What should I do? (suburban, planner, schools, issues)
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I am currently a geography student with a concentration in GIS. I have a BA in Sociology and am in social work (and I hate it). I've been wanting to get into an Masters in Urban Planning Program since I graduated. However, I've recently grown an interest in law and might be considering it in the future.
I ran across a few law schools that have dual programs. One program is a JD and a Masters in Urban Planning, the other is a JD and a concentration in Environmental Law. I'm more interested in the Urban Planning/JD program, but it would require me to move out of town for a few years to get it, while the Environmental Law program is more local.
What should I do? Which area of concentration is better and more lucrative? Can anyone tell me about Environmental Law and what those people go through? Is a Law degree even worth going after or should I just focus solely on Urban Planning and do law school later?
If you think you have the chops to be "top of class" in any of the programs then I wouod go full throttle toward that. If you are half hearted I would skip it.
Right now jobs for anything related to planning / environmental issues are only going to very dedicated peole that can carve out something for themselves. Things are frankly no better for those coming out of law school either.
Having an interest in something is flat oit not enough -- if you have proven yourself as some one that has dedication and leadership to make your own way than maybe you have a shot....
Stacking degrees on top of degrees is a recipe for financial ruin. How did you pay for the BA in sociology? Why are you doing another degrees in GIS? Do you have a reasonable idea of who might hire you to do that kind of work?
Switching is going to waste time and be costly, but having only academic experience is not going to make it easy to get hired doing anything.
Need to know what you need to do before you spend more...
If you think you have the chops to be "top of class" in any of the programs then I wouod go full throttle toward that. If you are half hearted I would skip it.
Right now jobs for anything related to planning / environmental issues are only going to very dedicated peole that can carve out something for themselves. Things are frankly no better for those coming out of law school either.
Having an interest in something is flat oit not enough -- if you have proven yourself as some one that has dedication and leadership to make your own way than maybe you have a shot....
Stacking degrees on top of degrees is a recipe for financial ruin. How did you pay for the BA in sociology? Why are you doing another degrees in GIS? Do you have a reasonable idea of who might hire you to do that kind of work?
Switching is going to waste time and be costly, but having only academic experience is not going to make it easy to get hired doing anything.
Need to know what you need to do before you spend more...
A B.A. in Sociology has gotten me nowhere. I'm not trying to stay in social services period. The job opportunities for a person with my experience are limited to low wage, long hours case management work with very little room for growth.
My original intention was to go into Urban Planning at my Alma Mater, but my GPA wasn't the best so I decided to go into an undergraduate Geography/GIS program at another school to raise my GPA and get financial aid. I figured GIS was something that would enhance my chances of getting a job in the mean time, but my major is in Geography.
However, after talking to a graduate advisor, I realized that I only have a few classes left until I get my second BA. Right now I have a 4.0 GPA. If I'm able to maintain that GPA and graduate with a BA in Geography, then I would not only get into a Masters of Urban Planning Program, but I would definitely have the GPA to get into a good law school (depending on how I do on the LSAT). I figured a combination of Urban Planning and a JD would be a great combination.
I'm not worried about job experience b/c there's tons of opportunities for that in while in school (Internships, externships, assistantships, etc).
the dual law / planning is a good mix and there are far too few attorneys with a real understanding of land use - ironic, since this field has a greater day-to-day impact on people's lives than most.
UC here in Cincinnati has a dual program. those accepted in the program typically have a great internship at a locally respected land use law firm and don't struggle finding a job like the normal planning only grads. but, they are saddled with a lot more debt and have to juggle two very different programs, neither of which will understand that you are enrolled in the other.
Get your second degree and sally forth. The one thing I learned from land deals is that there are a ton bunch of lawyers who can't read legal descriptions and write good opinions on the legals.
It took over a year to remove an Impediment caused by a lawyer. My land was resurveyed twice, and the title was written three times before it was correct All because the original land ownere thought he was a surveyor and wrote the description off the wrong pin. My real estate lawyer caught it because he had a copy of the original 40 acres before the owner subdivided it. In real life he is Criminal Attorney.
Used by urban planners of a rather long distant time period.
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