If you would like to make your community more beautiful and function better, then look into becoming a landscape architect. Landscape architects are the professionals who plan out residential communities, college campuses, public parks, gardens, playgrounds, and areas for outdoor recreation.
They design everything from planting gardens to building walkways and trees. Let’s discuss the profession in detail – their job roles, educational requirements, and job outlook.
Landscape architects are the designers behind the beautiful landscapes that we see around us. They plan, design, and maintain public spaces, residential areas, parks, gardens, and other outdoor recreational facilities. Their job is to improve not just how things look but also how they function.
For example, landscape architects might work with engineers to ensure a proper drainage system in an area. They will study the environment’s rainfall patterns and sunlight hours beforehand to ensure optimal planting conditions for trees or grasses.
They work closely with construction teams during building projects, making sure that buildings are set up strategically at a site so that they do not overshadow any plants or damage their roots too much due to construction machinery.
Their duties also include:
The education needed for this profession is extensive; earning a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Design will put you on the right track.
Get a Bachelor’s Degree
Landscape architecture is its own academic major, but students can choose to combine their studies with other areas such as horticulture, agricultural sciences, or environmental planning. The curriculum offered by US universities includes courses on:
Graduates may be certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) after passing their professional exams. They can then start applying to practice in the state of their choice.
Become Licensed
To get a license, landscape architects need to pass the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE). This is administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), so graduates must apply to their state of choice first before sitting the exam.
The LARE is a 7-hour, 150 multiple-choice question test that covers:
A passing grade is 70%. Those who pass also need to earn 12 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per year for the first five years after registering as a landscape architect.
Gain Work Experience through an Internship or Mentorship Program
This is usually done during or after college, and lasts for between one and two years. Landscape architects typically join internships with architectural, planning, or engineering firms. They get to learn about the job of a landscape architect by working on site with their mentors to complete projects.
Masters in Landscape Architecture for Career Advancement
This is an optional step that students may pursue if they wish to work in academia, research and consulting, or private practice after gaining their license.
Landscape architects work in many different areas. They can be employed by:
Landscape architects can play many different roles in each of these organizations. Some common job titles include:
Landscape architecture is a pretty lucrative career that pays well and is one of the highest-earning skilled occupations in the United States. As of December 2021, their salaries can range from $78,000 to $108,000.
But, what do the salaries depend on? Well, there are a lot of factors that affect the employability and salary of a landscape architect. Some of them are education, certifications, additional skills, years of experience, companies worked with, and the state where you are working.
So, if you are looking for a better future, make sure you invest wisely in yourself and complete quality education and certifications. Plus, try to learn as many architecture-related softwares as you can because a lot of work is now digital, and companies always need tech-savvy people.
Although landscape architects are paid very well, their future job growth is somewhat limited. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there won’t be any change in the job prospects of landscape architects from 2020 to 2030.
Despite limited to no growth, around 1600 job openings for landscape architects are projected each year for the next decade – not bad at all. The majority of these openings will be made to replace workers who either retire or transfer to other professions.
If you are wondering, “why the slow growth?” Let us explain it to you.
Since the job of landscape architects is on a bigger scale as compared to regular architects, you can’t expect much growth in their careers. The country already has an extensive infrastructure and well-developed landscapes. Therefore the need for planning and developing new commercial, residential, or industrial projects is expected to remain the same.
However, one aspect that gives some hope is the emergence of sustainable community design. Since we are trying to save our planet and “going green,” there is a huge gap in urban design and landscape sustainability. Once these things gain momentum, landscape architecture can see massive growth.
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