Reply To: The Unemployment Rate For Landscape Architects/Designers

[mauiBob]

Craig, he’s not out of the woods just yet! I wrote about a certain LA in Honolulu who was working in China back in 2010. In short, he was doing okay for 5 months until the firm just stopped paying him! But, they told him he would get a check soon; however, he never did receive one. To his fault, he kept working for additional two months and finally one morning quit going to the office. Fast forward 1.5 years later, he still waits for the paycheck! Where was he suppose to turn to in China? Think about it. Its not like he could hire an attorney in that foreign place. He couldn’t afford to stay there either, since there’s no unemployment checks coming in.

The China company was also a large architecture/planning/LA firm and not some 6 man, mom & pop operation. There was also a recent article in ASLA magazine regarding San Diego firms doing business in China and then not getting paid. They too had no recourse. Don’t think the grass is greener on the other side. Personally, I would never venture over there. The air and water are toxic! Shanghai and Beijing are two of the worst city environmental polluters on earth!!

LA is dead, Craig. DOA! Not just dormant. Its been dormant for how many years going now? And for how much longer can people realistically wait? It might be 5 years or a decade. And YES…the economy is picking back up, ask the accountants and health care workers!  I’ll revisit this topic and explain what I see happening right now in my area: the LAs are being pushed out by Architecture and Civil firms, at least in the design phases. They’re only called in to complete the construction docs. These plans/projects come across my desk and I see it first hand. This is the worst I’ve seen it.