Hello! I'm new here.

[Virtue City]

Hi, my name is Jeff.

I'm a third year urban studies/planning undergraduate student at Cleveland State University. I'd like to become a transportation expert or a neighborhood planner after I finish my schooling.

Can anybody please tell me what a typical work day for a transportation planning consists of? Also, does transport planning require prior work experience in the field or is it possible to find entry level positions?

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Jen]

Hello Jeff,

Glad you made it, I see you have already discovered the different forums here....

So, its Transportation and neighborhood planning - An excellent concentration - Be sure to check out the exciting forum of Transportation! Just two clicks over.

Jen

 

[Tranplanner]

So You Want to be a Transportation Expert, Eh?

Hmmm...where to begin? The typical work day for a transportation planner?

Well, after the computer is turned on, the first thing I do is make a good cup of tea... The day sorta goes downhill from there.

I would highly recommend you get some work experience while at school - it can be hard to start off without it as sometimes there are bothersome people called "Engineers" - some of them think transportation is too technical for "planners". I'm not sure what your school offers in the way of transportation-oriented courses - mine didn't offer much, so I really had to get the work experience to make up for that. Of course, when I graduated, the economy was different, and there were few entry-level jobs in any kind of planning - I've seen people hired straight out of school for jobs that I wouldn't have had a shot at when I graduated.

 

[Mary]

Welcome aboard. Experience is always a plus but I expect it is even more so in transportation. The field has it's own vocabulary and can be a bit dry if your interests don't match the field.