Is it possible to get the expirience without the credentials?

[Neive Tierney]

I am passionate about landscape architecture and urban design and want to get experience in the field. This summer I enrolled at an intensive summer program in landscape architecture at UC Berkeley which solidified my interest in this field and eagerness start working towards a career in LA . Unfortunately, the summer program is only direct education  I have in LA because I received my undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and Biology.

 

Although I want to enroll in a MLA program eventually I really want to get some experience in the field first. Is this even possible? Now-a-days it seems like internships are given to people with master’s degrees and I am not sure how to break into the work community with my limited experience.

 

I know I have the drive. I am just not sure what path to take.

 

Any suggestions?

[Jordan Lockman]

You could try working your way in on a design build landscape crew or find something else that is close to the field, but not necesarily in the field.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

All you can do is try. Part of that is networking – doing things that put you in contact with or get you noticed by people in the areas of work that you want to do.

 

This profession is so diverse and the edges are so broad that there is no “right way” or definitive answer to how you might get involved. Part of that is what areas of the profession are you interested in. The roads to different places take different paths (you can quote me on that in that other thread), so what does not work for one may work for another and what worked for someone else might not work for you.  … just make sure that whatever you do enhances your ability to do what you actually want to do.

[Neive Tierney]

Thank you for the supportive words. It is always good to hear that there are many ways to get what you want, and that more schooling is not necessarily the only way to move forward.

[Neive Tierney]

good idea. I have been looking into some positions with landscape contractor business.

[mauiBob]

Neive, you will only pass on earth once. Anything is possible. Follow your dream and live like there’s no tomorrow!

 

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. “You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

 

– Steve Jobs, Apple founder, 1955-2011

 

[ida]

a genius, he will be missed

[ida]

If you’re interested in going into a design office, entry levels and interns do a lot of the behind-the-scenes support work such as drawing sections, plans, 3d modeling, physical modeling, presentation boards, etc for the designers. So it’s not really necessary to have credentials if you want to be an intern in a design office. You just need good technical knowledge and can work independently in order to support the designers. For that you will need to show your portfolio. Design experience also comes from sitting in coffee shops with your laptop and learning how to use the computer programs 🙂

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

… but, if you want to go into a traditional office in a traditional position it is going to be pretty darn hard to get through the front door without “credentials” as there are so many out there looking for work who do have them.

 

If you have an unconventional background, you will need an unconventional way of getting in. There are many people out there with skills and abilities. They don’t translate into a job or into projects until/unless you give someone a good reason to want to give you money. Most of us are programmed to think that if we have skills we deserve a job – the problem is that we need someone to want to give us money to use our skills. When you start thinking how to make people want to give you money instead of holding on to it or giving it to someone else, you can then successfully plan your career path.   …. looking to offer the same skills that people with credentials have to people being constantly approached by those credentialed people is probably not going to be effective. You need to bring something big.

You need to bring a car to a bike race to compete without “credentials”.  The alternative is that you will be on foot.

Find out what is needed that is not being delivered enough in todays work place or market place, bring your skill set up to do those things, position yourself to build a track record doing such, position yourself to be noticed by those who value these skills in thetype of work that you actually want to do. It will be a lot of work, a little luck, and a ton of awareness and perseverance to come in sideways.

 

 

[Sara Donohoe]

Hi Neive, I’m kind of going through the same thing right now. I recieved my BS in Architecture and planned to get my MLA right after graduation. Well, then the loan payments began… education does not come cheap!

I ended up working at civil engineering firm as a landscape/CAD designer. Long story short, you don’t have to have the credentials behind your name to get the job you want. I mean, I have an education in architecture… to go into engineering… to practice landscape? Use what education you did recieve in underground to your advantage. Think of it this way: You bring different views/ideas/outlooks on LA simply because you don’t have the “official” background. You obviously have the drive and that’s half the battle. You’ll get to where you want to be!

Good luck!

[Jordan Lockman]

Like Sara said you can get there, it is just a little easier and faster when you do have an accredited degree. Also when it comes time to move up you may be passed over for someone less experienced that does have credentials. So make a goal of what you want and see how far you can go with what you have.

I know from experience with colleagues that not having the right degree come time to get licensed is a really big problem. Also in Design/build I worked with a lawyer turned landscape designer that was terrible with the basic design princepals, never hurts to know the basics and an education can really be a benefit no matter if you need it to get the job. Though the lawyer knew her plants, just could not make them work harmoniously together. Good luck and see what you can do. I know of other people that are doing the civil drafter route so give it a shot. 

[Sara Donohoe]

I agree with you, Jordan. It would be a lot easier if you had the accredited degree in the first place. I know I’ve kicked myself for not just simply getting my BS in LA. But, I would never give up the education that I did receive in Architecture.

I wanted to ask you about your comment regarding your colleagues trying to get registered without having the right degree. My goal is to be a registered LA, but I’ve had a hard time deciding whether I need to get my MLA or not. I get mixed reviews from people in the profession on whether the degree would be worth it in my case.

In Virginia I don’t have to have a LA degree to register for the test, but I do have to work a few more years in the profession.  What is your suggestion? Take my design background, learn the technical things (such as grading) in the working world, and run with it? Or go back to get my MLA to make things easier?

[Jordan Lockman]

I am in Minnesota and one of my study partners for the LARE passed his tests at the same time I did. We both applied for registration and I recieved my number right away and he was denied for only having an unaccredited Envrionmental Design Degree(LA undergrad degree) and not a BLA or MLA. He was able to get registered in a different state, but not where he works. So he will have to work another 4-5 years to get enough experience so that his degree is not a factor.

I would talk to the registration board for the states that you want to be licensed and see what they tell you about the prospects of getting licensed with an undergrad arch degree.

It is really difficult to quite a good job when you have it to go back for a degree, to get the job you currently have. Is there a school that you can take some la classes nearby that you could get your la while still working? Most things you can learn on the job, but many things it is nice to learn in school and many of those you probably learned getting your BS in Arch. I would also hate to go back and sit through a bunch of classes that the same or similart to those you took for your Arch degree. How close would you be to getting a BLA with the classes you have already taken? Do you necesarily need a MLA. Tuition is something like double or triple for a degree that in private firms holds no more value than a BLA.  

There are some classes that I am sure you would be helped by, but with that said if you can get through the tests and get registered you will be just as valuable as someone with an MLA. Your job options are a little more limited if you want to teach or work in some government jobs.

[Sara Donohoe]

There’s my problem – I already have quite a bit of design education that going to a 3-year MLA program would be redundant.

To give you a little background, UVA only offered undergrad in architecture and not LA. They did, however, have graduate programs in LA and Arch. When I was doing my undergrad studies I took several classes that were required for the MLA degree, including plant ID, sustainable practices, ect. I came out with a minor in LA. That being said, a lot of MLA programs at different universities said that I would have to retake all these. There were a select few schools that would work with me and shave a year off their program, but I would still have to do 2-3 years worth of studio classes. Even UVA said I’d have to retake some classes if I chose to do their MLA program. Silly, right?

I want to get the degree, but I don’t want to waste money doing something I’ve already been taught. I wish there was a simpler process. I guess I’m just a unique case. I suppose my best bet is to contact CLARB and see exactly what my options are. I’m just nervous that those options will change 5 years down the road.

[Heather Smith]

Honestly. I would not get the MLA. You are correct that even internships are hard to get…including for people with masters degrees. If you really must go into the field I would make sure that the MLA program gives you the same skills a BLA does. My husband went to a boot camp to study for the LAREs and met people that had gotten MLAs with no BLAs that had no idea how to do grading and drainage.

My advice would be to find a job with a design/build firm. My husband started his own business and he has an interview next week with another design/build firm. It is very hard for firms that are just doing the design work right now and I do think the experience gained by constructing designs is very relevant.

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