If you are in the profession of Urban Planning and/or have been looking for your next job, you have probably come across the article from US News stating the “urban planner” is one of the top 50 best careers.  The article does the typical “quick and dirty” description of our profession.  The subject of the article I am writing here is actually the responses to the US News article by current or recently graduated urban planners.

Oh, the responses were brutal at times!  Many pointed out the lack of current jobs and even less opportunities for entry-level planners.  Several brought up the number of planners being dumped into the system by our planning schools with no realistic possibility of finding employment.  There was even advice to current students to change their major by long time planners.

As a planner, I read the responses with some deep reflection on our profession.  I am currently employed in city planning in a specialty field where it is even harder to find a similar job.  I have also run this site since 1999 and the number of jobs is down a great deal.  Although there has been more job postings during 2011, there is just not enough to get excited about.  For planners looking to find their first job or to make their move up it is simply going to be difficult. 

A few trends point to why this job market is so challenging for our profession. Although cold comfort, what the planning profession is witnessing is common among many professions. We have definitely lost members of our ranks to down sizing, lack of job satisfaction, and stagnate salary growth. As in many other fields, we are experiencing a purge of excess professionals in urban planning.  This is quite painful to experience or to even watch.  The shrinkage of the field will continue until we see positive indicators coming from the economy. 

What I see unique to our profession is we rely on our mobility for upward progression.  The lack of job opportunities have dwindled and our ability to sell our house or condo and relocate has similarly been reduced.  We now look for growth within our city departments or consulting companies and realize there is little to no room for advancement.  The new desire by our senior managers to delay retirement has also affected upward mobility.

This new reality has been around since the beginning of the recession, but for myself, I find it finally sinking in.  Our staff has not seen a raise in three years and we could be looking at another three years only to get a small bump in salary.  This is a very scary reality for most of us.  I remember in the beginning of the recession, everyone told each other to be happy we still had a job.  This remains true today; however it doesn’t seem to quench my thirst for job satisfaction anymore.  Reading the posts to the article reminds me of how many planners are in a real bad spot compared to my situation.  Still I find myself wondering about my future.

Many attitudes have changed towards planning during the recession.  Departments will hire with a new mentality.  They will strongly question if the position is needed and can it be supported long term.  Long term staffing profiles will be challenged as city departments have to work hard to justify their positions. The advice to change professions is duly noted; however I would push you in a different direction.  I believe planners should be expanding their knowledge like never before. Getting certified in LEED, Economic Development, Affordable Housing, and Real Estate Development are viable strategies to pursue to further your career.  Planners need to expand their opportunities by increasing their qualifications.  For many of us, there is no going back.  Therefore, we need to strive to make ourselves relevant to our current or future organizations. 

In my opinion, the numbers of planning schools will most likely decrease as the new reality of the job market remains small over time.  Schools have been fooling themselves about the likelihood of their graduates finding jobs.  Our schools are no different than our city administrations fooling themselves about the recession being a short term problem.  Many planning departments are making short term concessions, waiting until the time where their budgets return and business is back to normal.  This may not come as easily or as quickly as they might hope.

For planners looking to find their first job or to make their move upward it is simply going to be difficult.  I have run this site since 1999 and the number of jobs is down a great deal since the beginning of the recession.  There has been more job posting during 2011: just not enough to get excited about. 

Planners have the ability to identify trends but not are forced to take action.  The recession causes planners to apply specialized expertise and skills demanded by a very different marketplace. The shock of the recession is now over, and we as professionals need to take steps to deal with the new reality.  Dig deeper if you can; fortify your position.  If you are abandoning ship, make sure you don’t see the same factors at play in your new profession.

USNews Article Link

http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/12/06/best-careers-2011-urban-planner/comments