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How to Become an Urban Planner
The urban, or city planner is one of the top positions in city or county government, therefore, it can be a long process of how to become an urban planner before you can actually begin your career. The urban planner is responsible for the overall growth of the city or county, both the present growth through the current structure, as well as future growth through projections of what the community will need in decades to come. This growth may include everything from water and sewer development to future building projects such as residential and business development. These are the main duties you will be responsible for once you complete the task of how to become an urban planner.
How to Become an Urban Planner
The undergraduate degree required in the task of how to become an urban planner includes a Bachelors degree in economics, geography, environmental design or even political science. Any one of these major courses of study will provide the basic knowledge required to begin a career in development as well as a career in politics. The Bachelors degree program is a four year program that is available through most of the online schools who are now offering distance education programs to their students who wish to work or continue their current obligations while earning their online degree. Throughout these programs, you will learn how to effectively plan for the future, work with government officials as well as the community, however; you will still be required to go through the next phase involved with how to become an urban planner.
After you have completed your Bachelors program with consistent higher than average grades, you will be eligible to apply for the Masters program in urban or regional planning. This two year program goes into the specific duties of how to become an urban planner as well as how to succeed as an urban planner and effectively promote growth and revenue for your community. In addition, this program will also provide tips and guides on how to effectively deal with the public who may not always agree with your decisions that you make toward the development and growth of the community. After you have completed this aspect, you may also be eligible for various examinations that are nationally accredited and will provide you with additional certifications in the field of urban development and planning. These examinations are typically awarded to those who have shown exceptional dedication to their studies throughout their educational programs, constantly earning top grades throughout both of their degree programs.
Employment
The final aspect in becoming an urban planner involves that of employment. In order to gain employment as an urban planner, you must be ready and willing to relocate since there is typically only one position through each city or county, although you generally will have to wait for the current planner to retire before you can advance into that position. This is why you will need to be willing to apply for and accept any job that comes up, whether it is close to where you live, or far away, requiring you to move. In many cases your new employer may cover some or even all of your relocation costs, which is an aspect that you may bring up when negotiating your salary.
Now that you know how to become an urban planner, enroll in classes today. You will be glad that you did.
