Advice On Which (If Any) Planning-Related Profession An Aspie Fits In (alternatives, interviews)

[Stifled]

Hi, I am about to enter the 2nd and final year of my master's program for a degree in Geography. I have been trying to concentrate on planning courses and looking to see where I can fit in this field based on my interests and own personal work characteristics. Performing well in school has not been too hard for me, but it has been more challenging for me in the work place. I do have Asperger's Syndrome (a mild version) and as such there are some specific characteristics that do and don't work well. If any of you could provide your thoughts and feedback based on your experience and knowledge, that would be most helpful and appreciative. I. Interests 1) Environmental -Sustainable and Smart Growth -Preserving and maintaining a rural lifestyle 2) Transportation -Corridor studies -Regional road plans 3) Demographics -Identifying if an area is rural/suburban -Determining and understanding the influence and attributes of a specific DMA 4) Generally I am into studying/understanding a region (if it's rural/suburban or what the traffic patterns are) and developing ideas/proposals to solve problems (do we add HOT lanes or another expressway/how do we preserve the greenfields?) and LESS into zoning regulations/permits and those types of tasks. II. Characteristics 1) Schedule -I work much better with a predictable schedule. One were I come in the morning and have a good of what is in store for the day and is consistent, but also has a degree of flexibility. 2) Structure -I work much better when the job is structured and predictable. One that is task-orientated and has a concrete well defined goal as opposed to being open ended. -I also am better when the job does not involve a lot of multi-tasking and not a lot of "thinking on your feet." 3) Team Work v Individual -I work well in team environment but prefer and do much better when I can complete my work independently and interact with people as needed and supplementary. -Ideally I do well with and 80-20 split, with 80 percent being individual and independent. 4) Environment -I do much better when there is less of an emphasis on interacting with people and not a high degree of direct customer service interactions. -An environment that is not overly political or competitive is also much more desirable. -One were there is not constant deadline pressures and has less pressure in general. 5) Technical -I am not an overly technical person with a big background in a math of GIS. -I do work best in a setting which requires more of a cursory knowledge of computers and use of stats for descriptive purposes. -I really enjoy using maps and using stats but am NOT proficient at technically creating the maps and doing the statistical computations. 6) Skills I have -Hard working, motivated to do a good job, detailed, task orientated, and will take the initiative to do a good job. It is clear to me that I have major interest in planning issues. I am trying to as I head into my final year have a better picture on where I fit and should focus my career search. I am a bit concerned with planning in that from what I have read it seems this could be a high stress, people-interaction based career with an unpredictable schedule and requires a lot of technical expertise. I would like to know given my interests in environmental preservation, transportation planning, demographics, and along with the characteristics I work best at, if and were I fit best in planning or a planning-related profession. In a nutshell, the academia environment of a structured, predictable schedule and independent and individual work has suited me very well as a student. Having Asperger's, any job that requires a lot of multi-tasking, is people based, and unpredictable would be very challenging to perform well in. However, I do not wish to be in academia as a profession and would like to know which of the public/private/non-profit/other segments might be of a similar match for my interests and characteristics. Thanks!

[silverjet]

Wow, a lot to read there. I have a bachelors in Geography, so I understand that it's a little challenging sometimes to figure out which career track to go on. Honestly, I think you should talk to a professor you're comfortable with and just talk with him about your career interests, etc. Based on what you've said about yourself and from what I know about planning careers, it doesn't seem like planning is the right fit for you -- at least not the typical planning job, anyway. This page from the Bureau of Labor helps a lot in describing their duties, etc.

Some alternatives...maybe try a career with say, the US Census or some other place that studies population or the USDA Rural Development Center. See what's available at your state DNR. The news media uses researchers for reports they're doing, maybe that's something that is of possible interest. Read a bunch of job descriptions to get ideas of what certain careers are like. Also, set up informational interviews with planners and other people with careers you're interested in to get a feel of what a typical day is like for them.

[Stifled]

Silverjet, thank you VERY much.

Since you have a degree in Geography, perhaps you can help me with this question.
As I said, I have a strong interest in Geography issues.
I love reading about regional projects and plans, and I absolutely love using maps.
I am NOT a GIS guru, but I love reading and using maps in my spare time because they summarize so clearly information in one page.

I am a black-and white thinker who really given my personality works best with a predictable schedule with a clear cut, challenging but not overwhelming/stressful goal.
I like using stats but AM NOT a techinical guru with math or GIS.

Do you have any suggestions on what careers related to and using a geography degree might be a fit for me given my interests and personality?

I was think off the top of my head
1) Academia (but really would prefer not to)
2) Logistics ( but afraid since I am NOT a quant guy I am not qualified, plus isn't this more of a business degree?)
3) Census (does that require a lot of quant expertise?)
4) Market Research (again does this require quant expertise and would a geography degree be useful or wasted?)
5) Department of Transportation?



I would really love a job too that would not be in an office all day.
I love how in school you are in variety of settings, not just one noisey room the entire day.
This is one aspect of being a planner I liked...that you got to do field-work outside the office.

Basically, something which involves geography issues such as regional planning/population that is concrete black-and-white but NOT requiring the person to be a math or GIS expert and could have a mix of field-work outside the office would be a good match.
It is VERY IMPORTANT I find a career that I can excel at. I often demand and take comfort in being able to get 'A's" and when I work and don't do well it makes it hard to enjoy life.

[GypsySoul22]

With your interests and AS you could be my son..he loves maps, geography, facts...

Maybe you could get your Masters or PHD and become a professor. Professors are experts in their fields and can talk about it all day long.

Good luck.

[annerk]

Transportation planning is a rapidly growing field and it sounds like you'd do very well there. Good luck to you!

[silverjet]

Something involving transportation might be a good area. I don't know where you live, but I'm in the Twin Cities. I know a fair number of Geography grads in my area have done internships with or have otherwise worked for the Metropolitan Council. Even if you don't live here, you might want to just take a look at it and see if there's something comparable in your area.

In my experience, you don't need to be GIS expert for many geography-related non-GIS jobs; it seems that most employers are fine with someone who has general knowledge of GIS and can make maps when needed.

I highly suggest doing an internship or try to job shadow different people. Often you just don't know what something is like until you're actually on the job. Not to mention, with the economic climate the way it is, it certainly doesn't hurt to make some possible connections with people that may be able to help you get a job when you graduate.

[Stifled]

The other thing I thought I would mention, this summer I did a couple of projects for a nearby town planner's office.
While I enjoyed my boss, I do not think town planning is for me.
It was not just the obvious....the high stress/unbalanced schedule/interacting with people....it was also the work itself.

I found town planning for a New England town to be a bit different than what I hoped.
It was more nuts-and-bolts dealing with permits for adding decks to the house, and making changes to the zoning code.

I have a desire to do something where you can be more of a visionary, almost sim-city like, where you design and create something tangible and play around with different scenarios.
This was not the case as a town planner.


Now I am wondering, would it be any different if I were involved in regional or transportation planning?

Pardon the poor analogy....but I envisioned planning as almost like being a GM of a sports team...where you envision and construct a roster and get to play around with different combinations...sim-cityish.

As a younger person I often would like to as a hobby look at maps and pretend I was designing the major highway network for a regional metropolitian area.
To me, that was pretty cool and it felt like I was creating something tangible as opposed to just pushing paper.
__________________________________________________ __________________
Questions

1) I hope I am describing this in a way you can picture, because I would like to know if regional or transportation planning would be more like this.

2) Further...would my skill-set fit into this? Is the type of work I am describing something a non-quant planner can do...or is this something an engineer/architect/GIS guru does?
-I'm concerned that because I am NOT a technical person in terms of engineering/math/science/computers that the type of work, simulating designs/scenarios of how to grow/develope regional infrastructure would be above my qualifications.

3) Given that I am soon to began the final year of my program and am trying to figure a niche for my skills and interests, what do you recommend I do?
-Visit the University Career Center?
-Talk to my department?
-Is there an outside job coaching service that would be able to help me given my skills and field of study....I fear just going to the University they might not know much about planning....but if I go to the department...they might undermanned to help with my skills and shortcomings.

[annerk]

Transit planning my be the field you are looking for. Planning the routes and stops, determining loads versus capacities at different times of the day/week/month, lots of analytical work. The larger the transit system is, the less likely you'll need to deal with the public. Airlines, freight trains, ocean cargo, public and private bus systems, trucking, they are all about load scheduling and planning.

Good luck!