Reply To: Has anyone successfully transitioned out of the Landscape Architecture field?

[Mark Di Lucido]

Don’t know the intricate details of hiring practices for LA firms in SF, but in this economy ninety days is not an abnormally long time to not be able to land a job. Between 2009 and 2012 I couldn’t find an LA position to save my life. Granted, I lived in one of the areas hit hardest by the downturn and was also in a very small market, but three years!? During that time I tried several other ‘careers’ and ended up either not making enough money or detesting the work or both. But because I like to eat and I have a mortgage etc., I took whatever job I could find—the big joke between my wife and I was an $8 paycheck (for a two week pay period) I got from one of these jobs.

I think Andrew’s ‘think like an owner’ can be good advice though it might be less effective for those of us that don’t like residential work. And as nca points out, many firms don’t want ‘thinkers/owners’ they want someone (usually disposable) to do the tedious stuff and make them money. So if you’re perceived as ‘a nail that won’t be pounded down’, then you’re probably not going to get the job but then do you really want to work for short-sighted firms like this anyway?

I’m always hesitant to give advice about employment because each of our situations is so different. That said . . . I found going back to school at age 36 to be a great respite from the work-a-day world—it gave me a chance to ‘decompress’, learn, and ultimately helped get me employed as an LA. But, if school loans were required to do this nowadays it’d be a deal-breaker for me.