[Marshal]

Over the last couple of days, I did a survey for you (5 planners (3 senior) in Metro Vancouver): Autocad is very useful when starting out (that includes knowledge of drafting concepts and technical understanding); GIS is less so, but if you have it, all the better for you. What is ultimately most important is that you get a professional level of knowledge about everything to do with planning. So, history and theory might be at one end of the spectrum, CAD and GIS at the other. From where I come from, an architect does not need to be an engineer, but an architect should know plenty of engineering in order to understand the engineering that governs their projects, and to communicate in a full manner with the engineers on the project team. That is an interdisciplinary example, but within a single discipline (planning) you want to get an education that allows you to attain a solid footing in all aspects. It's not always possible to get down to a technical level on everything, but you don't ever want to be caught out - and, I don't mean embarassed, I mean "not knowing" something that's going on and be limited in your ability to respond to it. One response is to quickly determine when you need to run to the library or a mentor, so that you can perform the task you have been given.

I'll now climb back down from all that a bit: getting a good education is a limited endeavour, and the smart ones know that you can never end the process . . . there is always more to learn as your career progresses. At the start, you want to be able to see far enough down the road to clearly ascertain the fullest picture of you subject, so that you can set your own educational priorities and adapt them as you learn. The normal shift in knowledge begins with the technical output-based aspects/subjects/fields, and progresses increasingly into more conceptual/abstract and managerial areas. So, things like CAD and GIS are more important when you are young and starting. Technical skills are also harder to pick up as you go through the years, while experience should aid conceptual and managerial understanding. Conclusion: get as much CAD and GIS as is reasonable while balancing out your other subjects. You don't need to be expert, but proficiency will never hurt you. Final note: government work often has a bigger GIS component than work for private industry, though not always (like, resource infrastructure).