Planning

“I first gained interest in urban planning during my Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree, however did not graduate with the formal qualifications necessary to pursue a career in this field. I knew it was critical to obtain a degree in planning so I researched my options with various people within the industry. The undergraduate and postgraduate UNSW Planning degrees were continually identified as superior within the profession, making it an easy decision!

“I began working at City Plan Strategy and Development during my last semester at UNSW Built Environment, made possible by the flexibility the degree offered in terms of workload. Since this time I have been fortunate enough to fast forward my career from Student Planner, to Planning Assistant/Graduate Planner to my current role as Urban Planner in one year. The strong industry links the degree boasts, such as learning from academics who had worked in the industry, or were still actively involved, was paramount in attaining and understanding a vast body of dynamic planning legislation, and I attribute my success to this strong level of knowledge and practical skills I graduated with. I believe the dedication of my lecturers in ensuring that the students of the Master of Planning received the most practical knowledge as possible, via the use of practical case studies played a critical role in preparing all of us for the transition into the Planning profession.

“Most of my classes were capped to a smaller amount of students. This enhanced the learning process, made the learning atmosphere more comfortable and allowed me to get to know the people in my degree. From a social point of view, many of my class members are still in touch.

"The first piece of advice I would give is to give it a go! Planning is such a dynamic and multi-faceted profession with various sub-fields where one can pursue different interests. I have colleagues within the industry that work as social planners, environmental planners, and transport planners. My second piece of advice would be to make the most of the flexibility the degree offers. I could have completed the degree in 18 months but undertook my subjects over two years which allowed the flexibility to foster a career prior to graduation.”