COVID-19 had a profound impact on candidates navigating the experience program. Between slowed or canceled projects, economic uncertainty, and the physical and mental toll of a global pandemic, many candidates faced reduced work hours, layoffs, and even rescinded job or internship offers.
Since 2020, NCARB has been closely monitoring the pandemic’s ongoing impact on candidates navigating the path to licensure. In September 2024, NCARB launched a survey designed to better understand how candidates were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 2,300 candidates and architects licensed within the past 3 years completed the survey and shared their experiences in architecture from February 2020 through the present day. Of those who were navigating the experience program at the time of the survey, nearly 39% are now AXP complete, and 31% are more than halfway done with the program.
More than a third (37%) of participants reported that the pandemic significantly slowed their experience progress, often due to reduced project team sizes, cut projects, or layoffs. While NCARB has begun to see the direct impact of the pandemic fade, some candidates who were significantly impacted may feel the pandemic’s effects for years—or even decades—to come.
People of color are most likely to say their experience progress was significantly slowed by the pandemic.
When asked how they would describe the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on their ability to earn and report AXP experience, 37% said it had significantly impacted their experience progress. People of color were 8 percentage points more likely than white respondents to say they had been significantly impacted, while men and women were relatively equal.
In addition, approximately 20% of respondents reported that their AXP progress was not impacted by the pandemic, and another 2% reported that the pandemic helped speed up their AXP progress.
2 in 5 respondents indicated their workload exposed them to fewer practice areas.
Gaining experience in a variety of practice areas is essential to completing the AXP. When asked to indicate which types of project-related situations impacted their AXP progress as a result of the pandemic, 40% of respondents stated that their workload changed, exposing them to fewer project or practice areas. People of color were 3 percentage points more likely to select this option than white respondents, while men and women were equally as likely.
In addition, people of color were 8 percentage points more likely to report that their firm reduced the number of employees working on each project, and 5 percentage points more likely to report that their firm didn’t have new projects to work on than white respondents.
Nearly 40% of respondents reported their supervisor relationship was impacted by the pandemic.
When asked if their relationship with their AXP supervisor changed as a result of the pandemic, 38% of respondents indicated it had changed in some way. More than 19% reported that their supervisor became less available and less engaged, and 12% said their supervisor struggled to monitor their progress remotely.
As with other areas of the survey, people of color were more likely than white respondents to indicate that their relationship with their supervisor was negatively impacted by the pandemic. People of color were especially more likely to report that their supervisor took longer to approve their experience reports: 15% of respondents of color and 9% of white respondents selected this option.
Nearly two thirds of respondents indicated their work was impacted by their mental health.
As part of this study, NCARB asked respondents if their ability to work during the pandemic—including their presence and work performance—was impacted by several factors. Nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents said their ability to work was impacted by their mental health, and 38% reported that their ability to work was impacted by their physical health.
Additionally, nearly half of respondents were impacted by childcare (44%) and other dependent care (48%) responsibilities. While NCARB saw some disparities by race and ethnicity, men and women were nearly equally likely to indicate that their work performance was impacted by childcare responsibilities.
Most respondents believe the pandemic permanently altered their career trajectory.
In addition, NCARB asked respondents to indicate ways in which they believe the pandemic affected their overall licensure and career progress. Just over half (54%) of respondents indicated they chose to put their licensure plans on hold as a result of the pandemic, which corresponds with reduced licensure progress seen across NCARB’s programs from 2020-2022.
Additionally, 60% of respondents believe that the pandemic has permanently altered their career trajectory, whether by delaying promotions, reducing licensure support, or impacting their employment. More than two thirds of respondents believe that they would have completed the experience program sooner if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the next several years, NCARB will continue to monitor candidates’ progress on the path to licensure to better understand the long-term impacts of the pandemic. Like the 2008 recession, the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects may linger in reduced job opportunities, firm resources, and construction projects for years to come.
