Not entirely true, Henry. While not a huge priority among LAs, LEED can be a great asset to have on your resume. It not only is relevant to architects, but to PEs, MEP engineers, and yes, LAs. At the VERY least, LAs should know what it is comprised of and how they fit into the puzzle. Not every LA practice will need to have a LEED-AP, but many do.
The sections that LAs deal with not only have to do with the obvious water efficiency credits with regards to landscape, but also a great deal of site planning and selection, green roofs, permeability and runoff of the site.
While SSI is also important, LEED has a lot more sway and is more relevant in practice. More developers know what LEED is, and almost none have heard of SSI.
Benjamin, the big issue with becoming a LEED-AP will be trying to find a testing center where you can take the exam. It is not an online thing, and the tests are only given through a company called Prometric. Here is the GBCIs page to find a testing center:
https://securereg3.prometric.com/Dispatch.aspx
In the scheme of things, LEED is actually pretty cheap to get and maintain compared to an LA license and many of the other ratings out there, and they make it really easy to keep your CEUs up to date…and for FREE! I haven’t spent a dime or vast amounts of time maintaining the credential since I got it. I’d go for it if you don’t need to get a license first. I’ve been a LEED-AP BD+C since 2009 and plan on eventually going for a ND credential, and it has helped get interviews.
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