Quote:
Originally Posted by Caliplanner1
Logicomb is a local person with knowledge of the B.C. job scene, so listen to his/her comments. I'm an American so in truth I have little knowldege of local demand for planners or GIS specialists. In any event the point to understand/take away here is that it makes no sense to consider becoming an urban planner without significant (technical) training in GIS. Truth be told, the job market is tightening world wide in just about EVERY field as labor and jobs move around globally. Makes me worry about the sustainability of the future economy.
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Again... I agree, it makes absolutely no sense to be a planner (
period) unless your plan is to move out of the province. I pursued an MA because I built up experience and saw the demand for Urban Planners back in 2005 since many of the old guard were retiring. The demand was there between 2008-2011 but many positions have been filled by those that have no desire to leave or retire.
The problem is that all levels of governments do not value homegrown talent- those born and raised in this country and province that have seen the various cities and regions grow. Instead, our governments pick a) token minorities to placate those who have been advocating for "equal opportunity employment" or b) planners and engineers from Europe/Asia to replicate their models and methods to dealing with growth. The end result is what we'll likely see in Surrey with the LRT project, a project that has been aimed to replicate "an international feel" but will likely lead to heavy congestion and issues down the road. Most locals would know this.
Degrees in Geography, GIS, Urban Planning, Sustainable Development are useless in this region. Absolutely useless. I am preaching here but I cannot comprehend why we are still seeing 1000+ of those being churned out each year from UBC.
Here's some
positive news. There is a demand for architects or civil engineers. That's one possible alternative to take.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinion
Seems like that's the case for everything these days.  Thanks for the reality check. I've never had problems getting around $20 an hour physical jobs with just a 9 month certificate at BCIT so it shocks me to hear people with degrees and lots of school debt are getting less.
I just can't stand this weather anymore. Summer makes me hate the lack of rain and of course I'm drowing in it now. Wife won't move though and has a great career with the offer to take over her boss's business in less than a decade. |
I am in the exact same situation here. I desperately want to move out of the province seeing that there are planning opportunities in the Prairies but the Mrs has recently scored a decent job.
If I could do it all over again, I would have dropped out of High School in 2003 and pursued a trade (instead of spending 50k on education
). Sure worked for my classmate who is likely eying retirement before age 40.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon
I'd suggest Civil Engineering if you're good enough to handle the math. It's just an undergrad, albeit a harder one so assume 5 years of school. The jobs are relatively plentiful right now.
I think Planners need to have a masters to do interesting things in most cases.
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Agree, Civil Engineering or Architectural and Building Technology are possible routes to take. There is a definite need for them.
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