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Steve, check planning jobs, these are often more low-level and they are willing to hire first -timers. they do help you in your LA interest, as they are often plan review..The downside is they are very hard and thankless. and don’t pay well, although they can be gov. jobs, so are permanent with benefits..
I know they want planners for Afghanastan,…[Read more]

I appreciate your romantic view nick. In fact at I times totally agree. Certainly a roller coaster ride.

I for one do not appreciate or go after the sales positions. Those positions are not the reason I got my BLA and they are not the way i want to collect a paycheck.

IMO when it comes down to sales positions I don’t understand why somebody with…[Read more]

Believe it or not, there are jobs in Colorado right now. You might just need to look a little higher than Denver ; )

Sounds somewhat familiar.

I had good experiences with previous employers, and am also in the Denver area. I worked for landscape contractors before I went back to school at csu. I thought what I experienced at design-builds was the ultimate goal of landscape architecture-backyard patios and xeriscape gardens. In a sense, I feel I’m beginning to…[Read more]

Hey Steve! It’s been a while since I’ve caught up with you. I’m sorry to hear about your job, man. Sounds like you’re better off not being there anyway. Hang in there though. I’m sure you’ll end up fine – the economy is just down and out. You should do something epic like live in Colorado and ski as much as humanly possible until some…[Read more]

Good discussion on that site. I like the comment by Rex about making the same mistakes as have been made in the past with regard to the development of the original motor car highway system, in essence, allowing more sprawl. Though I think the comment ignores the fact that you can only go so far, realistically, on a bicycle. I think, more or less,…[Read more]

I’ll agree that you need professional skill and real world experience to become successful. I also offer that to start your own practice you must have a network of clients and that network takes time to build. Unless you are blessed with instant knowledge of the industry you are consulting in you need to know people and they need to know you. And…[Read more]

agreed

1. The post was not addressed to an experienced landscape architect. It was addressed to any student who wants to start his own business but does not have enough experience or a track record to justify a competitive billable rate.

Nick,

The ideal scenario, as I wrote earlier, would be to start a home-based practice in the next, say, 3-10 years,…[Read more]

nr, I didn’t mean to take what you said out of context because I believe that the basic premise of working for free is a bad business idea. Whether your a student or a professional your work has value. Truly, an experienced professional’s time is worth more than a student but even a untrained designers effort has a value worth compensation.

Other…[Read more]

‘I took the landscape architectural license exam in CA ,5 years after graduating and passed the first time worked another 5 years ans began my first business. I think that was …’

Thanks for the direct answer Keith.

When you graduate, what have you got? A degree and no experience. What can you do? You need to…

What happens if you’ve been…[Read more]

Meryll,
While I was in school I had a friend that worked at the Latin American ethnobotanical gardens. I hope this link helps.

http://www.uga.edu/ethnobot/

Hope this helps.

– David

Kelleann,

Can’t wait to read your book! It comes at a great time too…people need to hear from other professionals in order to keep the motivation up with the job search.

Best of luck,
Jessica

Kelleann,

Congrats on the publication. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of landscape architecture.

I see your logic and agree.

Just to reiterate, I am not thinking of starting a business now, but more or less evaluating the possibilities for the future.

Personally, I know there is a lot more I need/ would like to learn before becoming self-employed. I also think, for what type of work I’d like to be involved in, licensure is probably a good objective.

“1.Cut your losses. You will need to low ball or work for free to secure contracts.* ”

I disagree strongly with the idea of working for free, unless it’s for a non-profit charity. Working for free, say for a developer, devalues your services. What you do, either as a professional or as a tradesman has value. Doing it for free signals to your…[Read more]

Okay, but isn’t it also safe to say that a person could go their entire life learning new ways of doing things? In other words, is there ever a time in your life when you know everything?

Informative/stimulating discussion! To throw my own two cents in, for the first question I’d say none to very little. For the second, I’m not sure there is any single answer to that.

Toward both questions, it takes a certain kind of person to start and run a business no matter the size, type, or style. This is not to say that if you don’t ‘fit…[Read more]