We Need Some New Blood!

So Land8Lounge has at least a couple hundred people as members yet it seems like we only hear from the same 10-20 folks over and over again. Where the He11 is everyone? The profession in the US is in crisis mode and we should be hearing from all those new and old within the industry. What's going on? Are you making it? Are you alive? I am dying for some meaty professional topics. Here are some sample topics to get you started:

-Since when did an LA degree become the training grounds for Strarbuck's baristas?

-Why did my old firm lay me off and keep that brown-noser who laughs too hard at the principal's jokes?

-Why does self-employed feel so much like unemployed?

-Why does ASLA ignore the present and bask in the glory of the past?

-Where are the projects in this country?

-Recent graduates, what the heck is happening with you guys?

-How can I be overqualified and underqualified at the same time?

-Where are we going as a profession, as a nation, as a species?

-Why haven't my pencils been sharpened in years?

-Why do I cry out to those on this website whom I cannot hear?

.........I am cold and frightened and bears are coming.

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Permalink Reply by David J. Chirico on September 29, 2011 at 5:53am

Hopefully, they are all working too hard to look at blogs :)

Try "bear spray"

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Permalink Reply by Leslie B Wagle on September 29, 2011 at 5:59am

I try to curb myself from universal-state-of-things comments because I read too much market conditions background info. and it's scary. We may revive (economy and profession) but I don't' think it's going to be any time soon...and LA can't very well pull out ahead of the general background conditions by some magic formula. Of course "how to cope in the meantime" contributions should still be made, but I've only seen about 3 genuine "LA wanted" ads the last year in my whole state. There are bound to be a lot of courageous survival stories out there, but I suspect the individual sorrow levels and dashed expectations are pretty high also, and hard to spread on a board for the world to see. There is some value in just cross-confirming: if your situation is stressful, you are not alone or doing something "wrong."

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Permalink Reply by Heather Smith on September 29, 2011 at 8:08am

I think this is a strange time in history. I highly suspect that we will look back one day and be shocked at how bad this has really been. I think depending where you live, the recession looks worse. I'm sorry you are feeling so discouraged, it is only natural that after so long you would feel hopeless. :( Grab that bear spray like someone else mentioned!

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Permalink Reply by Jacob E. Rohde on September 29, 2011 at 9:30am

I graduated in May and was lucky enough to have one of my professors pass my name along to a long time friend of his who was looking for someone to join their design and build company. I have been one of the lucky ones. My fellow classmates have not been so lucky. Of the 20 or so of us that graduated just a handful have been able to find employment. Even though I was given this lead, it still took nearly three months before I started. After the first month, I was given a week of "vacation" time since we slowed down. I am back at work presently, but for how long?

My wife and I are considering this a learning expereince since whatever I make goes right to our nanny's pocket!

Jake

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Permalink Reply by Russell MacDonald on September 29, 2011 at 10:38am

I suppose we always will hear from the same group of people. The others can be divided into the "buying into" the old models of teh landscape architectures, and they would seriously not want to make waves by+!@#$their future employers off, and the quiet desperate.

Of the "buying into" group, they are the fertile future sociopaths that the last of the large firms need. They are the pliable and moldable that fanatsize of fellowship by victimizing entire swaths of landscape architects in their future dysfunctional and+!@#$up offices of their dreams to come. And why would they not find this a promising prospect? It worked for years. Why not them?

The future is coming fast now in the LA world, and it's populated by certificates and an obsequious and corporate/Chinese ASLA better future world. This will be the future of the well connected large corporate firms along with a nice link to DBA firms handed work. This alone should keep a small but vocal group of LA's in their farming the kids for talents with gangs of desperate and silent victims with talents they themselves think not important or too complicated to learn. It's all about the billables. Oh and a few fellowships, because nothing says an ASLA fellowship like making life a nightmare for your workers.

On a lighter note, there will be more of a groundswell of LA's that will reject this, and they will be the sucesses of the future, as they treat people like humans and not kill them while they design a "healing garden"

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Permalink Reply by Rick Spalenka on September 29, 2011 at 3:54pm

Can you please expand on the "healing garden" reference. I think I am either missing something or paranoid. BTW I love your sketches. Great talent.

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Permalink Reply by Boilerplater on September 29, 2011 at 6:03pm

I thought he was referring to the duplicit position of firm owners working employees into ill health while designing "healing gardens" for hospitals and such. I often thought it was incongruous to try to design places that are relaxing and peaceful when your work environment has a bunch of stressed-out cad-monkeys going from one crisis to the next. I used to think it was kind of important to be in the right state of mind to design.

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Permalink Reply by nca777 on September 29, 2011 at 9:06pm

These are excellent observations in my opinion. I feel that I am lucky to be doing some of the most thoughtful work I've done to date due to the unique position I'm in--working from home (as well as in an office part time). Taking the stressful office tension out of the equation makes a huge difference both in productivity and quality and thoughtfulness of the work. Only problem now is that I make very little money.

It's unfortunate that so many of the 'old business models' remain in place regardless of the evidence for it's apparent shortfalls.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Spalenka on September 30, 2011 at 7:14am

Terrific, that makes sense but what also makes sense is why many of their "healing garden" designs, even award winning designs, have absolutely no healing qualities. They are just very fancy plazas that catch the admiration of judges who don't have a clue what a healing garden really is. Idiots judging idiots.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Smith on September 29, 2011 at 11:06am

I have another idea. Perhaps all unemployed LAs should go to Wall Street and do something like PARK(ing) http://rebargroup.org/parking/
That would be awesome! haha...don't know if you would have time to set something up before being tackled and sprayed. But hot d*mn...that would be an awesome protest and representation of landscape architecture.

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Permalink Reply by Douglas M. Rooney on October 1, 2011 at 11:02pm

I was an organizer for PARK(ing)Day in San Francisco in 2009. Myself and a group of other unemployed design professionals, designed, constructed, and operated a 3 hole miniature golf course for the day. It was a lot of fun and kept us busy during a very difficult year. I even managed to make it onto Weekend Edition on NPR for my 8 seconds of fame!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113005527