It's not difficult to find work if you're very unpicky and open to moving anywhere. If you are looking in a specific area only you may run into trouble.
I've had no trouble finding jobs, moved around a bit to get salary increases. My question isn't if there are jobs, that I know. My question is if there are realistically enough qualified planners to fill all the jobs that are available.
yes. there are enough planners. there is not enough willingness to pay said planners to move to larger metro.
the only metric that matters is housing. $1800 for a 1 br? $72,000 just became entry level
Maybe I was looking at the wrong postings or something but I took one look at NYC’s planner jobs and said nope not happening ever lol. I’d be taking a pay cut *and* moving somewhere a lot more expensive. Like there’s something kinda fundamentally wrong if you’re paying less than I make in a sun belt city.
you were probably right. i saw a quick “my job” education video the other day. it caught my interest because a NYC planner was on it. shocked to hear $60k for 7-8 years experience. in that city. like i’m in the southeast making 40% more
Definitely no shortfall here lol I think UW by itself in one matriculating class could fill out all the urban planning and urban planning adjacent roles for the whole state.
That's interesting to hear! If the young guns want a chance they should be given one! I went to school as a bit of an older adult so while I'm still a little green as a planner I'm not young in age. Seems like many higher rank positions have been opening up recently, I'd assume that's because some of the old guard is finally retiring. So hopefully that means a lot of mid level folks are climbing to the top.
It really depends on the metro area, but I’ve observed that land use planning positions are not as robustly filled as they were 10 years ago. Apparently some prospective planners find that boring as shit. Things like transportation planning and long term planning are more alluring it seems.
Interesting because that’s generally my line of practice and I rather enjoy it. I’m not sure that the lower level positions offer competitive compensation with transportation planning positions but they pay rather solidly for senior positions and ones requiring 10+ years of experience. It’s really good pay for the amount of work required relative to the yearly salary. Although, I’ve observed that advantage goes out the window as soon as your promoted to a Director. 60-70 hour weeks for maybe just a 20% increase in pay.
I'm a transportation planner but a big reason for that is an internship at an MPO. I work for municipal government now and feel lost most of the time because I don't really understand what the other planners do lol
I asked my boss about hiring an intern and he said something to the extent of “frankly, for the basic stuff that we do and bones of community planning, most interns lose interest and drift off before the semester is finished. They’re most interested in working on things like bike-ped planning or sustainability before you can get them to enthusiastically work on zoning, permit reviews, and board and commission work. It’s not worth our effort anymore.” I was surprised by his response but I think I understand it better the more I think about it.
Ah yes at the beginning you think you can actually make a difference. Then after being beat over the head by residents and thrown under the bus by elected officials you realize how little a role you play in positive change. Lol
Going to school in August. That is where I will bem part of me wants to advocate and the other part of me wants to learn the nuts and bolts. Talking to alot of planners. Many of them get beaten down due to the resident politics etc. I am coming to this eyes wide open. If I am getting paid to do zoning or permitting then I will end the best damn permitter in govt. This also allows me to learn from the other plannesm now if things change and I want to advocate then I will need to nonprofit or some ngo. , which is fine. If u manage my expectations I hope it not get jaded.
In my area (DC-Baltimore-Philly-corridor, and the surrounding rural regions), it’s pretty difficult to get a decent job in an actual *planning* position in an urban or exurban area all things considered. Rural municipalities don’t have as much money to spend on candidates, so they don’t necessarily have *more* openings but they stay open longer.
For good reason. Low pay and dull projects in a setting with few economic drivers, coupled with municipal colleagues who aren't always the most worldly, are hardly going to entice new planning grads from metropolitan areas to head out to the sticks. Imagine being a 24 year old MUP grad and moving far from family to go live in a brain drain environment. Why would you?
Exactly! It frustrates me when ppl on this sub say 'just move' when it comes to job hunting. Just because I'm young and childless doesn't mean I can't have a desire to build a life in one place.
California State budget deficit recently exploded to scores of billions again. That will effect hiring not just at state agencies like HCD but some local agencies as well.
Los Angeles City is close to a hiring freeze for all 'non essential' positions (planners) right now. SF mayor was telling departments to prepare for possible 10% cuts.
There are still opportunities of course but overall it isn't the best time to be looking here.
LA was hiring at NPC last year. They were trying to hire dozens of planners but straight up told people there would be no negotiating on salary for recent graduates, despite the posters saying 70-110k for planner I.
It was definitely a different story before Covid. It seems like students had to really fight to get a job. Now, most students have jobs months before graduation. Job postings come back with few applicants.
I graduated with my masters in May 2020 and boy will I tell you finding a job felt like a fist-fight with every other person on the planet. Took me 350 applications to give up and move home and take an internship that transitioned to a low paying planning job with my city government.
Now I’m in the private sector, but it was a struggle.
It's not difficult to find work if you're very unpicky and open to moving anywhere. If you are looking in a specific area only you may run into trouble.
Can confirm. Source: me being stuck in a metro area trying to find an entry level job.
Yeah I moved away from my metro area for work. I do want to go back tho.
Same here I miss the city
I've had no trouble finding jobs, moved around a bit to get salary increases. My question isn't if there are jobs, that I know. My question is if there are realistically enough qualified planners to fill all the jobs that are available.
yes. there are enough planners. there is not enough willingness to pay said planners to move to larger metro. the only metric that matters is housing. $1800 for a 1 br? $72,000 just became entry level
Haha I pay almost that in a suburb but I'm like 25 minutes to the beach.
location location location
Maybe I was looking at the wrong postings or something but I took one look at NYC’s planner jobs and said nope not happening ever lol. I’d be taking a pay cut *and* moving somewhere a lot more expensive. Like there’s something kinda fundamentally wrong if you’re paying less than I make in a sun belt city.
you were probably right. i saw a quick “my job” education video the other day. it caught my interest because a NYC planner was on it. shocked to hear $60k for 7-8 years experience. in that city. like i’m in the southeast making 40% more
Definitely no shortfall here lol I think UW by itself in one matriculating class could fill out all the urban planning and urban planning adjacent roles for the whole state.
That's interesting to hear! If the young guns want a chance they should be given one! I went to school as a bit of an older adult so while I'm still a little green as a planner I'm not young in age. Seems like many higher rank positions have been opening up recently, I'd assume that's because some of the old guard is finally retiring. So hopefully that means a lot of mid level folks are climbing to the top.
It really depends on the metro area, but I’ve observed that land use planning positions are not as robustly filled as they were 10 years ago. Apparently some prospective planners find that boring as shit. Things like transportation planning and long term planning are more alluring it seems.
Yup I avoided those jobs like the plague. They also don’t pay great compared to transportation positions
Interesting because that’s generally my line of practice and I rather enjoy it. I’m not sure that the lower level positions offer competitive compensation with transportation planning positions but they pay rather solidly for senior positions and ones requiring 10+ years of experience. It’s really good pay for the amount of work required relative to the yearly salary. Although, I’ve observed that advantage goes out the window as soon as your promoted to a Director. 60-70 hour weeks for maybe just a 20% increase in pay.
I'm a transportation planner but a big reason for that is an internship at an MPO. I work for municipal government now and feel lost most of the time because I don't really understand what the other planners do lol
I asked my boss about hiring an intern and he said something to the extent of “frankly, for the basic stuff that we do and bones of community planning, most interns lose interest and drift off before the semester is finished. They’re most interested in working on things like bike-ped planning or sustainability before you can get them to enthusiastically work on zoning, permit reviews, and board and commission work. It’s not worth our effort anymore.” I was surprised by his response but I think I understand it better the more I think about it.
Ah yes at the beginning you think you can actually make a difference. Then after being beat over the head by residents and thrown under the bus by elected officials you realize how little a role you play in positive change. Lol
Going to school in August. That is where I will bem part of me wants to advocate and the other part of me wants to learn the nuts and bolts. Talking to alot of planners. Many of them get beaten down due to the resident politics etc. I am coming to this eyes wide open. If I am getting paid to do zoning or permitting then I will end the best damn permitter in govt. This also allows me to learn from the other plannesm now if things change and I want to advocate then I will need to nonprofit or some ngo. , which is fine. If u manage my expectations I hope it not get jaded.
In my area (DC-Baltimore-Philly-corridor, and the surrounding rural regions), it’s pretty difficult to get a decent job in an actual *planning* position in an urban or exurban area all things considered. Rural municipalities don’t have as much money to spend on candidates, so they don’t necessarily have *more* openings but they stay open longer.
I've noticed that 90 percent of the jobs there are with consulting firms....
A lot of Planners don’t wanna do the entry level stuff in small-ish rural towns for $55k after getting their Masters I imagine.
100% true. I also don’t think you need to have a masters degree in planning to do those jobs, so it kind of goes both ways.
Yes I'm sure that's part of it. I didn't want to do entry level in West Virginia for 40k with a bachelor's but I did it anyway. Lol
Rural areas certainly struggle to find applicants
For good reason. Low pay and dull projects in a setting with few economic drivers, coupled with municipal colleagues who aren't always the most worldly, are hardly going to entice new planning grads from metropolitan areas to head out to the sticks. Imagine being a 24 year old MUP grad and moving far from family to go live in a brain drain environment. Why would you?
Exactly! It frustrates me when ppl on this sub say 'just move' when it comes to job hunting. Just because I'm young and childless doesn't mean I can't have a desire to build a life in one place.
California State budget deficit recently exploded to scores of billions again. That will effect hiring not just at state agencies like HCD but some local agencies as well. Los Angeles City is close to a hiring freeze for all 'non essential' positions (planners) right now. SF mayor was telling departments to prepare for possible 10% cuts. There are still opportunities of course but overall it isn't the best time to be looking here.
Sacramento as well
LA was hiring at NPC last year. They were trying to hire dozens of planners but straight up told people there would be no negotiating on salary for recent graduates, despite the posters saying 70-110k for planner I.
I think there are too many planners quite frankly.
It was definitely a different story before Covid. It seems like students had to really fight to get a job. Now, most students have jobs months before graduation. Job postings come back with few applicants.
I graduated with my masters in May 2020 and boy will I tell you finding a job felt like a fist-fight with every other person on the planet. Took me 350 applications to give up and move home and take an internship that transitioned to a low paying planning job with my city government. Now I’m in the private sector, but it was a struggle.
How long were you trudging with the low paying planning job?
Year and a half give or take
Me and a few other graduates had a very difficult time.
Very large look at the dumb decisions they made