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I have been waiting for the industry to ‘uptick’ for three years.  I wouldn’t bet on it getting better in the next two.  Don’t waste your time and money on this career path.  The utter collapse of this industry has nearly cost me everything.  Don’t let this happen to you. 

My opinion is that this excercise is a good one for indiviuals or firms to do within the context of their own markets. I think it is a complete waste of time to try to do it as an entire profession.
 
I know what I do, why I am able to keep busy, why I am making some money, and why it works where I am. Just yesterday a friend from school who is…[Read more]

It looks like a good two year preparation for landscape design. I would not be threatened by it. Harvard University used to have a certificate program through Radcliffe College for years – it has move to Boston Arhitecture College (or something like that). It was/is a very good program for landscape designers. It has not killed landscape…[Read more]

Oh, and where is storm drainage and erosion control? Are we going to just concede on the matter of whether we are qualified in these areas (we have had to fight for) by just giving up? I’d like to think the state’s professionals will keep the nationally designed exam as a challenge this school but the fallout may take some time to be revealed. Sad…[Read more]

That’s what I found rolling around in my mind after I posted, too. Besides adding to the confusion about what the term LA should mean, as if there isn’t already enough confusion….
 

When I was getting my degree, I had to spend 3 additional years beyond a BS in Horticulture, and there was no way to condense that because the LA school simply…[Read more]

I was just editing myself on top of you, to make my original post clearer, but I tend to agree with you. Irrigation but no city planning insights? Would they know what a conditional use permit is, and how to really interface with allied but different professions on complex projects? Write, not just read specifications?

Well I agree with you, totally! But instead, can we define what is our competitive advantage compared to similar professions such as architects, gardeners and others? Let’s say in five bullet points?

The value proposition question was ridiculous, sorry for that 🙂 I would like to define is what makes us so unique, that no one else can do…[Read more]

That is a vague and general question in a very diverse field where most within it work in specific areas of this field. It really comes down to what a specific landscape architect or firm brings on a specific project compared to what others potentially working on such a project are bringing.
 
The idea that all landscape architects are the same…[Read more]

Good luck with the financial aid. I’m surprised you could get so much. When I went back, I couldn’t get JACK – SQUAT. Even the bogus ‘gov’t loans’ I was eligible for were a joke. Upwards of 9% interest! When I did my loan calcs from the feds, the repayment of the student loans was the same monthly payment as a new BMW. I have a better rate on one…[Read more]

Here is some hardcore financial advice. Don’t get the MLA. This field is supremely saturated right now with many more grads than jobs and by the time your done, there will be little, noticeable improvement. You will be deeper in debt (you will have some student loans whether you go the economical route at Cal Poly) and struggling to find work. I…[Read more]

Or you can get a NAS (network attached storage) which is a bunch cheaper than a full-blown server. Its really just a box with disk drives and a network card in it. You can even convert an old PC that is outdated for day to day work, plus the drives are relatively cheap. There is free software available to turn it into a NAS. This is for local b…[Read more]

Agreed, that it is a bad idea to take on too much debt. We just paid off our school loans last year and it took 8 years of aggressive payments finish them off. If I were you, I would work while in school. I know that they say “you will be so busy you can’t work”, but you can do something somewhere. Even if it is just enough to cover your living…[Read more]

Ah, you were looking at using the cloud storage as primary, not just a backup.
Yes, improving your server situation would be most beneficial from what you describe. Consolidating data files to a single location makes backups significantly easier, as well as the convenience and time factors of everyone knowing where to look for something and having…[Read more]

I believe the financial planner’s advice is to only take out as much in loans as you expect your first year salary to be ($35k if you expect your salary to be $35k, $50k in loans if you expect your salary to be $50k).  If the federal IBR (Income Based Repayment, where the maximum monthly payment is 15% of your adjusted gross income and after 25…[Read more]

The question you should ask yourself is how will you pay for the rest? How old are you, and if you are in your in your late 20’s to mid 30’s do you have a savings plan, diversified investments, retirement plan, etc? If you have enough in liquid and savings, go for it… but if you have to take on loans, be careful.

If money is an issue, Cal Poly…[Read more]

Pomona, unless you have a massive trust fund. 

Wasn’t sure if that was possible, and it probably isn’t, since there isn’t a cloud autocad.

Autodesk Cloud: https://documents.cloud.autodesk.com/Landing/Index  I’ve not used it, but it might be worth checking out.

I think its wacked to spend that kind of money ( the private colleges) on an LA degree.  You’re better off going to Cal Poly and not having the huge debt burden when you get out. They keep saying that student loan debt will be the next bubble to burst.  If you keep looking, you may be able to find more scholarships.

What if someone steals your information from the cloud? How do you file a police report? Cloud may be the new frontier, but they need to work out the kinks before mass movement to use it.