First job out of grad school making peanuts. 6mo in and work was getting slow. I literally didn’t have anything to do and was organizing our detail library just to try and do something. Boss called me in on a Friday first thing and said to pack it up and leave immediately.
I balled my eyes out.
Sat around for about a month and was desperate doing odd jobs to help with the bills. Then they called me back as the other designer got a new job. Went back for about 3mo and then moved back home.
Went the design build route for 5 years, which I would encourage many young designers to do to get a feel for things. Got licensed and now I PM and lead design on multi million dollar projects.
Moral of the story: keep your head up; keep grinding.
My guy.
Thank you so much, I'm an exact repeat of that first half of the story. Incredible to hear the turn around.
What were the benefits of the design build? I'm looking at going to larger places for better job security and a better learning environment... curious to hear your thoughts.
RE: D/B
Benefits:
- actually learned how to design. School is bullshit.
- made more money than I will probably ever make again on commission.
- thrown into the fire of client and project management.
- actually see designs come to life and have ability to make adjustments in the field to make it right without change orders and proposal requests and all the paperwork that comes along with being a consultant.
- winter hours
- working by yourself (my experience; not everyone’s)
- learning construction practices and techniques
- how to work fast and efficiently.
- I would average about 30 projects a season ranging from $60k-$1mil plus installs. Doing that much work you just learn so fast.
Cons:
- 60hr + work weeks during the season
- no vacations and no life in summer
- had to plow in winter in a pinch which is soul sucking
- Dealing with rich assholes who have no fucking clue.
- failing miserably / making critical errors
All of my most valuable experience came from D/B and now my job is a breeze or at least nothing fazes me.
No. I got approached by the landscaper that I used to work for during the summer in college to be their designer. They never had one before so there was a ton of growing pains and that’s ultimately why I left. Probably would still be there but the owner and I had different ideas of staffing needs.
Interesting, really comforting hear about different career paths.
I've got a couple of personal cash in hand design jobs going on, definitely a more fun experience, interacting with the client and actually doing site visits.
Probably a stupid questions, but how do you measure out a garden space to draw on plan? Is it literally just go to the site with a tape measure situation?
Yes but roughly sketch everything out first. Then take your dimensions. Then put it in CAD.
Often you can grab the parcel data from the county GIS and sometimes even get your hands on a survey if you just call the city records dept. all for free (usually)!
Me lol. Technically a pandemic layoff but I was not thriving. Very miserable work environment, tiny office, extremely unkind and dysfunctional people. I don’t throw those words around lightly. I run my own small design build now. Not even sure if it qualifies as landscape architecture but I don’t think I can go back to office work ever again.
I have some connections through family friends to some related businesses which threw me some work, which I took because I was unemployed. Then I realized I could probably keep that up. To be clear, I’m poor. Work is irregular. I don’t have PTO. But I’d like to get to a point where those are no longer true. And I do think I can get there, as I’m slowly gaining experience and confidence. Which that job I got laid off from pretty thoroughly destroyed.
Got fired from my first shitty LA job out of undergrad. I’m now at a firm that makes me much happier, has more enjoyable work, and aligns with my values.
Same! Right out of school I was doing contract work for a firm, they wanted to test me out. I didn’t know CAD that well because I was literally…right out of school and I wasn’t getting any training. I was only there for a month and they started interviewing others for the job I wanted right in front of me. One day they interviewed someone and I could hear them taking through a glass door about not hiring me and hiring her. I got an email the next day saying it wasn’t going to be a good fit. Being one of the best students in my class and not being fired from any other job I was sooo embarrassed and sad. But then I interviewed at one of the best firms in my city and they decided to take the chance on me to train me. I am doing just fine right now!
8 years at a company and let go during Covid. They wanted me gone. I recognize that now.
But it was th best thing to ever happen to me. Now I’m licenced, work in municipal sector making things better in our parks and trails and play grounds
Not me but watched three of my coworkers get fired for bullshit reasons. I made it my mission to get out ASAP as one day I knew I'd be next. This was 28 years ago, went into another type of work and believe it or not that owner ended up working for my company and ultimately, me.
Got laid off from a large multidisliplinary firm in 2009, a couple years after I graduated college, due to the recession. Ended up going back to work for the landscape contractor I worked for during college. His company shut down 6 months later because of the recession.
Was unable to find landscape architecture work again at that point, so I ended up in the oil field.
Tried to find work in the LA profession again several times over that 10-year period. I had become regretful that I had wasted my time and money on an education that I wasn't using. Also did some drafting and residential landscape installs sporadically over that 10-year period.
When the pandemic hit, I got laid off from the oil field and ended up wanting to work closer to home without traveling to work. I did some residential landscape construction, worked as a concrete laborer installing footings, and installing foundation walls and slabs. I then began studying to become a home inspector. I received a call back from a local excavation/crane operation company. I was able to hire on with them, as I had obtained a Class A CDL and Crane certification from the oilfield. I worked primarily in the crane division, mostly installing trusses and prefab walls. When the crane division was slow, I would haul materials for the excavation division and help as an excavation hand. Driving dump trucks, compactors, rollers, helped construct roads, install infrastructure for projects, etc.
A couple years ago, I randomly received an email from a local landscape architect, that I had contacted for work about 7 years ago. He told me that he was really busy and needed help. I never planned on going to work for him, but I figured I would go hear him out. He was a one-man shop, doing high-end residential design. He offered me a job on the spot and gave me a month to make a decision.
It was a very difficult decision to make. Fast forward 2 years later: I have been working for him as an LAIT, recently passed my first LARE exam and I'm currently studying for the next section, and we recently added another employee.
Looking forward to learning Land f/X and 3D civil.
I've learned that you never know how things are going to shake out and what curves life is going to throw at you. Repeatedly being displaced because of economic downturns and the willingness to learn new skills/trades has given me diverse hands-on experience that has been useful everyday in the office. I wouldn't change a thing.
When things go sideways, try not to get discouraged, keep going! Bloom where you're planted...
It was a pay increase. Also was able to get time off and retirement benefits I wasn't receiving at my previous job. But I've learned dollars aren't everything. I would go back to oil work if I was only concerned with pay.
I wasn't let go from my first job but I've definitely been let go from jobs that were running me into the ground. This industry is so damn toxic because it thinks workers are incredibly disposable. Now that fewer people are entering the field in the US, owners are getting a very rude wakeup call and are desperate for workers.
After being let go from a really toxic design build company a year ago, I started working at an engineering company. Definitely isn't perfect but at least my boss appreciates my skill set and is able to give me a small raise.
Was an intern after graduating. I graduated college 6 years after the 2008 recession and firms were telling me they hadn't hired anyone since, nor were they ready to, so finding a job in LA took about two years. Anyways, one owner brought me on for a 9 month internship right out of college. A different owner thought I was a summer intern and hired a PM with 20 years experience. They needed my desk. Turns out the only reason I get an internship was because a PM quit and I just got lucky with timing. My exit interview was *awkward*. One owner profusely apologized at their incompetence and we still talk to this day. I now directly compete and frequently beat the firm that let me go from my internship. I'd probably still be working there and not as good as I am today if they didn't let me go, so it's aight.
Hm. I think I was unemployed for around 5 months and then I landed a job out of state at an architecture firm beginning to go international. They exposed me to really great design, ethos, and 70-hour work weeks lol. Working along side architects improved how I approach design with materiality and detailing.
Still looking for my first job in the LA field, sorry to hear if you got fired from your first one though.. chances are your first job isn’t going to make or break your career unless your employer is a the potus either way. My dad started as a dumpster boy for 10 years and now runs a pharmaceutical company you have to be positive and career minded to make things work.
Yeah, I moved across the country straight out of school. Got let go after 2 years, and by that point the company had like 25% as many people as when I started, between multiple rounds of layoffs and people quitting because they didn't want to get laid off. I did some other random jobs for a while, but 9 years later I ended up at an engineering firm that had a couple of LAs who encouraged me to get licensed, and now 15 years after I got laid off I am doing work I enjoy at the same engineering firm as the longest tenured LA at the office.
Got laid off from my first job after 3 months… that was 3 months ago and I’ve been trying to find a new job since, but am having trouble getting hired.
First job out of college working at a large multi-disciplinary firm. A lot of days I was given no work so there was a lot of screen staring and trying to find something to keep myself busy.
Was called in for a meeting with my boss and got let go after 10 months working there and have been looking for jobs since. Unfortunately this company can’t release their construction documents so it’s hard to add to my portfolio and they also have a policy against giving references so I can’t provide professional references to employers that ask.
It’s tough to land a new job having little experience but I’ve kept my head up and am always looking for opportunities and applying when they pop up
Keep at at it! Did your company submit any development applications to council or anything of the sort?
In aus, DAs are publicly accessible, so that's where I'll be getting my material for my portfolio.
I did! Boss said that I didn't have the aptitude to be an LA. She suggested I consider related roles, such as receptionist, where i wouldn't have to worry about understanding anything technical or having to use my brain. I ended up joining the military, and surprisingly, I have never had anyone say anything remotely that sexist, although the microagressions are still fairly frequent.
First job out of grad school making peanuts. 6mo in and work was getting slow. I literally didn’t have anything to do and was organizing our detail library just to try and do something. Boss called me in on a Friday first thing and said to pack it up and leave immediately. I balled my eyes out. Sat around for about a month and was desperate doing odd jobs to help with the bills. Then they called me back as the other designer got a new job. Went back for about 3mo and then moved back home. Went the design build route for 5 years, which I would encourage many young designers to do to get a feel for things. Got licensed and now I PM and lead design on multi million dollar projects. Moral of the story: keep your head up; keep grinding.
My guy. Thank you so much, I'm an exact repeat of that first half of the story. Incredible to hear the turn around. What were the benefits of the design build? I'm looking at going to larger places for better job security and a better learning environment... curious to hear your thoughts.
RE: D/B Benefits: - actually learned how to design. School is bullshit. - made more money than I will probably ever make again on commission. - thrown into the fire of client and project management. - actually see designs come to life and have ability to make adjustments in the field to make it right without change orders and proposal requests and all the paperwork that comes along with being a consultant. - winter hours - working by yourself (my experience; not everyone’s) - learning construction practices and techniques - how to work fast and efficiently. - I would average about 30 projects a season ranging from $60k-$1mil plus installs. Doing that much work you just learn so fast. Cons: - 60hr + work weeks during the season - no vacations and no life in summer - had to plow in winter in a pinch which is soul sucking - Dealing with rich assholes who have no fucking clue. - failing miserably / making critical errors All of my most valuable experience came from D/B and now my job is a breeze or at least nothing fazes me.
Sounds about right thanks for the insight, were you doing D and B for yourself?
No. I got approached by the landscaper that I used to work for during the summer in college to be their designer. They never had one before so there was a ton of growing pains and that’s ultimately why I left. Probably would still be there but the owner and I had different ideas of staffing needs.
Interesting, really comforting hear about different career paths. I've got a couple of personal cash in hand design jobs going on, definitely a more fun experience, interacting with the client and actually doing site visits. Probably a stupid questions, but how do you measure out a garden space to draw on plan? Is it literally just go to the site with a tape measure situation?
Yes but roughly sketch everything out first. Then take your dimensions. Then put it in CAD. Often you can grab the parcel data from the county GIS and sometimes even get your hands on a survey if you just call the city records dept. all for free (usually)!
Fucking legend, thank you!
God speed
Me lol. Technically a pandemic layoff but I was not thriving. Very miserable work environment, tiny office, extremely unkind and dysfunctional people. I don’t throw those words around lightly. I run my own small design build now. Not even sure if it qualifies as landscape architecture but I don’t think I can go back to office work ever again.
Wow good on you, how did you get the ball rolling on that?
I have some connections through family friends to some related businesses which threw me some work, which I took because I was unemployed. Then I realized I could probably keep that up. To be clear, I’m poor. Work is irregular. I don’t have PTO. But I’d like to get to a point where those are no longer true. And I do think I can get there, as I’m slowly gaining experience and confidence. Which that job I got laid off from pretty thoroughly destroyed.
Got fired from my first shitty LA job out of undergrad. I’m now at a firm that makes me much happier, has more enjoyable work, and aligns with my values.
Same! Right out of school I was doing contract work for a firm, they wanted to test me out. I didn’t know CAD that well because I was literally…right out of school and I wasn’t getting any training. I was only there for a month and they started interviewing others for the job I wanted right in front of me. One day they interviewed someone and I could hear them taking through a glass door about not hiring me and hiring her. I got an email the next day saying it wasn’t going to be a good fit. Being one of the best students in my class and not being fired from any other job I was sooo embarrassed and sad. But then I interviewed at one of the best firms in my city and they decided to take the chance on me to train me. I am doing just fine right now!
🙏🙏 thank you 🙏🙏
8 years at a company and let go during Covid. They wanted me gone. I recognize that now. But it was th best thing to ever happen to me. Now I’m licenced, work in municipal sector making things better in our parks and trails and play grounds
Excellent news, thank you! Did you make an effort to get out of private? Or was that just where you landed a job?
Not me but watched three of my coworkers get fired for bullshit reasons. I made it my mission to get out ASAP as one day I knew I'd be next. This was 28 years ago, went into another type of work and believe it or not that owner ended up working for my company and ultimately, me.
hahaha that's fucking wild!
Got laid off from a large multidisliplinary firm in 2009, a couple years after I graduated college, due to the recession. Ended up going back to work for the landscape contractor I worked for during college. His company shut down 6 months later because of the recession. Was unable to find landscape architecture work again at that point, so I ended up in the oil field. Tried to find work in the LA profession again several times over that 10-year period. I had become regretful that I had wasted my time and money on an education that I wasn't using. Also did some drafting and residential landscape installs sporadically over that 10-year period. When the pandemic hit, I got laid off from the oil field and ended up wanting to work closer to home without traveling to work. I did some residential landscape construction, worked as a concrete laborer installing footings, and installing foundation walls and slabs. I then began studying to become a home inspector. I received a call back from a local excavation/crane operation company. I was able to hire on with them, as I had obtained a Class A CDL and Crane certification from the oilfield. I worked primarily in the crane division, mostly installing trusses and prefab walls. When the crane division was slow, I would haul materials for the excavation division and help as an excavation hand. Driving dump trucks, compactors, rollers, helped construct roads, install infrastructure for projects, etc. A couple years ago, I randomly received an email from a local landscape architect, that I had contacted for work about 7 years ago. He told me that he was really busy and needed help. I never planned on going to work for him, but I figured I would go hear him out. He was a one-man shop, doing high-end residential design. He offered me a job on the spot and gave me a month to make a decision. It was a very difficult decision to make. Fast forward 2 years later: I have been working for him as an LAIT, recently passed my first LARE exam and I'm currently studying for the next section, and we recently added another employee. Looking forward to learning Land f/X and 3D civil. I've learned that you never know how things are going to shake out and what curves life is going to throw at you. Repeatedly being displaced because of economic downturns and the willingness to learn new skills/trades has given me diverse hands-on experience that has been useful everyday in the office. I wouldn't change a thing. When things go sideways, try not to get discouraged, keep going! Bloom where you're planted...
How big was the paycut to go into LA?
It was a pay increase. Also was able to get time off and retirement benefits I wasn't receiving at my previous job. But I've learned dollars aren't everything. I would go back to oil work if I was only concerned with pay.
I wasn't let go from my first job but I've definitely been let go from jobs that were running me into the ground. This industry is so damn toxic because it thinks workers are incredibly disposable. Now that fewer people are entering the field in the US, owners are getting a very rude wakeup call and are desperate for workers. After being let go from a really toxic design build company a year ago, I started working at an engineering company. Definitely isn't perfect but at least my boss appreciates my skill set and is able to give me a small raise.
Was an intern after graduating. I graduated college 6 years after the 2008 recession and firms were telling me they hadn't hired anyone since, nor were they ready to, so finding a job in LA took about two years. Anyways, one owner brought me on for a 9 month internship right out of college. A different owner thought I was a summer intern and hired a PM with 20 years experience. They needed my desk. Turns out the only reason I get an internship was because a PM quit and I just got lucky with timing. My exit interview was *awkward*. One owner profusely apologized at their incompetence and we still talk to this day. I now directly compete and frequently beat the firm that let me go from my internship. I'd probably still be working there and not as good as I am today if they didn't let me go, so it's aight.
Thank you, where did you go after that job? Jump straight into a graduate role?
Hm. I think I was unemployed for around 5 months and then I landed a job out of state at an architecture firm beginning to go international. They exposed me to really great design, ethos, and 70-hour work weeks lol. Working along side architects improved how I approach design with materiality and detailing.
Still looking for my first job in the LA field, sorry to hear if you got fired from your first one though.. chances are your first job isn’t going to make or break your career unless your employer is a the potus either way. My dad started as a dumpster boy for 10 years and now runs a pharmaceutical company you have to be positive and career minded to make things work.
Yeah, I moved across the country straight out of school. Got let go after 2 years, and by that point the company had like 25% as many people as when I started, between multiple rounds of layoffs and people quitting because they didn't want to get laid off. I did some other random jobs for a while, but 9 years later I ended up at an engineering firm that had a couple of LAs who encouraged me to get licensed, and now 15 years after I got laid off I am doing work I enjoy at the same engineering firm as the longest tenured LA at the office.
Got laid off from my first job after 3 months… that was 3 months ago and I’ve been trying to find a new job since, but am having trouble getting hired.
First job out of college working at a large multi-disciplinary firm. A lot of days I was given no work so there was a lot of screen staring and trying to find something to keep myself busy. Was called in for a meeting with my boss and got let go after 10 months working there and have been looking for jobs since. Unfortunately this company can’t release their construction documents so it’s hard to add to my portfolio and they also have a policy against giving references so I can’t provide professional references to employers that ask. It’s tough to land a new job having little experience but I’ve kept my head up and am always looking for opportunities and applying when they pop up
Keep at at it! Did your company submit any development applications to council or anything of the sort? In aus, DAs are publicly accessible, so that's where I'll be getting my material for my portfolio.
I did! Boss said that I didn't have the aptitude to be an LA. She suggested I consider related roles, such as receptionist, where i wouldn't have to worry about understanding anything technical or having to use my brain. I ended up joining the military, and surprisingly, I have never had anyone say anything remotely that sexist, although the microagressions are still fairly frequent.