Hello Lavender!

As a student currently making my way through my first year studying LA, I can only give you what little I have obtained these two past months.

I am not sure if having a BS will guarantee you a good position that pays well without the hectic lifestyle (at points). My current design studio prof always emphasizes the importance of deadlines. "We live by deadlines," he always says, and I'm sure that this would apply whether you have a degree or not. If there's a large project that you and other companies or designers are bidding for, and you don't get your design and proposal done on time, all that effort is wasted. Even in a less all-or-nothing situation, falling behind on schedules/timelines on projects can harm your or the company's image.

-Audric

One thing you both have to understand is that college professors in landscape architecture have usually never left the university. They often have worked for LAs or with LAs for joint projects in the university town, but have not usually had a career in it. Many went from BA to MA to teaching. Most of what they tell you about how the career works is based on what their professors told them or what they hear when thy get together with other teachers when they go to their council of landscape architecture educators, or whatever they call themselves, conventions. They like to be encouraging and project a rosie picture or the profession that they are resposible for.

The first things that Lavender needs to know is that there is a required internship in many states before you can sit for a license exam and that an LA program usually has three years of studio where each is a prerequisite for the next. I believe NY is one of those. That means no matter what degree you go in with, it is unlikely that you can get a degree any faster than in three years and the earliest that you can license is after 5 years.

Another thing that professors like to believe is that an internship has you learning and doing everything in an LA office and all the LAs want to have interns to "give back" as they remember going through the process. Well, they also remember that they got paid little and did all of the grunt work as well.

You will find that bigger LA firms have plenty of designers and need production people. Will they want to have the opinions and influence of a new intern when they are going through design development, or will they rather have them clicking the mouse, running prints, sharpening the colored pencils,... I'll let you think about it.

Many LA offices are one person operations. One person who does not want any help may not be the best place to find work as an intern. An intern needs training, even if someone wants to exploit an intern, and one person operating a firm does not really have time for that.

In other words, it may not be as easy as it sounds to get an internship as soon as you get out of school and it is unlikely that you will know enough, or have enough experience to start your own firm in five years even if you do.

It is a good career, but it is not one that is easily fast tracked. The best thing that you can do, in my opinion, is to be patient and work for people who are doing what you want to do, or who will put you in a better position to work for people who do what you want to do. You eventually have to work for people doing what you want to do in order to have experience, history, and a portfolio of built work that reflects what you do. Notice that I said what "you do" rather than what you can do.

Starting a design business based on your potential and belief in yourself will not make you competitive. There are thousands of people that have plenty of both of those. Adding a degree puts you ahead of those that didn't. Adding a license on top of that degree puts you ahead of those that didn't. But you will still be behind everyone who has experience, history, and a portfolio of built work with or without a degree and/or a license.

The key to making a living as a landscape designer is "experience, history, and a portfolio of built work" no matter how you get it. It overcomes degrees and licenses and degrees and licenses will not overcome those.

Enough negativity. Going through an accredited landscape architecture program teaches you ways of thinking, drawing and drafting skills, understanding regulatory issues, business issues, and lots of other things that you would not have without it. Working with others who are professionals in the field in any capacity is better than not having been on the inside. You can't pass the LA exam without a lot of knowledge in a lot of areas of the profession, so that means something even if no one else cares (some people do care, but not as many as your professors think). So, if you get to the point of being a licensed LA, you have a certain quantifiable amount of knowledge, skills, and experience. Now you have more than a lot of other people who might be after the same job as you (note "job" not "jobs" because this is not going to get you design jobs over those with the portfolio, but will get you a job working for an office or design/build where you might be able to build your portfolio).

When you build your portfolio and your network of contractors, subcontractors, nurseries, and suppliers, you can think about making a living on your own as a designer.

... and remember, there are lots of people who are making a living as designers on this very forum who have neither an LA degree or an LA license, but they all have experience, knowledge, a portfolio, and connections that they built one way or another (over time).

Very nicely said, Andrew - you pretty much hit it all!

I'm not an LA but a landscape designer with a little over 5 years' experience. From the experience/portfolio standpoint, I agree with everything Andrew said. I did have some luck early on in scoring some really good design/build jobs that helped to build my portfolio, and lately I've begun some freelance design work with a larger design/build firm. I have also thought at times of going back to school to get an LA degree, but I'm also in my 40's and have decided that where i am right now with my career is a good place to be. Not rolling in money but doing okay!

Good luck to you--takes a lot of courage at this stage of life to take that leap of faith. you can do it, though.

Andrew - thank you so much for your insight. It certainly gives me a lot to think about! I am meeting next week with the head of the LA program at Cornell to discuss their program and the details. I really want to make my living doing Landscape design and realize it will take a while to get there. I am intimidated by the "mystique" of Cornell but am going to go there with an open mind and see what they can offer to this mid life career changer! Thanks again for the wisdom on the matter.

Ithaca is a GREAT place!!!!!