[BZ Girl]

Hi Lola! I am in  the EXACT same situation as you. I have passed every section except E. I had a good 4 years left to get this one section taken care of, so when i found out i was pregnant, i figured i would just take the next year off and start up again once the baby madness calmed down a bit. I’m with you- being forced to take the test in December when i’m 7 months pregnant or June when i’m running off 2 hours of sleep for months just absolutely is NOT going to work. I would be wasting my time and money frantically trying to pass a test i’m not physically/mentally prepared for.

 

 One year (and thus only 2 graphic exam administrations) simply isn’t enough time to accomodate the changeover. The dismal failure rate of section E has proven that MOST candidates have to take this section 2, 3, even 4 times before they pass. I refuse to believe that 70% of the section E test takers are woefully inept, underprepared, incompetent landscape architects who pose a grave danger to society. I think both section C and E are riddled with inconsistencies and grader-judgement-errors, and thus test takers are subject to having to take the test several times before passing. 

 

CLARB ‘claims’ they are willing to work with individuals on a need-by-need basis. Maybe if enough ‘individuals’ petition them to extend the transition period they will get the message. The transition period needs to be AT LEAST two years. 

[BZ Girl]

Great article. This is one of my chief frustrations when i am designing children’s play spaces…all of the over-sanitized, super-safetyfied ‘rules’ have completely eliminated all the risk and wonder and excitement that should be in a playground!! Child psychologists have been saying for DECADES that children need to take calculated, measurable risks in order to foster healthy development, and that without reaching this developmental milestone there will be life-long implications into adulthood. I’m not saying we should throw out all the rules and go back to 10 foot high slides on top of concrete pavement, but I would be delighted if we as a society (and as designers) could get away from outdoor environments designed with fear-of-litigation in mind!!

[BZ Girl]

I have a friend who is in this very situation you just described. He has passed all sections except section D, which i believe he has taken 3 times now. ‘Wow’, you might be saying ‘this guy sure doesn’t know construction very well. He must be pretty dense to take it 3 times without passing.’ But this guy owns his own design build firm!! He, of all my landscape architect friends, is the most well-informed about construction details, methods, processes etc. Just another example of how the LARE is so far off the mark in terms of testing pertinent, accurate, and useful information in the field of landscape architecture.

 

I too question the one-year window, given that the LARE has such a tremendously high fail rate and thus re-take rate (I know TONS of people who have had to take a section 2, 3, 4 times before passing!!)  If a candidate has only one section left to pass, that’s only 2 shots to get a passing score before you’re totally screwed and risk losing a ton of time and money spent on the previous tests. CLARB should extend the transition period to 2 years. But then again, why would they? This is just another fantastic ploy to rake in more profits at the expense of the candidates.

[BZ Girl]

Thanks Henry! This was very helpful. I found that our state dept. of labor has a payday law that expressly prohibits witholding wages from a paycheck, unless it’s court-ordered (like child support), state or federally required (like taxes), or is expressly agreed to in writing with a document signed by the employee. Since my situation falls outside of all of these parameters, it looks like i have just cause to file a claim for lost wages.

 

Once again Land8 forum proves to be very helpful!!

[BZ Girl]

Thank you all for your encouragement…it’s needed! Despite their verbal agreement to my offer to be voluntarily laid off, apparently my former employer is now changing their tune and saying that i resigned. They gave me a formal letter with my last paycheck that said ‘we accept your resignation’ yadda yadda yadda. Which I’m guessing would prohibit me from being eligible for unemployment benefits. EVEN THOUGH they have given us paycut after paycut after paycut, and taken away all the employee benefits, my boss refused to acknowledge that it was in the best interests of both the company and myself to lay me off; he said that since it was all my idea he considers it a ‘resignation.’ He would rather keep everyone onboard and working for barely more than slave wages rather than do the humane thing and lay people off to pursue more financially-feasible options. 

 

Oh, and in my final paycheck, they deducted $1200 for the LARE reimbursables they had paid me as a benefit over a year ago. They claimed they ‘changed the company policy’ FIVE DAYS before i left, and the new policy allows them to retroactively take that money back if the employee doesn’t remain employed with them 2 years after the reimbursables are paid. This was NOT the policy that was in effect when i took the tests, NOR when the reimbursables were paid to me, and i don’t see how it’s legal for them to garnish my wages like that when they changed the rules ‘after the fact.’ But it’s a small company, most of the federal employees’ rights rules do not apply to them and they get away with S#@! because they can. What can i do?

 

At least this reaffirms my decision to leave. I was literally physically ill over the whole situation all weekend, and at least Thank God i never have to see those people again. Time for a new chapter. Onward and upward!

[BZ Girl]

Yeah, I think it’s definitely been very helpful. Even when you are working in an office with other people, sometimes you can still feel disconnected and completely alone despite being surrounded by coworkers. Logging on to Land8 and hearing other people’s perspectives and advice is infinitely valuable when i really have nowhere else to turn.

 

Craig, Andrew- bravo to your for blazing your own trails! Fearless entrepreneurs like yourself are the ones that give me hope and inspiration that someday i will also blaze my own trail. Andrew I know it probably will be tough in the beginning as you ‘take a hit to the wallet’, but i want to hear all about your successes and misadventures alike! I still believe that there just must be no greater sense of accomplishment than being your own boss. 

 

As for me, as of next week i join the ranks of the thousands of unemployed landscape architects. But there’s no pity party here!! I am actually thrilled to death. You may remember from one of my posts that my office was filled with crappy-ass mismanagement, and that place was a sinking ship for sure. So i asked them to let me go. I couldn’t deal with the BS anymore, and they really don’t have the cash flow to keep everyone on board, so i asked them to just let me go. And thus a new chapter begins! Don’t know where it will lead, but I am definitely excited to be heading in a new direction.

 

Hang in there everyone! There’s lots of good moral support on Land8! Keep it up!

[BZ Girl]

strangely entertaining indeed. some helpful posts, some not. entertaining nonetheless!

[BZ Girl]

Thanks Barbara! This is great advice. I appreciate your thoughts!

[BZ Girl]

I agree with Tanya. I think it is incredibly relevant, and very timely to this discussion! I enjoyed reading all the response comments. Sounds like a lot of my thoughts are being echoed by women architects.

[BZ Girl]

But she’s not interested in strategizing how to proceed, she just wants other women to support her conclusion.

 

In asking to hear about other’s experiences, i was intending to glean insight into how others have handled similar situations, and perhaps get a few new ideas on effective strategies. Sorry if i didn’t spell that out in the original post.

 

I’m bothered that many responses thus far have portrayed me as a whining victim who is ‘creating a nice rationale for her ineffectiveness in the workplace.’ Nowhere have I said that i let this (real or perceived) issue stop me from doing what i needed to do. Per one of my earlier responses, i have found ways to work around it.  I agree with Heather, i don’t understand all the scowling angry responses to something that was simply intended as a discussion point. 

[BZ Girl]

“So where do you draw the line of dignity? At what point do you say, NO i will not be a doormat and allow myself to be blatantly trampled on all for the sake of the sacred cow, the ever-coveted ‘at least you have a job’? At what point do you stand up for yourself and your self respect? Or should i just lay down like a good little doormat and take it, because after all, at least i have a job?  From BZ in the “crappy job” thread.

 

Does this sound like someone who is looking to fit in and work hard to gain respect? It does not sound that way to me, but I may be genderphobic and not know it.

 

I beg to differ. I think it proves that i’m NOT going to be someone who allows herself to be trampled on, whether by crappy office management or discriminatory(?) team members.

[BZ Girl]

Yeah, doing punch lists on a new construction job is always interesting. In the five years i’ve been working, only ONCE have i encountered another female on site. Sometimes the superintendent listens to me and takes my comments seriously and responds, sometimes they don’t. I’ve never experienced any blatantly obvious discrimination- no one has smacked me on my a$$ and told me to get back in the kitchen. It’s more just an underlying sense of not being taken seriously.

 

Don’t get me wrong- i’m NOT claiming to be a victim. I’m not going to let some real or perceived issue stop me from doing what i need to do. I find a way to work around them. Case in point- after one meeting, i told my boss about the comments and suggestions i’d made, and how the client (architect) and other team members totally dismissed them. I asked him to send a memo to the team reaffirming the suggestions i’d made. All of a sudden, the client was like ‘yeah, ok, that might be a good idea.’ My coworker Beth said she has encountered the same situations, and taken the same course of action. We’ve both learned that certain clients just won’t listen to us, no matter what we say; it has to come from the bossman. Whether that respect is due to his age or reputation or just being a ‘good old boy’, i don’t know. But at least Beth and I have figured out a way to work around the dismissers! And one day, when I own my own firm, you better believe i’m taking notes about who i like to work with and who i don’t….which clients value my time and expertise, and which ones don’t. It’s all part of a preparation process that will be valuable some day!

[BZ Girl]

in terms of job protection (i.e. not being laid off), i feel like the ‘married with kids’ crowd have an upper hand, at least in offices that claim to be ‘family friendly.’ I can relate to maui bob’s experience though, in that the ‘married with kids’ coworkers are the last ones in the office in the morning, first ones out in the afternoon, and DEFINITELY take more time off and sick days, etc. Who’s more likely to stay late and burn the midnight oil, go the extra mile, to meet the deadline? The singles. But who’s also more likely to be let go when times are tough and there’s not enough work to keep all staff employed? The singles. When the boss is looking around the office, who do you think he’s going to kick to the curb: my coworker next to me, with a wife and 2 small kids to support, or me, the solo agent who has no dependents and is theoretically able to pick up and move across country if needed to get a job? In a perfect world this wouldn’t be a factor in considering layoffs…it would be based on job performance, profitability, etc. But i think it does anyway.

 

Just my two cents.

[BZ Girl]

Are you hiring?? I want a boss like you!!!!!

[BZ Girl]

i’m digging your proposal #6. I have been telling my husband for months now that my right shoulder hurts by the end of the day, and i’m quite sure it’s b/c my ergonomics are out of whack. The office of course went to Office Depot and bought the cheapest chairs possible, which do not adequately accomodate different body types. My husband, who works for a Fortune 500 company, was commenting how his company holds quarterly ergonomics evaluations for each employee and immediately replaces any furniture that isn’t in compliance with the best practices. Ahhh must be nice…I hope my shoulder still works when i’m 40…

[Author]

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