Am I qualified for transportation/land use planning?

[rover]

Hello, I used to be a more frequent member of this site in the past.
Anyway I'm 29 and a 2010 MA in Geography/GIS certificate graduate.

I have struggled very hard to get work in my desired fields which are:
-Land Use/Transportation/Sustainability planning
OR
-Demography

My target is to get such a position preferably at a learning organization such as a Regional Planning Agency or think tank/non profit/academia.
My credentials are:
-MA Geography with GIS certificate
-Planning Internship with municipal town government in zoning
-GIS Analyst Internship at the State Data Center (plotting demographic and planning data onto maps).
-Geographer at the USGS (GIS).

I lost my job at the USGS after just four months due to sequestration and have spent the summer trying to look for work.
Although you see I have a background in GIS, this is not my best skill. It is a secondary skill best suited for basic duty.
My best skills are research, analysis, and descriptive statistics.
I do not have a background in SPSS or SAS or CAD.

I have been searching the AGA/APA/State APA/Indeed you name it for work this summer to no avail.
My question is:

1) Am I actually qualified to do the work I most desire?

2) If not, what do you recommend I do to get qualified? My passion is demography, transportation issues, and land use.

3) If so, then what can I do to get more leads?

[Blide]

Seems like you'd be plenty qualified to work for a MPO somewhere. I got into an MPO planner / GIS position straight out of school with no real transportation background. What they cared about were the same skills you say you have.

[Backstrom]

Your GIS background is great, but my concern for you is that you don't really have any planning experience (aside from the internship). You essentially would be competing for the same entry-level planning jobs as new planning grads.

I don't know so much about land use/transportation but you definitely have more of an advantage in demography. I would start networking-- I know a lot of municipalities have demographers who would be good to talk to.

[mteddy]

Have you considered a more technical position involved mostly in GIS? I have been browsing around at big firms like AECOM and they seem to have a constant demand for GIS techs. IMO your experience and qualification suites that position better.

I work in transportation planning and out of the 5 staffs, I am the only one with "intermediate" GIS knowledge. the rest have either engineering degrees or have worked in the municipality from the bottom up for the past 20 years.

Especially with public sector planning jobs, it comes down to luck and timing. Keep trying and I'm sure you will land the job you desire.

[Kingmak]

Well, I'm not sure about your location preferences, but the Mid-Ohio RPC (MORPC) is hiring for a transportation/logistics specialist/planner. Check that out.

[rover]

It is a relief to hear I am qualified.
I have a few follow up questions.

1) GIS. I am best at basic GIS, such as plotting data on income levels or population growth for towns. Advanced GIS is really not my strength. I am best at data mining, collecting, synthesizing, and descriptive statistical analysis. I believe I would fit best in a more research related position.

2) I have been searching intensely since July and have not gotten any leads yet.
My search includes:

-Indeed (key works: transportation planning/land use planning/research assistant/research associate)
-MPOs/RPAs
-Academic Research Centers
-APA/State APA/AGA and a few more associations
-Governmentjobs.com
-USAJobs

I will add, I am looking at the following locations:
-Boston area (within 50 miles)
-Connecticut
-Charlottesville
-Hampton Roads
-Newark, DE
-Triangle, NC

I would like to be in an area with less hustle and bustle/cheaper than DC and preferably with an academic/college type open feel for outsiders (and I am a big outsider) within distance to my older parents (who live in NOVA).

3) I'm striking out which has hurt confidence.
-Is there some skill I am missing?
-Some site I am overlooking?
-Or must I be more patient and await the fall?

I will add, I am looking at the following locations:
-Boston area (within 50 miles)
-Connecticut
-Charlottesville
-Hampton Roads
-Newark, DE
-Triangle, NC

[DetroitPlanner]

Every urban area over 200k will have an MPO. Depending upon how the State works things there are many that start with a threshold population of 50k.

You should also look at the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) or the Association of Mtropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) websites for job leads.

http://www.ampo.org/?post_type=mpo-career

http://narc.org/job-postings/

[rover]

but I already have looked.
I am hoping this is just a "summer is dead" thing and it picks up post labor day.

I have been doubting myself on if I am qualified.

[Silverdude2167]

Here are a few site I frequented when I was looking for jobs in MA.

https://jobs.hrd.state.ma.us/recruit.../3111/index.do - Mass Gov Job postings (probably have it)
http://www.mma.org/municipal-jobs - Most positions for the MA towns will show up here.
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthor...bs/jobdesc.asp - BRA
http://sites.tufts.edu/tuftsgetsgreen/category/career/ - Tufts Job Board (Interesting stuff every once and a while)

These are the sites I search besides the ones I listed, hopefully one of them is new to you and can help you out.

Good Luck.

[rover]

Here are a few site I frequented when I was looking for jobs in MA.

https://jobs.hrd.state.ma.us/recruit.../3111/index.do - Mass Gov Job postings (probably have it)
http://www.mma.org/municipal-jobs - Most positions for the MA towns will show up here.
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthor...bs/jobdesc.asp - BRA
http://sites.tufts.edu/tuftsgetsgreen/category/career/ - Tufts Job Board (Interesting stuff every once and a while)

These are the sites I search besides the ones I listed, hopefully one of them is new to you and can help you out.

Good Luck.

Thank you very much. I have checked out the Mass Gov jobs, but not the municipal.
If I understand you folks correctly, I am qualified for transportation planning/land use research.

If so, why haven't I found work yet?
Is summer a factor and if I keep plugging away should I get something before the end of the year ends?

What I am doing wrong, or could do better search wise and are there anything skill wise that would help?

Another internship?
A course in SPSS/SAS?
Transportation certification/classes?

Or just keep plugging?

[rover]

1) Skills.
-I have limited GIS skills most comfortable doing basic raster maps.
-No CAD/SPSS/SAS/Strata

-Does this severely inhibit me?

2) Which if any of these skills should I obtain or polish?

3) I struggled with GIS. I am better memorizing facts/data as opposed to GIS which is very fast paced. How does SAS/SPSS compare, are they smoother to learn?