mauiBob

3 day weekend, Craig and Henry! Woohoo time! Lets all go home, baby! Good Friday is one of those paid holidays. Its been a crazy work week. Time to let loose. I wanna ride the subway train roof like a surfboard…all over NYC. L Express is my ticket around the city!..

http://career-services.monster.com/yahooarticle//100K-jobs-women#WT…

April, Some people just can’t handle the truth! Its not pessimism…its the hard facts. No rosy pictures. 14 years in this profession, experiencing all the ups and downs and watching many former co-workers go into another career field…have led me to believe that this is such a wonderful financially rewarding field to be a part of.

Okay Craig, next time someone ask me, especially a student, I’ll tell them LA is great! A very very bright future, where its financially lucrative, lots of prestige, and probably retire after only 20 years in the profession. And did I forget to mention that all the young kids will want your photo and autograph too. Everyone should be a LA. There’s…[Read more]

Kim and Heather, Are you two serious?! I accepted a position on Maui 4.5 years ago after working for a private firm in Phoenix. About a year on Maui county, the firm in Phoenix went bye-bye. They laid off almost everyone during the great depression of 2009. Several of my former co-workers are still looking for an LA position or moved on to another…[Read more]

That’s great news for you Heather! But, you do have one huge advantage: you and husband were a LA design build duo. One person doing this route solo, especially right out of school would find a more difficult time.
I can guarantee that a graduating nursing student will FIND employment before a landscape architecture one! By average in the long…[Read more]

April, you are definitely dreaming!! How do you suppose of getting your license working with a non-licensed landscape contractor? If you think your schooling is teaching all you need to know about the design aspect of LA….then you are spending way too much time in Disneyland. Heed to Jason’s advice and comment.

You said it all, Jason! Students today simply DO NOT know what they’re getting themselves into…this roller coaster of a profession.

Jay, this is what I’ve been hollering and yelling out to students for the past 10 years!!! And I’ve been having this debate with Craig Anthony for months on end. Tell the students the hard truth. As students, you are the University’s clients. Those school projects are not realistic. In the real world, you don’t have countless hours to spend on a…[Read more]

When someone graduates with an art degree, sometimes they go into teaching or graphic designer or working for a film company to design sets. Generally, when LAs and Architects graduate, they go do LA and Architect stuff, and not teach in high school.
Anyway, Craig. I’ll never convince you. Start working on Plan D. LA is gone, man. Craig the NYC…[Read more]

LP, always remember: “Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” We just happen to read different reports. Have fun in China.

Not very often we agree…but this guy is 100% correct! Too many variables to be specific.

I agree with about 90% of what Landplanner wrote, except for the healthcare comment. From my view and understanding, there’s no downside to healthcare industry. They can’t find enough RNs to fill open positions in U.S. hospitals. And computer programmers are a hot bed. If you can write app codes, some start-up firm somewhere will hire you.…[Read more]

What if someone steals your information from the cloud? How do you file a police report? Cloud may be the new frontier, but they need to work out the kinks before mass movement to use it.

Okay brother Andrew, that’s not how explained it. I gotcha now.
Craig (only), LA is dead! Get it thru your head. Take off the rosy colored glasses! Give it 10 years. Know what I mean, jellybean? Those on the outside are losers and every designer should be able to get on the inside.

Craig, what are you talking about?! I agreed with you that its more than just two perspectives. Andrew’s inside or outside views were rather weak. For Andrew, if you’re on the outside, you complain about the profession, and are lazy and don’t know how to market your portfolio or talk to clients.
Life is a little more complex than his two views of…[Read more]

Andrew, “poke and laugh at those of us stupid enough to not leave the profession” Huhh? I’m merely saying there’s more to it than you’re view on the “inside” or “outside”. Just because you’re on the “outside” with an LA job doesn’t imply lack of hard work or no knowledge in getting clients. This is what your previous statements are suggesting. And…[Read more]

April, Try telling this to Andrew! Its either you’re on the “inside” or “outside” of LA. There are no gray areas.

Craig, there you go again my friend: “hang in there, not like this forever.” You living in Disneyland or something? Some people can’t wait 4 or 5 years! And when it does, eventually come back, firms have learned to do with less…[Read more]

Andrew, isn’t that a rather elitist view? You’re saying if you can’t get any work for yourself or unemployed, its because you are not good enough as a landscape architect. Completely ignoring the fact that some people were laid off due to circumstances beyond their control. Example: You are a project manager/senior associate of a 25 person firm.…[Read more]

Craig, you sound like the Captain of the Titanic. “This ship cannot sink. I find that idea impossible.”
It was a year and half ago when we debated this topic and nothing has really changed. The profession is never going back to the pre-2008 days. LAs need to adapt, because I see lots of future work overseas. Yes, projects will become alive…[Read more]