Job Responsibilities
My job requires a lot of data entry and quality control. There
are some days were very little brain power is needed because you
are just cutting and pasting. Other day are exhausting because
there are sometimes a million different ways to answer the same
question in a different context and its gets frustrating. But I
definately that I am learning a lot about the field of
planning. For being entry level I am surprised at the number of
reports I have already written. I enjoy doing that as a break
from data entry and I have a complete product to show at the
end. I have also design some posters and brochures which is
something I never expected to have to do.
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Job Requirements
I took at different path to planning. I have a master's degree
in geography but many of my classes were about urban areas or
planning. I also took a couple of GIS courses. Although I have
not had an opportunity to do a GIS project yet it has helped
with everyday office work and a simple GIS project I am working
on right now. I considered a master's in planning after
finishing my geography master's but I am glad I did not do
that. I think I am learning much more by working in the office
over taking classes. I never did a planning intership but I
would definately recommend doing one.
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Uppers
I get to do some fun extra duties such as planning Bike to Work day and a
commuter Thank You program. I do get to do some field work which is a nice
change of pace from the office.
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Downers
It is a lot of sitting at a desk, looking a computer screen.
More field work would be nice but not really feasible.
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Lifestyle
We work 8 to 5 and rarely work any overtime. Lately we have a had series of
night meetings which is inevitable since you need to have public input for many
of our projects. Working the public can frustrating I usually come away feeling
like the bad guy because I am the bearer of bad news. Dress code at our office
is business casual. The only time the men wear ties is to meetings. We even
have casual Fridays. Very little travel is required for this job even among the
higher level staff although many of them have more night meetings.
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Compensation
My base salary was $35,000. Not bad but a little hard to live on
in the East. We do not get pay overtime but we get comp time
meaning for ever 1 hour over 40 we work we get an extra 1.5
hours of leave. Which is nice for entry level employees since
you do not have annual leave. We also get 10 paid holidays and
up to 8 personal days as well as over 12 sick days.
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Advice to Jobseekers
I think jobs in the private sector will continue to open up.
The government sector might be harder to get into just because
they are less willing to take applicants with little
experience. Most entry level people I know in this field took 6
months or more to find a job.
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