Unemployed Recent Graduates

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I am an unemployed recent graduate. I graduated+!@#$Laude from a fully accredited university in May. I moved to Denver, Colorado in July '08 hoping that the big city would have lots of job opportunities for me. I am currently working for a small design build company doing general landscape maintenance and snow plowing. My boyfriend is in the same position as well as a few others in our graduating class. Some are looking into other fields, one woman I graduated with wants to start an organic horticulture business.

If there are any of you out there, you are NOT alone!
I hope that we can share our woes and make it through this little slump together.

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Permalink Reply by Aidan Joseph ffrench on April 9, 2009 at 7:15am: I'm writing from Ireland, Europe where there's growing concerns at the impacts on landscape architects - especially recent graduates and this year's graduates. I'm developing a proposal for bi-lateral agreements between national landscape associations and institutes. This would see governments and agencies embacing and supporting professional bodies as they strive to retain and create jobs. It would faciliate graduate exchange across the planet, as we emerge from global economic recession, directing the talents of our exciting profession to areas of need; through job seeker internships and tax breaks for practices.. A letter is winding its way to A.S.L.A and the White House. I.F.L.A has been invited to support the initiative.
I sense this may not have any direct relevance to you; but wish to assure you that we in Ireland, having welcome many foreign landscape architects to our shores during the recent ecnomic boom, are mindful of maintaing intenational dialgoue and preventing any move toward nationalistic protectionism. The proposal is in its infancy - so watch this space!

Best Wishes,
Aidan J. ffrench MILI
Past President, The Irish Landscape Institute www.irishlandscapeinstitute.com
Member, EFLA European Landscape Policy Committee; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Tupa on April 9, 2009 at 9:46am: I'll agree with some of the other "old timers". This will pass. As meintioned in other responses, these slumps seem to happen in cycles, can almost be seen before they happen (in hind sight) and require designers to be creative in how they get themselves out there to earn a living doing what they enjoy doing.

I suggest you look for projects not just jobs. Expand your networks to see if you can help neighbors with their yards, check with local developers, land owners, new home owners, non-profit groups, landscape contractors, etc. and see where you can gleen work even if it is to design a flower bed down the street.

The reason for this is that you need to keep in the business and make new contacts. I can look back to the eraly 80's and remember the neighbor's yard I did a design for that belonged to an engineer who later hired me to do a small project and then several others and when the economy picked up so did he and when his firm split and his employees went working elsewhere I was working for several firms working on design projects ranging from highway beautification to neighborhood designs, and from there, etc. So small is good to start with especially in these times.

So, Go find a project while you look for a job. (and if the project is too big for just you to handle you can bring it with you to a job interview and offer it to the office if they give you a job.); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Roland Beinert on April 11, 2009 at 4:07pm: That's a good suggestion, and I recently found a project. My new landlord asked me to help take care of the areas surrounding the building. Right now it's pretty barren.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by D. Eric Bowyer on April 12, 2009 at 1:35pm: Dear Brittany, Keep the spirit, I started out in 1981 from Ohio State University as a top student, I went to work in Southern California where they began to suffer from a slow down, we had to take a ten percent paycut with many senior people let go. Things finally stabalized until 1992 when the economy was crashing again. That one forced me to reevaluate things and I started my firm Site Concepts International with my Partner Peter Imrik who was a top student at Cal Poly Pomona. I remember people saying "Stay alive till 95" now its 2009 and we are still here. We have had to be very careful with things and we did have a little slowdown after Sept. 11th but we have kept things going and luckily we focused on an international market which has allowed us to travel the world and work on many exciting projects. So far we have not been hurt by the current slowdown and last year was our best year since we relocated to Florida from Northern California. Good luck and I am sure things will work out for use. Just be adaptable. Sincerely, Eric Bowyer, Site Concepts International; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alex Edwards-Hastings on April 12, 2009 at 4:14pm: At least we are not graduating this year. I heard it is going to be worse for this graduating class. Hopefully everything works out and we all come up for the better.; ▶ Reply to This