Post here if you are a recent Master's graduate, and also whether you have found a planning job.
I graduated this May, still looking for employment.
Post here if you are a recent Master's graduate, and also whether you have found a planning job.
I graduated this May, still looking for employment.
I got my MURP in May. I already have five years professional land-use and comprehensive planning experience and 3 years NGO management experience. I have only landed one interview since graduating. Out of state govt's don't even respond when I contact them after application closing dates.
How upliftingOriginally posted by jwhitty
I know that at least two people in my cohort were able to land planning technician jobs.
Did they have to move very far?
Most won't respond whether you are instate or out of state because it is still highly competitive for planning jobs. We recently hired for a planner tech and the person we hired had 10 years planning and building inspection/code compliance experience.
There are plenty of threads that deal with the difficult market for jobs and how out of state applicants have a higher mountain to climb.
"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less" General Eric Shinseki
I don't think it was far. One was able to get a job in central VA probably 170 or so miles from Virginia Tech, while the other got a job in Montgomery County. That's rather tricky to answer though, it is all relative.
It makes sense, there is steeper learning curve and not as much social capital.
Recent (June 2013) master's graduate in Canada. Have been applying for jobs (mainly Planner 1 jobs) in municipalities across the country. In fact, I don't even bother with Toronto or Vancouver.
I tailor my cover letter to jobs. I make sure my resume hits on key words that the job postings have. I'm not sure what else I can do beyond keep trying. I also know that summertime is not a big hiring season. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated!
I have a question. For those of you recent grads still looking for work (other than jwhitty), how much existing work experience in planning do you already have?
A 6-month summer internship in planning. It mainly involved research and admin work, and not working at a zoning desk unlike other people. Other direct experience is two studio group projects for real clients (part of the coursework) and working as a TA for a planning course.
I went straight from undergrad to grad, so I am aware I lack experience compared to most people.
I honestly don't see any other way other than going straight from undergrad to grad..
How can anyone get a job with an undergrad degree?
Although my case is less common, I'll recount it again: I got a direct-hire position (albeit temporary) that followed my internship while in school. Though it only lasted nine months, it looked good enough on my resume to land me some more contract work. Now, I'm still looking for a permanent full-time job, but my resume looks significantly better than it would have had I not gotten all the experience from the direct-hire and beyond.
Sigh, I can't do any internships because I can't leave my "real job", which I need the stability/security of to support myself and my education.I'm screwed!
Not sure if I am welcome to this recent grad party considering I graduated nearly 6 (oh god!) years ago. I graduated in December 2007 and it took me until March 2008 to land a planning job, I had been applying for jobs since September 2007. This was right before the crash and it still took nearly 6 months and having to move out-of-state to find a job. I searched on the National APA site, state APA chapter sites, state league of cities webpages and applied all over the country; eventually finding a job in a small growing suburban community. It is tough out there but stick with it an eventually something will break through for you. After you get in the workforce it is seems a bit easier to move to a new position.
Places to Look
- Obviously fast growing regions, Texas has a lot of planning positions open right now
- Smaller cities in rural areas, not as glamorous, but a small organization is a great way to cut your teeth and get a lot of important resume building experience
- Metropolitan Planning Organizations/Regional Planning Commissions, a popular place for new planners to work, pay tends to be lower, but you get exposed to a lot of different planning topics
- Don't limit your search to planning.org, search local chapter websites and even better state municipal league/league of cities websites. This is a place a lot of smaller communities post because it is cheaper than APA.
- Keep in touch with your school's career center or your planning department. My planning department always posted new positions.
What kind of job is this? Is it planning-related?Sigh, I can't do any internships because I can't leave my "real job", which I need the stability/security of to support myself and my education.
I got a job and then my Master's. Now I have both experience and degree. I actually find the planning work less interesting than the community development side of things.
In order to do that I moved to a small town an hour outside of anywhere. But my wife found a job here, too, and now it's our home. Cast a wide net and trust that the right thing will happen eventually.
I burned down the church to atone for my transgressions.
Would a planning job have stability and security? Nahhh
No it's administrative/customer service.
By starting out in undesirable locations in the middle of nowhere and working for pennies. You won't have to do it forever, but your mobility is your greatest asset as a fresh grad.
2 years. That's what it took me. I started by working in small towns out of school; at one point in the very beginning I was working 70 hour weeks as an intern and a server just to stay afloat (and commuting 40+ miles between the two jobs). After 2 years (with just an undergrad in planning), I had enough experience to land a job in a larger city. It has only been a year since then and things have gotten much much better, so it is absolutely doable to get by with just an undergrad (not to mention I'm starting my master's this Fall with tuition reimbursement from my employer). To those recent masters grads still looking for employement, I would find something, anything, even if the title isn't "Planner". If that job you find requires writing, effectively communicating, speaking in front of people, customer service, etc. then use those skills and try to find a way to tie it into a planning position down the road. Find pro bono opportunities through non profits and neighborhood associations and look to volunteer in the meantime.
HR hiring processes for municipalities are very rigid, meaning you either meet the minimum required years of experience or you don't (I don't have much experience with the private planning firms). Hiring managers know how hard it is to land a job right now, and if they're smart they will look for people who are creative enough to tailor themselves appropriately, even if their experience isn't conventional. I don't think anyone will hold it against a new grad for not finding a planning job right away, but if I'm hiring I want to see what has that candidate done to deal with his/her situation.
Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
One technique not mentioned is to go to all of the selected area's municipal meetings and start networking with the elected officials and other staff. While bordering on cronyism, there is a reason internal hiring exists and this presents an opportunity for you to get your foot in the door
Most of the time I see people post about the lack of jobs but it tends to be solely about your average municipal planning job. Is it that way in regards to environmental planning? I did my undergrad in environmental science and will be specializing in environmental planning and natural resource management and am curious what it's looking like out there. I check job listings just to do some research on potential roles for myself in the future and it looks to be a fairly decent job market. Jobs aren't growing on trees, but there's not a total lack of them. I also have a year of experience as an environmental planning intern for a regional water authority, an assistantship for school, and will do another internship before I wrap up my masters.
Job listings are not the same thing as jobs. Here's my narrative:
My job search began in mid-April with a few empty weeks of no planning application activity. This week I have put out 25 applications. Prior to this week I had sent out approximately 50 applications. So there were at least 75+/- job listings since mid-April. Of the previous 50, I have received two physical rejection letters, three rejection emails, and one interview, in addition to a whole bunch of silence. While there may be listings, the actual ability to obtain full-time employment is what has become tremendously difficult.
It is not hopeless, but based on my personal experience it takes time and sacrifice, especially if you want to find a good job within the planning field.
I graduated in December 2012 with a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and thought I would land a job right away. I assumed having a specialized Master’s Degree was enough to make me competitive. It ended up taking me five months to find a job.
Unfortunately in this economy and job market it is not as simple as getting a Master’s degree, sending out a resume and cover letter and getting called back for an interview. I applied to over 40+ places, all over the country, and got two responses back. The two firms that replied back told me that they had received an overwhelming amount of applications and I was not experienced enough. These were not senior positions either, but entry level. I am still getting rejection letters today from places I applied to in January. I think a major problem with a lot of graduates within our field is that we have the degree but not the specific 2+ years of professional experience. I also did not have a professional network, or “inside” contact to the places I was applying to. You really have to network yourself, which can be a full-time job in itself. With the job market being so competitive, employers want the total package, a Master’s Degree alone is not even enough to qualify most times. It's a catch 22, how do you get experience if you aren’t given a chance?
Here’s what I did. After three months of rejection, and wanting to give up, with great hesitation I took an unpaid internship. In order to qualify you had to be enrolled as a full-time student. So I borrowed money and registered for online courses. Financially it destroyed me, but instead of sitting at home depressed sending out resumes, I was planted somewhere, gaining experience and networking. I worked everyday, 40 hours a week, never late or missing a day, staying after hours if needed, for three months. I dressed professionally, got to know the whole staff, and became a part of the team. I not only built a network, but demonstrated my work ethic and abilities. When colleagues discovered that I was unpaid and working so many hours they were shocked and it ended up working to my advantage. They not only felt bad, they knew I needed a job and fast.
In short, I ended up getting a job with the State via a recommendation from my supervisor. I would never have had a chance if I hadn’t done this internship. The position was not even posted yet and I was not heavily experienced in that particular area, but her word and recommendation was enough to get me the job.
The prospect of working for free is not desirable, but if you do not have a network or professional experience under your belt, this might be one solution to consider. Almost everyone I know from my program got their jobs by interning.
A few questions for you. Did you intern during your program? How much professional experience do you have in planning? What is your specialization within the field?
Hey Yenni, your story is the type of good news I hope to hear. I just graduated from my master's (in Canada though) and am on month #2 of the job hunt. I had a 6-month internship in planning last year but the competition is still insane. I have even gone across the country to attend a conference (or networking event for me). Since it is also summer, I've been told that very little hiring takes place now.
I graduated in May 2012 and went straight into an internship in North Carolina. 3 months after that I had an offer for a full time position, but also had been applying and interviewing and decided to take a Planning Technician job in Northern VA to be in a younger, more urban environment. Since, then I have continued to apply for jobs and been offered several interviews both private and public sector. I had no undergrad courses in planning or any work experience in planning until I went to grad school at Virginia Tech. While there I got as much internship and work experience I could. It's not that hard, just be open and willing to move and you will land something relatively quickly.
Quote
