I am in the process of deciding whether to start applying to grad schools or not. How much more important is a M.U.P compared to a undergrad degree in planning? I am interested in the private sector of real estate devlopment, Urban Design, and possoble consulting down the line when I get more experience. Any advice would help a ton Thanks.
if you already have a degree in planning (undergrad) my two cents is get a degree that is complimentary to it such as real estate development, public policy ,etc. If you are thinking an MUP for the "urban design" aspect than take the three years or so and get a master's in either architecture or Landscape arch. It goes miles for private practice.
Good luck my son (or daughter)
When someone yells "stop", I ask myself if I should collaborate and listen...
Likely six-eight dozen threads giving same advice (which is good).Originally posted by Raf
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Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
I went to planning school after the crash (post 2007), got internships with my grad degree (late 2010s), And guess what? I couldn't get a full time gov't position after 2.5 years of graduating. Internships yes, and they were fun, but you know what? Internships don't pay the loans or bills. I was tired of living with my parents.
I gave up and have gone into the private sector in an allied field and you know what? I'm much, much happier having a job that I got trained for (rather than having to scrape by at a private firm that won't train you, no matter what they say). I am so thankful to dear God I am where I am today.
Planning graduate degrees do NOT prepare you for planning if you don't have a planning undergrad. Forget it!
Trying to get into urban planning sucked, and I would NOT recommend it.
The competition is so fierce for planning jobs that ONLY someone who's been at it since undergrad and went to a top ranked school has a chance.
Seriously. Don't bother. FYI: I first got the guts to go into planning from this forum. I am just sharing my personal experience
"Believe. No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."
~ Helen Keller
I would agree. My undergrad degree was in planning/urban studies as was my masters. All the masters got me was a job (which isn't a bad consolation prize), but in terms of knowledge, specialisation and hard skills, not so much.
I definitely should have gone for a related specialised degree such as real estate development/finance or done a masters in landscape architecture to go down that route.
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