CCA NCARB Licensure Panel Discussion: A Reflection

Alex Waterson at CCA's NCARB Path To Licensure Panel Discussion, April 2026

By Alexandra Waterson, AIA

On April 17, 2026, at a California College of the Arts NCARB licensing event, I had the pleasure to stand next to two very great AEC professionals. Together, Ryan Raskop, Lily Ciammaichella, and I described our unique journeys through the architecture licensing process to a group of architecture students. What struck me most, listening to our three very different stories, was how a license, in the end, says less about individual mastery than it does about a willingness to keep showing up for a profession that no one person can ever fully know.

My goal in sharing was to give a candid look at the successes and challenges a dynamic career in architecture had offered me. Between that and the hour or two a week I'd spent that past year advising CCA architecture and interior design students, I hoped students and soon-to-be graduates could see what may lie ahead, what to avoid, and what to consider when deciding if licensing and a traditional career in architecture was the right route for them.

When I was asked to join the talk, I almost turned it down. At the time I still hadn't passed the California Supplemental Exam, and my route to getting there was anything but linear. I'd been licensed in Washington for a number of years, so early on I simply didn't need the CSE — and I was recovering from burnout, with no appetite to take on an exam I didn't yet require. Later, I kept putting it off; then I was pregnant and tired, and well really I was procrastinating. When I finally did sit for it in 2024, I failed. At the time, I blamed the balance of parenting a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old, and being the primary caregiver through COVID. But if I'm honest with myself, the real reason was that I didn't fully apply myself — I studied lightly, was out of practice of the practice of studying. I was also considering a move into affordable housing development and non-profit work at the time, so I hadn't fully convinced myself that licensure was the right direction. It had been many years since I passed the National ARE, and many years since I'd needed to study for anything.

Learning about the paths of the other two licensed professionals at the talk was incredibly humbling. Both were clearly overachiever types. Ryan got licensed very quickly out of school, though ironically doesn't hold a traditional architect position at his engineering firm. Lily managed to study and pass soon after her second architecture degree and having a newborn. Now, neither of them uses their license in a traditional sense at their current jobs — I'm the only one of the three who is actually a "regular" architect.

Finally, having a profession that requires a license is an interesting topic on its own. A license is evidence to the general public that you are an expert. But in a field like architecture, where there is an endless amount of information to learn, I'd argue that no one can be a true expert in architecture. Architecture is everywhere — there are so many types of it, and so many ways licensed professionals can contribute to the profession across such a range of required skills. Architecture is a team sport; one person cannot fully design a building without the help of other experts. But that's exactly why I love it. As an artist in my past life, I was the sole author of my work. While I was influenced by my peers, teachers, and other artists I admired, I found that I did not enjoy the loneliness of being the only author of my work. And it was without the drive of usefulness, meaning, or service that I now get to provide as an architect to my clients and community.

A big thank you to the CCA Architecture Division and Siow Fang Tan for organizing the event. Thanks also to Ryan and Lily, for the humbling inspiration of their own stories. And finally, thanks to the architecture professors and staff — who, though rarely licensed themselves, show the way into this career with such creativity and brilliance, keeping design, communication, and skill at the forefront of architecture education.