In the US, all architects are state licensed just like lawyers, doctors, and engineers. No amount of training, degrees, or experience can give a person the right to use these professional titles. If you were never licensed or your license has been suspended/expired, you can no longer use the title "architect" or any form of it (like "architectural designer", "architectural technologist", etc.) to describe yourself or the services you offer to the public. Violations of these laws are punished differently in different states. Some states treat it as fraud and others treat it like a traffic ticket. In all states anyone who has falsely used such professional titles or descriptions usually cannot use the courts to enforce a contract for the services so it's a pretty foolish thing to do. The practice of architecture is a profession; there can be former architects, dead architects, architecture students, architectural interns, etc. but no unlicensed architects. As for fees, if someone works for $40/hour for a 40 hour week out of their home, in a good year they might make $60,000 or $70,000 a year but in this slow economy they would probably make $50,000 or less. That's not much for someone who spent 6 to 8 years getting a graduate degree and passed a registration exam after a 3 year internship. On top of that, if a house design fee was $3,500 to $7,000, that architect might need to design 10 to 20 houses a year and possibly deal with 6 to 10 projects at any one time with no assistance or backup. An architect might be able to competently manage that many projects in an office but he/she would have job captains, drafters and an office support staff. I took the registration exam 41 years ago after studying art and architecture for 8 years, working for an architectural firm for $4 to $5/hr. for 3 years and passing a 32 hour exam over 4 days. It has proved to be a profession that combines a high level of personal liability and a low level of compensation with long hours and impossible deadlines requiring many all-night efforts with people at the very top of their profession binding specifications like madmen in time for a FEDEX pickup. I was told in my early years to only be an architect if I couldn't do anything else and I have passed that excellent advice on to many others who ignored it as I did. An architect's % of construction cost fee for a school, a hotel, or an office building is usually two to three times the fee for a single-family house - a 10 to 15% fee for a $5 million project vs a 5% fee for a home. The reason it's so difficult to find a good architect for your one of a kind custom home is that it is usually only those who can't design large buildings who design small ones. Why would an architect be willing to work out of their home for $40/hour if they could get paid twice that amount with a firm for the same effort surrounded by professional level associates willing to help when things get tough? It's not that much more fun to design houses even for those who like to do it. So, to judge the appropriateness of a house design fee you must first avoid looking at it as a commodity - like something you might buy at a store - you must assess how much sophistication and support you want and find someone who can deliver it for a reasonable price. It's not like a great pair of shoes you can buy at a great discount at the right store - someone needs to have the necessary talent, experience, training, and ability and also needs to be able to make a living doing it. I suspect the biggest pitfall with single family home design is that so many homeowners think it's easy, perhaps because they see it done on TV everyday, but I don't really know. I do know that for me, in half a lifetime, I've gotten much better at it but it's still too difficult and dangerous to do as a sole practitioner for $40 /hour no matter how much work is available. Of course, if you are not licensed, you can always say you didn't know what you were doing.

Can you check with your school about what the local laws and practices are? Do you need a business license? Do you need a license to call yourself a designer in your state/locality? Some do. Does the school have any policies about students doing work for pay? Do they have guidelines? In general, anyone can call herself a "consultant" and consult on just about anything and charge any amount for it, so long as it isn't a specifically regulated field (e.g., medicine) and you declare the income and follow other laws. As a design student, however, you're trying to build a specific reputation in the place where you live, so you need to be really careful about protecting that. Rhome gave you some very good advice. Tell your client up front that you're a student but that you've done a lot of work and learning the particulars of kitchens outside of your coursework, and sign a paper with them that says that if you design for them that you'll be able to come take pictures during and after their reno for use in your portfolio.

I think that friendly, generous people get taken advantage of in this way. I tried bartering with a neighbor of mine: sewed different projects for her, but when it was time for her to reciprocate, the timing was never convenient. After six months, I gave up, and was "busy." It was different when someone was in genuine need. Another neighbor approached me to repair the blue jeans she wore to work. I did, but it took a half hour. For what I charge, she could have purchased another three pair at Salvation Army (knowing now how long it takes, that is what I'd suggest, now). I told her, "no charge." You know how people say karma is a boomerang? Seven days later, DH is stranded elsewhere in town, and I have no vehicle, and a couple simple items from our garage will put him on the road again. Neighbor with blue jeans brought them over to him, and I'm certain she had other things she'd rather have been doing on a Saturday morning. There's a difference, too, in things that are genuinely necessary, example: shoveling the walkway of an elderly lady who physically can't do it herself, as opposed to sewing her a custom-made dress for $10.

This is an excerpt from something I received in today's mail: It's Thanksgiving afternoon. You've had turkey, stuffing potatoes, cranberries - all the fixings. You've had pie (both apple and pumpkin). And right about now you're thankful you're wearing pants with an elastic waist. It's time to watch another game or perhaps figure out which sales to hit with the start of the holiday shopping tomorrow. But isn't there something more to this holiday? Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to slow down and take stock of what's really important in your life. So before the meal, or right after, while everyone is still seated at the table, invite each family member to state something they're thankful for....Here are a copy of suggestions to keep the good thoughts flowing throughout all the holidays and into the upcoming year. 1. Accept, Acknowledge and Appreciate - Let these replace the Three C's - Complaining, Condemning and Criticizing. 2. Do something for someone else - those less fortunate than you. 3. Put it all in perspective - It's often easy to lose perspective on exactly how much we do have. It's easy to feel less than satisfied with your lot in life...Remember, what you have is always greater than what you need. 4. Focus on the positive - Keeping a positive outlook will change your entire perspective, as people have a tendency to remember the bad things as vividly as the good. Keep a gratitude journal containing only positive entries. Look for positive outcomes from tough events. This goes on but I think the bottom line is to keep things in perspective. I'm a perfectionist, too, and we completed our kitchen remodel about 18 months ago. I know where you are coming from, but if you focus on the fact that you have a new kitchen and it's a great improvement from what you had before, your perspective will probably change. Get that positive journal going with daily entries - you'll most likely find you ease up. As a last resort, ask yourself 2 questions that were regularly asked of me during our remodel - 1. Will this kitchen bring us world peace? and 2. Will this kitchen solve world hunger? Bottom line, it's only a kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving.