Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
City planning is my dream job. Ive always been intetested in demographics and the in's and outs of a city and the way it works. I daydream about how i would change things around if I had a magic wand. This goes for every city I visit. Plan on going back to school for something in urban development. I dont know where to start though so this thread is helping a bit.
You can enjoy the life of a city planner.
You can do urban renewal particularly in neglected urban areas
You can make a difference in distressed urban areas.
Cons
Salary isn't great when you consider the fact you have to have a master's
You have to live in the same city you work in
You have to be creative and innovative to sustain in the business
Not too likely to get into an industrial accident or get cancer from this line of work.
Job features chances to be creative/innovative. I saw you had this as a con. If being creative/innovative is a con for you, you might think twice about a career like this. Or, change your approach and decide it belongs on the pro list. There's a lot to be said for a job that will stimulate your creativity in sometimes the oddest ways.
Con:
You'll have to work with politicians all the time, and a shift in local politics may mean the end of your job.
Everything you design will be held up for public criticism. And that's assuming you don't make any mistakes. If you DO make a mistake, expect it to get harsh. You have to have a thick skin in this line of work.
You best designs and favorite projects will eventually be considered dated and will be torn down.
You have to be very careful to maintain a clean image and careful about accepting gifts, even innocent ones that are from your friends.
In some cities you may occasionally have to deal with organized crime, if they want to influence a project. And you will certainly have to deal with bureaucracy, which is worse!
This job is not always considered essential, so budget cutbacks may mean you'll be one of the first to go.
Pay isn't the best.
Last edited by Piney Creek; 01-21-2019 at 05:26 AM..
You'd better be patient, because it may take years for your idea to become reality.
And rather than being a perfectionist, you'll be happier with the perspective that
"half a loaf is better than none," since your idea may not be realized in full.
Urban Planning is such an umbrella and depending on where you received your degree from many concentrations fall under it. My bachelors is in English Literature, but I have a Masters in Urban Planning and Public Policy (MUPP). Within my program we could contrate in Community Development, Environmental Planning, Economic Development, Transportation Planning, Land Use Planning, Urban Design, and Historic Preservation. Everyone who completed the program just got a diploma that said Urban Planning and Policy no matter the concentration.
This is a career change for me, and I just landed my first planning job. It is regional not city level. I really want to work for a city. Urban renewal and neighborhood revitaliztion are the areas I want to work in.
Where I am from (Chicago) city planners must live in the city.
01-04-2020, 11:06 AM
Status:
"From 31 to 41 Countries Visited: )"
(set 2 days ago)
4,640 posts, read 13,912,538 times
Reputation: 4052
Strengths/Advantages
Educational Background Is Relevant
Using The Mind Correctly
Reliable Monthly To Annual Salaries That Is Outside Of The Vulnerable Not Secure
Empowering To The Thoughtful
Paying Meticulous Attention To Specific Details
Flaws/Weaknesses
Lots Of Other Factors Might Get In The Way For What You Want
Tons Of Various Governing System Bureaucracy Systems Intermingling
Rarely Might Be Able To Fulfill Absolutely Every Objective For The Actual Actions
Maybe Excessive Talk To Some People. Can't Always Pick And Choose Who To Communicate With If You Want To Maintain Highly Selective Filtering
Urban Planning is such an umbrella and depending on where you received your degree from many concentrations fall under it. My bachelors is in English Literature, but I have a Masters in Urban Planning and Public Policy (MUPP). Within my program we could contrate in Community Development, Environmental Planning, Economic Development, Transportation Planning, Land Use Planning, Urban Design, and Historic Preservation. Everyone who completed the program just got a diploma that said Urban Planning and Policy no matter the concentration.
This is a career change for me, and I just landed my first planning job. It is regional not city level. I really want to work for a city. Urban renewal and neighborhood revitaliztion are the areas I want to work in.
Where I am from (Chicago) city planners must live in the city.
Honestly out of everything that's highlighted in general I would recommend any discipline with preservation being lowest ranked in terms of employable. Reason I say that is that it typically involves less staff that deals with those issues. If you are passionate about that field I'm sure you will find employment, however more of the jobs seem to be geared toward the others mentioned. For example, in the last three years at my jurisdiction (capitol of a state) we've hired around 10 people for current and long range planning and we hired 1 preservation planner to handle the preservation workload.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
