Advice about a small town planning career

[chubbard]

Not sure if this is the right place, but here goes:

I would like to get some advice from practicing planners on how to angle my grad school experience and the subsequent career. From reading this thread and comparing it to my own experiences and preferences, I think I want to be a small town planner, maybe in a resort area. I love small, unique places with natural beauty. (Have lived in cities. No likie. Currently live in a small mountain ski town, and love the rural coast of NC.)
Here is what I want out of planning:
- defend natural environs while allowing human communities to develop sustainably/ combat unsustainable resource use practices of current economic paradigm
- feel like I am making a difference (see above)
- engaging career with enough time to enjoy life outside of work
- reasonable income (I am currently a school teacher)
- potential to teach this stuff (obviously would need a PhD)

So,
1. Am I barking up the right career change/grad school plan?
2. Which of the common Masters concentrations would prepare me best- transportation, land use, community/housing devel, policy, etc...?
3. What is the current/predicted job scene like for small town/resort planners?
4. Of the following school choices, which do you think would give me the most options: UBC, Portland State, UVA and UNC?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Split from "Small Town Planning" thread and made into own thread mendelman

[luckless pedestrian]

if you are going into a small town planning path, do not specialize in your studies - it is likely you may be the lone planner for the municipality so you need to be a generalist planner (it's why I went into town planning as opposed to big city planning) - so a solid basic planning degree where you get a little bit of everything will work for you -

I think your choice of small town planning meets the basics of what you want in terms of where you live and possibly making a difference (it depends on what you define as "difference" and how patient you are) but you do have night meetings and you don't always get to leave right at 5 if you have unmovable deadlines - you are really entrenched where you serve but for me, it works

more and more smaller towns and resort towns (and up and coming ones) are seeing the benefit of having a planner on staff so I think over time, more positions will crop up - I would suggest an internship in one (PM me if you want to go to Maine for an internship)

[RubberStamp Man]

1. Am I barking up the right career change/grad school plan?
> IMO I think that's a tough call. It's you and your ideals vs. the market and the developer who wants to provide for that market. Yikes. I personally think more change can be effected through education thereby reducing the impact of the market and hence the developer.

2. Which of the common Masters concentrations would prepare me best- transportation, land use, community/housing devel, policy, etc...?
> Agree with LP - be a generalist as you will be doing everything or at least will have to coordinate with your subconsultants b/c a smaller muni won't have the expertise on staff. Whatever fits into land use planning the best IMO with a mixture of policy community design and site planning courses.

3. What is the current/predicted job scene like for small town/resort planners?
> Don't know - depends on the economy and relative disposable income?

4. Of the following school choices, which do you think would give me the most options: UBC, Portland State, UVA and UNC?
> UBC 1st and Portland 2nd b/c they are situated in states that have more resorts/natural resources and their will be more examples along with the enabling legislation for you to draw on during your studies.

Don't forget though we don't live in a state controlled society, despite what most people think during tax season As much as I want to try and force a sustainable development (and I mean sustainable, not just "green" or "environmentally progressive") I am constrained by my authority to impose this. Small munis, especially resort towns are at the mercy of larger economic engines and the market, which generally drives the type of development you will see.