About Urban planning jobs

[Liffeyside]

Hello I am currently doing a computer science course, but have always had a strong interest in the area of urban planning and design, and would like to take on the Masters Degree in UCD in a few years. I was wondering about a few things though, such as.

(1) Are jobs hard to come by, even during boom times?

(2) What is the long term job security like?

(3) What is the salary for a Masters graduate, and what would it be after 5 years experience, and then 10 years etc.

(4) What does an Urban planner do during office hours, and do they use much of the material they learned in university to guide them in their work?

While I like urban planning and would hate to spend the rest of my life programming as a code monkey in a cubicle- I cannot help but feel that Urban Planning positions are scarce, and that it is a very difficult area of employment to gain entry into. Am I right or wrong here, and do you think it would be possible to get a job in a few years time when the economy (hopefully) picks up?

Thanks.

[onq]

I don't see a whole throng of urban planners beating a path to answer you so I'll venture this.
I don't know the difference between an urban planner and a planning consultant.
50% of the human population of the planet will shortly be living in cities.

It seems to me that they're needed, with new mappign techniques.
I think they will work in Councils, Govt. Depts. and Europe.
This answer should bump your post up to get others.

ONQ.

[tommyt]

pm sent

[tommyt]

Or you could go work for Tesco for free; Kinda indicaive of the state of play. :-(((


Town Planning Assistant (WPP1) - Fas Work Programme
Employer: Tesco Ireland
Closing Date: 28th February 2011
Location: Dublin
Salary Range: €n/a
Employer's Website:
Employer's Email: www.tesco.ie
Job Description

Tesco Ireland - Head Office (Property Acquisition Department) seek suitable candidates for the position of Town Planning Assistant. At the end of the 9 month placement, the participant will have gained broad practical experience in some or all of the following areas: Monitoring and review of development plans and changes to planning law / policy; Liaising with other internal departments and external consultants; Database management; Tracking planning applications; Planning enforcement; Planning issues affecting retailers; General administrative experience.

Person specification: Graduate with a degree/masters in town planning. Work experience is desirable but not essential. Candidate should have good IT, administrative and communication skills, and be self motivated.

Please Note:

You must be registered with FAS and have checked your eligibility before you apply for this placement.

Your CV should be emailed to david.nevin@ie.tesco.com or posted to David Nevin, Tesco Ireland - Head Office, Gresham House, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Closing date for Cv's is 28 February 2011

[StephenC]

If I was you Liffeyside I would look at other options. There are plenty of planners out of work. Many recent grads have simply moved on to other things rather than stick with the profession. There are still large numbers coming through the system from DIT, UCD, UCC and QCB. Even at the height of things in 2006 there were only approx 1000 planners working in the various areas so its not a huge market. It would be interesting to see how much that has fallen over the past 2 years.

[Liffeyside]

Just another quick point, would it be possible to get a job in planning, whether in the public or private sector with a 3 year PhD. Or does one need to aquire the 2 year MRUP degree to apply for jobs in the planning profession? Would the same jobs be open to somebody who did a 3 year PhD (without a Masters in Planning) in Urban Planning as there would be to MRUP graduates?

Thanks.

[StephenC]

Both the professional institutes operating here - Irish Planning Institute and the Royal Town Planning Institute - require you to have a planning degree from accredited planning schools in order to qualify as a planner. While it is up to employers whether they wish to hire someone without a planning degree, for the most part private and public sector employers now look to hire only qualified planners.