Brent Jacobsen

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  • #164833
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Thanks for the response and recommendation Tamera.  I am in the process of get my LEED GA this fall, and Neighborhood Development seemed like the most relevant specialization to pursue for full accreditation, but it is nice to hear it from someone firsthand to confirm my suspicions.  Thanks!

    #163013
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    I guess it remains a “buyer’s market” for employers.  Ditto on the crazy.

    #163645
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Hi Jake,

    Congrats – both are great options.  I have not attended either school, but now practice here in LA.  I can verify that Cal Poly Pomona is very well-regarded in Los Angeles (and beyond) and has a huge alumni network and connections in the area for potential jobs.  It is, however, still facing a lot of economic challenges due to the state’s budget issues that may or may not affect resources while you are there.  USC is a newly accreditated program so its reputation is much less established.  However, it has a lot of buzz going for it, and my impression is that its goal is to build an internationally renowned design program similar to Harvard or Penn (in fact many of their faculty and adjuncts are Harvard-trained).  I know someone there right now in the 18-month MLA II program, and he has had a very good experience there, including working on an international studio in Argentina.  But, sometimes new programs can have growing pains that may affect your time there.  Probably the bigger questions are what kind of program you want to be a part of (studio culture and community), what kind of debt you might acquire (can you survive and then pay it back), whether you prefer the project types or student work being done at one or the other (graphic styles and project types provide a good idea of what you will do at school), and what kind of practice interests you (where do grads end up?). 

     

    My impression is that Cal Poly Pomona and USC will tackle similar issues in Los Angeles, but diverge some in the next few years in their methods, style, and approach.  I don’t think you can err with either, but one might help you go down paths you are more interested in walking.  Good luck!

     

    Brent

    #164835
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Thanks for the candid thoughts Charles.  I definitely support the overarching mission of LEED, namely, to encourage better and more sustainable design and construction practices. But, at its worst, I agree that LEED has become a self-sustaining business similar to educational testing, where thousands and thousands of dollars are required to basically get a resume bullet for knowledge you may or may not of already acquired as a design professional.  But, that resume bullet is a pretty important one now, whether we totally agree with the processes of attaining it. And, hopefully the knowledge acquired will also make us better design professionals.

     

    To follow-up, do you think that Landscape Architects benefit from becoming a LEED AP, both in credentials and in the exam prep process?  Or, might we be better served elsewhere?   

    #165848
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Most faculty don’t have a current practice, but a lot will track how their advisees do in the marketplace, especially if they are active in helping people find jobs or providing recommendations.  Usually they try to keep up to date so that they can provide good advice, but also to help market the program to potential students (i.e. our major can help people find jobs, usually, and here is what they start at).  Above all, though, good luck!

    #165851
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Of the people I know who recently graduated (past two years) with an MLA that are currently working, my best guess is that salaries average in the low to mid-40’s, and range from high 30’s to high-40’s based on location, experience levels, and market conditions.  I would agree that you should reference general information if pressed for your expectation, and be willing to express flexibility.  Ultimately, if they want you, and you are open, any negotiations should be just that, a negotiation, and not a dealbreaker. 

     

    One thought – have you asked your faculty what typical graduates are getting?  They often keep tabs on that, and it can give you another good, general reference point to use in the interview.  When asked, you can answer, “Generally, graduates from my program have started from $—- to $—–.”

    #169138
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    http://la-landscape.blogspot.com/

    Here’s my small blog about landscape and design in los angeles. Not able to post as much as I used to (thanks to fortunately finding some work a few months back), but like to share articles and ideas on things happening in LA.

    Look forwarding to reading more from everyone else. Great resource!

    Brent

    #169482
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Great question TJ – I would be interested in hearing others opinions as well. I graduated with my MLA a year ago now, but am also interested in teaching at some point as an adjunct or full-time prof. I know that in addition to CELA and ASLA, there is a good listserv (affiliated with CELA I think) that usually has almost every teaching position posted to it at some point. Most of them are full-time, tenure track positions, but they at least might give you some places to start. The listserv is at:

    http://listserv.syr.edu/archives/larch-l.html

    Signing up for it is kind of a weird interface, but you should be able to join. Good luck.

    #170470
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Totally agree with Nick – I really like Illustrator for diagramming because of the ease of drawing and manipulating lines. It can also be a decent program for doing plan graphics, although the files tend to get really large. The added benefit of using Illustrator is that that you can open .pdfs from AutoCAD in Illustrator and work directly with the lines from AutoCAD (vs. Photoshop which rasterizes the image first). You can also export to other programs (as mentioned in the post below), including to a DWG. The conversion is not perfect, but gives you a good start.

    #171461
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Excellent link – thanks for sharing!

    #171747
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    I would second that it depends on what you want to do and who you want to work for. The main ones mentioned, namely drafting and graphic programs, are standard for anybody. Other, more niche programs would be Revit (as mentioned by Zach) and ArcGIS. Will less standard, they will be highly beneficial in the future. Revit is a BIM (building information modeling) program that large firms like AECOM are starting to embrace, and will become more standard as more and more architects use it. And, ArcGIS is required if you have any interest in planning or large scale work. Especially now that it is beginning to include more 3d modeling capabilities (still rudimentary, don’t get me wrong, but aspiring towards greater things), ArcGIS will be a key element of studying different planning outcomes.

    #171805
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    No problem – definitely feel free to contact me. I am happy to help if I can, and can also put you touch with the current U of A student ASLA president if you want to talk to her at all. Student ASLA can be a great resource and opportunity, though, so I highly encourage getting involved and promoting it at ASU. Admittedly, the challenge for most student chapters is that it is ultimately a reflection of what people put into it. So, much like a local ASLA chapter, Student ASLA’s success rests on the willingness of members to invest their personal energy and time into it as volunteers. And, as students with full course loads, part-time jobs, etc., it can be tough for people to make it a priority.

    At U of A, we have tried to disperse the workload as much as possible over a group of representatives on the leadership board, but I know it can still sometimes be a (thankless) burden for those students who decide to do it. However, when we have members and officers willing to make things happen, I found it to be an unmatched resource for students to broaden their school experience, advocate for needs, and connect with professionals. If you are interested, here is the link to the U of A Chapter website – it is something still in the works (we built it for the first time last year, and are still trying to improve it, complete pages, and maintain it properly), but it gives you an idea of some of the initiatives we have tried to implement there and our chapter structure.

    http://landscape.arizona.edu/ASLA/01new/index.html

    Let me know if I can help at all, and definitely get in touch with your ASU reps and the AZ ASLA Chapter representatives. They are usually really great people, and interested in meeting students and helping them accomplish things.

    Good luck.

    #171807
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    Hi Zach – are you curious about how local ASLA chapters work with University chapters, or how university chapters function? I noticed also that you are in Arizona – are you going to ASU?

    I just graduated last year from the University of Arizona, and can comment some on our ASLA situation. I felt like ASLA involvement at my university was pretty strong, but had some issues maintaining effective lines of communication. How well we integrated with, and actually communicated with the Arizona-ASLA Chapter, really varied year to year. I definitely feel that the AZ-ASLA Chapter is a great supporter of both the ASU and the U of A programs (not only do they provide financial support for students traveling to ASLA National, they also sponsor different student award programs). However, we often never heard about deadlines for these programs, or received notification a day before a submittal deadline. Fortunately, initiatives have been underway the past few years to create a better communication link between the professional chapter and the U of A chapter, but I can’t comment and whether they are better this year.

    As for our student chapter, I feel like it does a great job of promoting student activities, ongoing education opportunities, and networking, although I can’t compare how robust we are to another university. I am sure there are even stronger chapters elsewhere. But, we usually have a number of brown bag lunches where students, faculty, alums, or professionals come in to talk about different topics of interest such as ongoing projects, research, travel, or an inside look at an office. We also have a number of social activities to hang out and relax together, and sponsor our own student design showcase every spring. With the downturn in the economy, though, I have noticed a big drop-off in our ability to bring firms to campus to talk about their work, recruit for jobs, etc. Most of them just aren’t able to spare the time.

    And, I always thought there was a real lack of integration between the ASU and U of A student chapters. We never did any events together (despite being 1.5 hours apart), nor communicated as far as I know while I was at the U of A. The few times we would meet would be at the AZ-ASLA Gala when students received awards, or at the Merit / Honor Award presentations.

    #171817
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    I guess I am wondering more about your final project – what components of sustainable urban forestry are you studying? Tree selection, installation, maintenance, and survival? Community involvement and organizing? Effects of an urban forest on sustainability such as stormwater management, urban heat island, etc.?

    Depending on your topic, I could see exploring uses for an urban forest to promote sustainability in a broader sense to support initiatives like urban agriculture or habitat provision. Might even look at Greek and Roman use of fruit-bearing trees (olives for instance), or other historic perspectives, and see how those might be able to work into an urban forest to increase local food production. Maybe double dip on your interest in history and a sustainable urban forest. Also, there has been a great rise in urban forest non-profit initiatives that have been really successful in building urban tree canopies through community involvement and ongoing care.

    I also worked on green roofs for my MLA, and would encourage further work there if you are interested. One leading edge area is using habitat provision for green roofs, and of course increased regional prototypes are desperately needed if you have time to research potential FL specific components.

    Good luck with the research – should be fun.

    #171993
    Brent Jacobsen
    Participant

    You are welcome – good luck!

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