Landscape architecture work is a great area of expertise that generates workers with many skills at their disposal. What kinds of skills do these workers possess, and how do they translate to the possibility of other, great job opportunities outside of landscape architecture work? Follow along for details.
Skills That Drive Value
Landscape architecture workers do possess a wide range of very useful skills that can drive their demand not only in landscape architecture but in several other fields of expertise as well. Probably chief-most among these skills is ingenuity. Landscape architecture deals with many variables in achieving its various goals, from energy science and soil science to structural engineering knowledge, meteorological knowledge and more. After all, this is the field of work that directly handles the powerful agents of wind, water, temperature, weather, and lots of other elements of physics all in one, outdoor space and set of goal pursuits.
The following represent just some of the valuable skill knowledge areas that today’s landscape architect typically possesses that are also of great value in other career paths:
- Ecology
- Environmental Psychology
- Water Management and Mitigation
- Soil Science
- Plant Science
- Pest Sciences
- Structural Engineering
- Advanced Planning Processes
- General and Specialty Design
- Environmental and Structural Laws and Regulations
Alternate Career Path Options
Just by glancing at some of the many skills that landscape architects possess, one can surmise their usefulness in a variety of other vocations. When they choose to branch out, these pros can be quite successful. Here are some of the alternate positions these experts can often fill quite well.
- Nursery Manager – Plant nurseries are special locations where many different types of plants are grown and sold. Nursery managers are the top employees here, managing all of the many happenings on site. A great aptitude toward multi-tasking, ingenuity, and plant knowledge – all the skills held by most landscape architects – are those that hold this position down the very best.
- Landscaping Manager – Landscaping companies of all types and sizes utilize a hierarchy of workers that is usually headed by the landscaping manager or supervisor. This professional must be able to handle many landscaping operations at the same time throughout the day as well as the people carrying them out. Landscaping architects are typically very much qualified for this leadership role.
- Urban Planner – While many urban planners must hold a degree in urban planning, many others still can get the job by holding some very related work experience and/or education. Urban planners themselves plan and design urban areas using all types of structural and landscape design elements – much like landscape architects. In fact, in many situations, urban planners work closely with landscape architects while they are designing and building their envisioned cityscapes.
- Consultancy – Consultancy is another great way for people to branch out from many types of career and educational backgrounds. In consultancy, the expert, or “consultant” as they are called, provides paying clientele with advice to help get their specific goals fulfilled. For example, a building safety consultant might be brought in to give guidance on the safety status of an apartment complex fire suppression system. Likewise, for another example, an audio consultant might be hired by a new recording studio to best design sound recording rooms. In that same manner, a landscape architect can easily go into consultancy work in landscape design, maintenance, and other, related areas of knowledge with which they are already expertly familiar.
- Groundskeeper Manager – Groundskeeping management is yet another great direction in which landscape architects can venture out into. Groundskeeping itself is the professional, ongoing care-taking practice applied to special “grounds” areas such as those found at golf courses, horse racing tracks, venues like baseball and football fields, and even amusement parks. Employing a diverse hierarchy of workers, managers and supervisors here head the pack, and landscaping architects often represent ideal candidates for these very leadership roles.
Resources
For those interested in learning more about landscape architect work or similar areas of work and academia, there are several, great resources worth checking out. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a government job statistics body that holds a healthy array of information about landscape architect work and similar occupations today. The American Society of Landscape Architects is another great resource just for this area of expertise. Finally, readers can get plenty more information on this particular subject matter by visiting the website for the National Association for Landscaping Professionals.
Landscape architect work is a great area of expertise that can result in a satisfying career for years to come. It can also result in some great skills and experience that allow for cross-career applicability at any time, should one choose. The above-mentioned, alternate career paths represent just a handful of those that today’s landscape architect may successfully be able to fill.
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