at first formal education: 35
Education provider: CSI
Age at CCS: 42? Can’t remember
Age as full-time specifier: 43
Lapsed back into part-time architect, part-time specifier.
I was tracked into specifying by an employer who saw it as less “important” than design work and since I didn’t have an architecture degree, I couldn’t be allowed to do design in his firm.
I found that I enjoyed it and had an aptitude for it, but no opportunities to learn more until I moved to civilization and joined CSI. That happened late.