How I got that job: Jessica Vogel

Age: 30

Home: St. Paul

Job: Project designer, registered architect at Ellerbe Becket; eight years

Salary: $60,000 to $70,000

What do you do as a project designer: I design buildings, typically health care, I work with a project team. And typically I am responsible for the design of the exterior and overall massing of the buildings.

Education: I have a five-year bachelor of architecture. It's a professional degree from the University of Kansas, and one semester of graduate study abroad at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

How'd you get the job: There's a fifth-year program in the architecture school that has the students do a part-time internship at a local firm. Ellerbe has an office in Kansas City as well as Minneapolis, and since I'm from Minneapolis, I thought I would seek them out first. I actually technically started in the Minneapolis office (for a summer internship), then worked for nine months in Kansas City, then came back to Minneapolis.

What's the best perk of your job: I love to design, so I guess the best part of my job would be to come up with a concept; and I love presenting the projects to the clients as well and getting their feedback; taking their kind of needs and assessing the design problem and finding solutions.

What would be your dream job: I think I'm doing it. I mean, I really love designing architecture -- I do love fashion, so maybe a little bit of fashion on the side.

What's the biggest challenge your field currently faces: The economy. I think it slows building down and when no one's building, the architecture industry slows down as well.

What do you think makes you good at your job: I think I'm a pretty creative person. I'm a good team player. Also, you have to be able to multi-task.

What made you want to go into architecture: I took a drafting class in junior high ... the assignment was to design your own dream house, and from I think that point forward, I just got really interested in the fact that I could create something that was a livable art. We've got a lot of design [talent] in my family, so, it was pretty natural and I got a lot of support for my family.

Emma L. Carew