Reply To: Who is going to take your place when you retire?

[John.Dallinga]

I’m coming fresh into this topic so there is much I could respond to. To preface, I myself am in “landscape designer” status with 1 year of 2 needed to be able to sit for the LARE in Pennsylvania. Were I currently working in an LA firm, I’d be well passed that point. I am the only person at my job that holds a BLA so unless I switch jobs (which is a tough task during this season especially), I won’t garner any more experience on the books until I’m employed by a firm again…this isn’t news to anyone.

CLARB requirements and Practice Laws may appear to be exclusive to recent grads, but IMO it is for the safety and well-being of practitioners and their clients. This is why a doctor goes through a four-year residency before they are able to officially sign-off on certain things. Sure, they can make recommendations, but it isn’t set in stone. One could argue this is much like an intern landscape architect doing a grading plan that includes a retaining wall, but that plan will not and should not be built unless it is first reviewed and approved by a licensed professional, be they an LA or structural engineer who is assumed to have previously done similar work. If this were not the case, we’d be in danger of wrecking the profession having licensed LA’s fresh out of college and with no practical experience piling up lawsuit after lawsuit for errors and omissions that could easily have been avoided through a 2-year “apprenticeship” of sorts. That certain states allow this (no offense to people who HAVE succeeded as a result) is to put their citizenry at risk. Practice laws merely insure against the multitude of scenarios that simply cannot be addressed within a five year degree program, but can be through practical experience under the proper supervision.

Jonathan, I’m sorry you’re having difficulties growing your business right now and I’m sure in a town of only 30,000 people LA certainly does seem ‘weak sauce’, but that isn’t the case everywhere. Now that you are licensed, what are you doing to “take it by the balls”? As others have said, success takes many years and lots of hard work. Personally, I’m trying to figure out how best I can position myself to be able to do the work I want to do. If you want to “[design] the future of our towns, cities, regions”, how are you positioning yourself to gain that work? Are you talking to planners, city officials, and other LA’s about what the atmosphere is for that type of work in your area? Even if your aim is not to spend the rest of your life doing master plans, catch my drift?

There are still a lot of recent grads that are in it for the long haul. Times like these require some concessions, creativity, and strategy. The LA’s that end up at KFC or Starbucks may be there only for a year or two, but the ones that have no initiative and go no further aren’t really cut out for this business.