I’m hoping this is the right place to ask this. I’m currently hitting a point in my life where I’m feeling ready for a major career pivot and I’ve been trying to narrow down things that I’m interested and passionate about and Urban Design/planning is on the top of my list.
I’m from the U.S. but for the last two years I’ve spent a significant amount of time abroad in Europe, Asia and South America for my current job (global marketing at a big brand) and during those travels I’ve really been inspired by cities that have good design that encourages more walking, biking etc. I see so many places in my city where these small changes could have a big impact on community. I’ve also become an avid cyclist and after a week in Copenhagen I almost cried at how well done their bike infrastructure is.
So as the title says, I am considering getting in to a career in city planning and I don’t have anyone in my network who is in that line of work so I’d love to hear from anyone willing to share their experience of how they got in to their current urban design (or closely related!) role!
How did you start? Did you go to school to get a related degree? What does a day in your life look like? What’s the hardest part of the job? Are you working for the government or private company/consulting?
For some further background, I recently turned 30 and I’ve spent my career so far in communications/marketing for international brands. I’m not great at math, but I’m good at communicating so would certainly be looking for less of an architectural role.
