ida

the only tip for people should be to hire a landscape architect 😉

The traditional way of finding a company in your desired location and sending them a hard or digital portfolio, resume, and cover letter should be enough. Whether or not they want a foreigner depends from office to office. Usually the bigger office, or an office that does international work, the more likely they can bring in a foreigner. You may…[Read more]

Rhino 3d. Nearly identical. You can customize the key commands and the look to be the same as AutoCad, works with dwg files and maintains all the layers and styles. I would still prefer Autocad to work in cad documents, but Rhino comes very close. Basically if you know how to use AC, then you know how to use Rhino since mostly all the functions…[Read more]

It’s kinda hard to take anyone in a Hawaiian shirt seriously 😉 

There are many roles to play in the LA profession and we often work with consultants who specialize in specific parts such as lighting, ecology, structural engineering, etc. We also have people join our company who have spent time working in those consulting firms early in their career. So yes there is a chance for you to move on to design office…[Read more]

I agree with this. It’s hard to define what we do compared to architecture because we generally don’t make objects, we makes spaces (usually), and whenever it is visually stunning, it is through the use of plants or hardscape which could give people the impression that it was undesigned (natural) or done by an architect (The Highline for example…[Read more]

🙁

I’m not sure why we’re all picking on Linda. She said nothing offensive IMHO. She offered useful information about LEED. And whether or not she is an LA or not has no meaning. This forum should be about sharing different ideas, not about showing how big of a stick you carry.

nicely put.

You will have a harder time landing a job in an office where the primary role would be to work in the back and assist more senior staff. These jobs are usually low pay and maybe long hours, which young people who are single with a lot of energy would not mind filling. Employers know this. There are however, offices who needs a more well-rounded…[Read more]

I usually start doing analysis/research, figuring out the big issues, analyzing the context (where people come from, who will use it, what they need, etc) doing a lot of diagrams, and making a structure. This process can also involve multiple designers and the client(s)/public through workshops, discussions, etc. It gets messy, but can make your…[Read more]

Willing to relocate to a different state or country would certainly increase your options. And moving to another country especially is risky, emotionally demanding, but you’ll get over the hump after a year.
After losing my job due to the 08 crash, I moved back with my parents, and kept going at my portfolio, improving old projects, trying new…[Read more]

Well the best way to do it, like you sort of mentioned, is to give them work that makes them feel like they’re doing something meaningful, and making sure they don’t do overtime and burn out. And then all that wellness perks will be unnecessary.
These construction details, estimates, being in front of the cpu, can be a bore, but I think people can…[Read more]

Nice sales pitch… Low pay, lots of overtime, and cranky clients should sweeten the deal.

I agree with you there. I don’t know the full story of Winston’s background so I just gave him a broad suggestion on how he may be able to use his degree to help himself out better financially. Maybe it makes him a better la, maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know, that’s up to him to figure out and communicate that with the employer. It certainly doesn’t…[Read more]

Are you applying for an entry-level la position or planning position in this company?
If you can tell them how your advance degree is a benefit and how it applies to the position you’re applying for, then you can ask for more than someone who just holds a bachelors.

If your friend still prefers to work by hand, I would suggest to him getting Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom tablet. It takes some getting used to, but once mastered it’s as good as the traditional pen and paper with the benefits of the undo button.

To be less intimidating, I don’t know any profession where management types are more plentiful than designers/engineers/technicians/etc.

Try archiproducts.com/en

The machine I use for PS is only an i3, 32-bit system with only 2gb ram, and a lousy GTS450 graphics card, but it doesn’t crash and it can handle the large 1gb+ PS files well. My machine doesn’t crash because it’s properly cooled and has the right amount wattage. So yes I agree with you, you don’t need a super computer, you just need a well built machine.