Careers

From Cyburbian kanben: I'm a Master's student in Massachusetts and was just offered a summer internship with the planning department of a small town (pop ~13,000) about and hour from Boston. It seems like a good opportunity for me because it's a small department and even as a summer intern I'd have a lot of responsibility, working on issues ranging from growth management, historic preservation, affordable housing, etc.

The issue I'm struggling with, however, is that I will probably be moving to Chicago after I graduate next year. In obvious ways, Chicago is different than this small New England town. While I will certainly gain practical experience that is marketable in any city I work in, I wonder whether it would be a better idea to try for a position in a larger city. I have applied for an internship in one city that, although certainly not the size of Chicago, is bigger and more socio-economically diverse than the one I've been offered the position in.

From Cyburbian mccc28: I'm trying to decide whether going to Las Vegas for national conference would be more beneficial in my pursuit for a planning job. I finished my masters a year ago from an accredited program, but have been struggling to find a job. Living in New England, I have learned that just about every entry level position is filled by someone with much more experience, and have recently started applying nationally and internationally. I won't be able to afford flying all over for interviews, so I was wondering if going to the conference would be a good place to meet potential employers. I hope your experiences can help me decide where my money and time is best spent

From Cyburbian Cardinal: With my new job, I have been tasked with creating and maintaining a MicrosoLooking over resumes and on-line postings recently, I can't help but wonder what people are thinking when they put together their resume and tag lines. It is very common to see something like "energetic young planner seeks exciting position in big city" or "recent graduate wants to design TOD's" or "graduate student seeking mid-level position." What is wrong with these?

Energetic young planner seeks exciting position in big city
Turn-ons include new urbanism and long moonlit walks on the beach. No. This is not on online dating service, and drop the adjectives. Highlight your experience and skills.

From Cyburbian lucifer: I have been thinking about his for awhile, but does being an ethnic minority (I am hispanic) have an advantage in these two field? I know these fields are actually not that diverse (compared to others). I question this because out of my graduating class at school for Geography, I am the only minority (and my school is very diverse). Everyone else is white. From what I have seen too, the Urban Planning, and L.A. world is not that diverse either (correct me if I am wrong).

This came up because UPenn's Design school (PennDesign), keeps bugging me with brochures, emails, and they called me once. Funny thing is I have never ever contacted them, or have ever had an interest in their school (For two reasons 1. So darn expensive 2. I doubt I would ever get in, it is ivy leauge). I am curious as to how they found out, and why an ivy leauge school keeps contacting me. Usually the better the school, the less they will have to "put themselves out there".

From Cyburbian nyc_tribeca: Can anyone speak to the academic job market for newly-minted PhDs in planning? I am refering specifically to university posts rather than other jobs attracting PhD grads like consulting, gov't/non-profit and think tanks.

For PhDs in all fields, the market seems to vary greatly. Business PhD grads are in high demand and average starting salaries ($100K+) reflect this. On the other end of the spectrum, some humanities field PhDs have an 8:1 ratio for new PhDs to job openings, and whoever is lucky enough to get an offer frequently settles for less than 50K and non-tenure-track positions that live and die by yearly fluctuations in state funding or enrollment.

From Cyburbian lucifer: I have been thinking about his for awhile, but does being an ethnic minority (I am Hispanic) have an advantage in these two field? I know these fields are actually not that diverse (compared to others). I question this because out of my graduating class at school for geography, I am the only minority (and my school is very diverse). Everyone else is white. From what I have seen too, the urban planning and landscape architecture world is not that diverse either (correct me if I am wrong).

This came up because UPenn's design school (PennDesign), keeps bugging me with brochures, emails, and they called me once. Funny thing is I have never ever contacted them, or have ever had an interest in their school (For two reasons 1. So darn expensive 2. I doubt I would ever get in, it is Ivy Leauge). I am curious as to how they found out, and why an Ivy Leauge school keeps contacting me. Usually the better the school, the less they will have to "put themselves out there".

From Cyburbian nyuhokie: So my local APA chapter conference is coming up, and while looking at the descriptions for the sessions that are being offered, I noticed that a couple of the presenters are directors or otherwise higher ups for a few organizations that I have recently applied for positions with. They are presenting at two different sessions, so I am not really concerned about an awkward three way meeting or some similar situation.

It seems like a great opportunity, but I don't want it to backfire, so I am curious as to how I should play this hand. I submitted my resume to the two positions fairly recently so I still believe I have a good chance of getting interviews. I highly doubt, though, that either one of them would recognize my name, even if they happened to see my resume/cover letter. I am sure that I at least need to introduce myself after the sessions, even if I don't mention that I am looking for a position.

From Cyburbian 117326: I've been lurking for a while and have found some solid advice on this forum. I'm hoping that others out there may have faced what I am now.

I have an opportunity to take a position that is a move up the ladder, but there is no increase in pay and it would require me to relocate my family (with three small children, one in school). We would still be fairly close to my wife's family (about a six hour drive). I've been at my current location for about five years and there isn't much opportunity to move up. Moving up to the next level still would not give me supervisory experience (which is required to move up to management). I think I've been "pigeon holed" to some extent, but the pay is good and the benefits are excellent.

From Cyburbian howlen: How does one move up the municipal ladder? Let's say one starts off as as assistant planner. How is the move up to associate planner and beyond made in the same agency? Is is conferred by the annual review? How many years does one stay at the same title? How quickly can a dedicated, hard working person move from assistant planner to senior planner while staying at the same agency? I look forward to your responses!

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

From Cyburbian howlen: I have written in to this forum before, and have received solid advice on my return to urban planning, after a 10+ year absence. So, here are more questions that pertain to the neighborhood planning stream: What is the average tenure of a neighborhood planner in a municipality? My guess would be 2-4 years.

How does one move up the ladder, salary-wise, in neighborhood planning? Many municipalities seem to only have a few slots dedicated to this planning stream, so would the move be to another municipality, or another department? (Community Development comes to mind.)

From Cyburbian Future Planning Diva: I have started circulating my resume as the first stage in a job search (I finish school in December), and I've been called in for an interview by a company I don't think I want to work for. Going in to talk seems like a good idea, as I don't want to slam any doors at this point, and to avoid offending my contact who gave out my resume. Also, I'm not 100% positive I don't want the job. I don't want to come off like a diva (I'm still in training, after all ) but it seems wrong to pretend enthusiasm for a position I probably don't want. What is the smart, professional way to approach this kind of situation?

From Cyburbian jdstl1977: Is it common for one person in a firm to do the entire project proposal for a city comp plan RFP?

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

From Cyburbian D/M: Hello, I am a GIS student who is interested in urban planning, especially at the local government level. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice regarding the best volunteer opportunities to gain exposure in this area? I'm thinking in general terms, such as City Auditor, Planning Commissions, etc. Any advice would be very appreciated!

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

From Cyburbian sokanomx: I have been for years frustrated with the degree of detail, lack of career advancement and over all boredom of my civil engineering career. I have worked in highway and most recently transit for most of my career but until recently I had no idea where I was headed. I have for the past two years been working more directly with planners and hace decided that it was my true design to be a planner myself. I am going to apply for two grad programs here in the Bay area but was wondering what else I can do to find out more, learn more about and try my hand at planning. It was best put to me that, "engineers are a mile deep and an inch wide, planners are an inch deep and a mile wide." Im looking forward to a wider spectrum of challenges and understandings.

From Cyburbian SuperPenguin: My current job (which I started in May) is nice, but it lacks career progression (no higher level to promote to, no path beyond technician). It's a permanant part time position, even though they demand nearly full time hours (unpaid OT for me).

I'm looking at leaving around January to pursue another opportunity. It would require a bit of an outset on my part for training, and a job isn't guaranteed. I'm willing to take the chances to pursue my dreams, however.

My question is whether starting this job in May and leaving end of December will look bad, especially since I have a few other short jobs in my past during school?