I am in my early 30s and currently working as a BIM Coordinator, with core experience in Architecture and Hydraulics across 8 years. I live in Sydney and I am trying to transition into Landscape Architecture. I have already enrolled in the MLA and will be starting in 2027.

I am finding the jump difficult. It feels like these kinds of career changes only happen through networking, because most job ads are either for Senior Landscape Architects or Graduate roles. My skills are completely transferable to landscape firms, but I still lack plant knowledge and design training. I have already contacted a few practices directly and have received either negative responses or no reply at all.

I am happy to start as a draftsperson/modeller or LA student or similar position.

I know my situation isn’t very common, so asking whether anyone like me has made the transition probably won’t be very effective. Still, I would like to start a discussion. I might be missing something, or someone with more experience might be able to help me understand better pathways or strategies for making the change. Thanks.

Would you actually use an outdoor chair that can fold into a table? like this

I'm exploring an idea for outdoor furniture in schools, unis, and public spaces where space is limited.

The concept is a wall-mounted bench that can quickly transform into a table for eating, studying, or working.

Would you actually use something like this?

• What's the biggest issue with current outdoor seating?
• Would you prefer dedicated benches/tables instead?
• What features would make this genuinely useful?

I NEED FLAWS

Hey everyone! 🌿

I’m a Landscape Architect with 3 years of experience working on landscape projects across Italy, Finland, the UAE, and India.

My work involves exploring how outdoor spaces can be transformed through thoughtful design, planting, and material selection. I’ve also had the opportunity to work on a wide range of residential and commercial landscape projects.

I’m always interested in connecting with fellow landscape architects, designers, and landscape firms from around the world to exchange ideas, learn about different design approaches, and collaborate on interesting projects.

Would love to connect with others in this community! What kind of landscape projects are you all working on lately? 🌱

Hello everyone,
I'm a European grad student in Spatial Planning with a background in Real Estate studies. One of the things that always made me go into Urban Planning were the amazingly realistic visualizations of how, for example, a street or public square will be redesigned.

However, in my university course (in Vienna) we don't really have any modules that teach us how to create such visualizations - we kinda just focus on map making when it comes to visualizations, it seems.

Since I find those visualizations are great to inspire and promote change, and better communicate your ideas and visions, I'd love to learn how to create such visuals, and hope that you guys might be able to share your processes, programs/software, or workflows on how you do that. Any resources and online courses that are helpful in this regard would also be very appreciated :)

For reference as to what I am understanding as 'amazingly realistic visualizations', I included these examples from my hometown.

Thanks in advance!

(And I hope this is the right place to ask this - if not, please let me know and I will delete the post)

I originally wanted to go to school for environmental design since my state doesn't offer landscape architecture for bachelor's degrees. I ended up going with an architectural engineering degree since the economy was bad when I started college and thought it would be a safer option. I graduated last spring and have been working as a geotechnical engineer for the last two months.

I have been questioning my place in the field since every other person in my company has a master's or PhD and I'm not sure if geotech is what I would like to pursue a Master's in. Unfortunately every single civil engineering firm is riding the data center wave incredibly hard because that is where the work is. I firmly believe that there is no switching companies that is going to fix the fact that I will be working on data centers for the foreseeable future if I stay in this discipline.

I have GIS skills in ArcGIS online, ArcGIS pro, and QGIS. I am proficient with AutoCAD and Revit. I feel like this field aligns more with my personal interests since I have a passion for field biology and art.
Unfortunately I have a 2.6 GPA since I burned myself out a couple of semesters so I will likely have to take the GRE.

I am considering pursuing a Master's in landscape architecture and I was wondering what I can expect in terms of career progression upon graduation. I was also wondering what kind of research opportunities are available, if possible. I have no research experience, but I am interested.

There is a company that I am interested that has done work on state parks and state natural areas and that is the kind of work that I would like to spend my life doing. What does the individual workload look like for projects like that?

For anyone that has any input, thank you for your time :)

I am not sure if this post is immediately relevant to this subreddit and if it will get taken down. But here goes.

I am 25, currently completing my Master’s in Landscape Architecture in Perth, Western Australia, and due to graduate mid-next year.

I have a five-year Bachelor’s in Architecture and will have spent around 7.5 years in higher education by the time I graduate. I have a few architecture internships under my belt, but no substantial professional experience. After completing architecture, I chose landscape architecture because I genuinely love the field, and I’ve even taken additional units in urban design, anthropology, and sociology purely out of interest and a desire to deepen my understanding of the social and spatial dimensions of the built environment. My father is a landscape architecture manager in Qatar, and seeing how much he enjoys his work and the career he has built was a huge inspiration for me growing up.

I came into this degree feeling genuinely excited about what I could do with it. Unfortunately, I’m finding the reality of studying it increasingly difficult. I enjoyed studio initially, but I’m now perpetually burnt out. The workload feels relentless, with all-nighters and sometimes going 48-55 hours with barely any sleep just to keep up, especially when folio submission is around the corner. No matter how much effort I put into my projects, I often feel like it’s never enough. I’m exhausted to the point where I cry every day, and the stress is beginning to affect my sleep, appetite, and physical health.

On top of that, I’ve spent this entire year applying for internships at consulting firms, smaller landscape architecture and urban design practices, local studios, and government orgs. Not only am I applying independently, but am also applying through my university’s internship programmes, but I’ve had little success beyond rejections and being ghosted.

What makes me feel worse is that I’ve had my portfolio, CV, and cover letters reviewed by my professors and mature students in the class with experience in the field, including the professor responsible for internship placements. One caveat - my portfolio is mostly architecture related owing to my bachelors degree and previous work with architecture firms, but even so, I’ve received very encouraging feedback, with the professor in charge of placements, telling me my portfolio was among the best she had seen. I sat with her, got all her feedback, and made the recommended changes and continued applying, but I’m still not getting anywhere.

I understand the industry is competitive. I’m not expecting a job to fall into my lap. I’m willing to work hard and start wherever I need to. But after months of trying, I’m struggling to understand what I’m doing wrong? If even securing an internship/grad program is proving this difficult, I’m genuinely frightened about what happens when I graduate and need to find a full-time position?

I see architecture and LA graduates from my uni struggling to find work, and it’s making me question whether the years I’ve invested in this field will pay off. I came into this degree with so much excitement and hope, and now I’m exhausted, anxious about the future, and questioning decisions I once felt confident about.

I’d really appreciate some honest perspectives, particularly from people working in Australia. How difficult was it to land your first internship or graduate position in landscape architecture or urban design? Did things improve once you gained experience? For people involved in hiring, how much does a lack of local experience matter, even when a candidate has a strong portfolio?
Does professional practice feel significantly different from university studio? I’m struggling to tell whether I’m exhausted by the field itself or by the way I’m experiencing it through university.

And does it get better? I feel frightened, exhausted, and increasingly disconnected from something I once felt so excited about. I’m trying to figure out whether I need to change my approach, adjust my expectations, reconsider my career plans, or simply give myself some grace during a difficult period of uncertainty.

Thank you. ♥️

Please use this thread to discuss whats going on at your school or place of work this week. Run into an interesting problem with a site design and need to hash it out with other LAs? This is the spot. Any content is welcome as long as it Landscape Architecture related. School, work, personal garden? Its all good, lets talk.

It could be change by location so please don’t forget to write your country and city.

(Job in a firm as an employee)

Thank you :)

Hey guys! I am a landscape architecture student at a big SEC school! I love it here, but I have lived in the south my whole life and I am looking to move to the pacific northwest. Now, as most of you know, the plants and ecosystems in the PNW are entirely different from down here!

My question is, what is a really good school I can go to in like maybe Washington for my masters to get that experience I need to get my certification up there?

I want to be a landscape architect in near future and I’m planning to enroll into National Forestry University of Ukraine. Can y’all explain a little bit more about the landscaping itself, I’m curious about your opinions. Also I tried to make kind of a park in my town (written in Ukrainian, black lines are sidewalks and in the centre a fountain) let me know if y’all like it or nah

I am currently a senior, and have been looking into getting an MLA, preferably somewhere in the southeast (US). I am planning to graduate in Spring of 2027 with a BS in Biology with a minor in English. I was previously on the pre-Dental track, but I was not testing too well and I have a decent GPA just not enough for the dental school competition loll. One of my professors recently introduced me to landscape architecture and it looks like something I’d enjoy a lot more as I’m interested in nature as well as designing spaces. I’ve always just been more of a creative person in general and I think this will be a lot more intellectually stimulating for me as it seems to combine the environment with design.

I was just wondering if I should start looking at softwares and/or building a portfolio now for my applications, and possibly just some tips on how to go about the MLA application process. Also if there are any current students who can share their experiences or post grad work that would be awesome!!

All my tests are greyed out and support isn’t responding.

I’ve posted on this subreddit a few times now and had success connecting with people, so I’m back with another one.
I’m looking to connect with US-based, licensed Landscape Architects who are able to sign/seal drawings in the state(s) where they hold an active license.

This is not a full-time role. It’s project-based, overflow work at $200/hour.

The setup is pretty straightforward: you would initially meet with the hiring manager so you can get to know each other, understand the type of work they do, and make sure there’s a fit.

From there, they’d keep you in their network and reach out as projects and overflow work come up.
Looking for:
• US-based Landscape Architects
• Active LA license in one or more US states
• Able to sign/seal drawings in your licensed jurisdiction(s)
• Comfortable taking on work on an as-needed/project basis
• $200/hour

This could be a great setup for someone running their own practice, consulting independently, or simply interested in picking up additional project work when availability allows.

If interested, DM me with the state(s) you’re licensed in and a little about your background or you can connect with me on LinkedIn.

I (24F) am in my 2nd year of my 3-year MLA program at a more elite university.

I definitely have undiagnosed adhd (per loved ones who either have it or know someone with it.) and struggle w my own mental health problems and chronic migraines and such.

I feel like I am so bad at grad school. I need specific instructions to get things started, and I overcomplicate things very easily by trying to tackle more than I can chew. Ive always considered myself creative but I just cant formulate any original ideas for my projects. Im always checking in on what others are doing and feeling inadequate because they are so self-motivated while I struggle to get started on things until the last minutes. I envy my neurotypical studio-mates for being able to sit down and work on things without guidance, and I feel like I annoy them by asking what they’re doing and how they came to those ideas.

i also cant really talk about my ideas in a sophisticated/professional way. im very casual and struggle with word recall anyway because of my migraines.

i get worried about my future employment opportunities… i feel like three kids in a trench coat

How have you dealt with imposter syndrome and struggling to be original/creative/innovative? how do you motivate yourself without reassurance seeking?

My wife and I recently moved into a new home near Atlanta that we love! The front yard was done well already; however, the back yard is somewhat of a blank canvas. The only issue is that our lot slopes pretty heavily in the backyard (looking out from the back of the house it slopes right to left).

We are looking for recommendations on Landscape Design or Landscape Architect companies that people have worked, with good reviews, who can help us plan out the best way to make the backyard more enjoyable!!

Please send any and all recs!! Thank you!!

I have a biological systems engineering background (bachelor's) and will graduate with an M.S. in plant and environmental sciences next December. My thesis is focused on rain gardens and bioretention cells.

Over the course of my higher education, I've realized that I am really interested in landscape architecture and urban-ecological design. Do landscape arch. companies typically hire engineers/would my engineering background and M.S. combo be attractive to firms? I will likely be looking for jobs in Northeast USA. Thanks...

Hey there, im an aspiring landscape architect and i have around 7 months to prepare for a screening exam. The exam mostly tests creativity and sketching capabilities. A question which might show up is to design an outdoor area based on a certain prompt [place for solitude, R&R, for students and kids, etc].

Id very much like some feedback on these sketches and concepts ive made. In terms of legibilty and soundness of the concepts.

Thank you.

Finally got my results but no call back after “24 business hours,” or whatever tf there answering machine says lmao

The results are finally in, and registration for the Winter LARE is open. The registration is buggy as hell, and I haven't been able to register yet, i keep getting an error code. ARG!!! I have called in with a pic of the error. ALSO, you have to redo your attestation (SP?), in your record or you cant register for any new exams, just a heads up.

One of the new books that they're recommending for the Construction Documentation and Administration exam is Construction Contracts: Law and Management, a book that is primarily concerned with BRITISH contract law. Great job CLARB, I'm so glad we are giving you our money for a new website that doesn't work and books that are like tangentially related to LA practice. You really can't make this crap up.

This is proving to be the trickest one by far for me - I don't deal with grading at my job much. So for someone unlikely to get much practice on that side of things, what should I do?

For books, I have Site Engineering for Landscape Architects, as well as the Lareprep, for all the good those did. I notice two more books up in their recommended list - Green stormwater infrastructure fundamentals and design, as well as Low impact development and sustainable stormwater management. Useful, or just ways to get me to spend more money?