It's been over a year since graduating from college with an accredited degree in landscape architecture. I worked at a private landscape architecture firm for a year but have been laid off since.
I was wondering what is the expected salary as a landscape designer with about a year experience in California.
Also, if anyone has any recommendations on landscape architecture firms here in Southern California, that would be great!
Archinect
Nov 17, 15 1:57 pm
Try checking out salaries.archinect.com for some salary reports from landscape architects in California...
Nov 17, 15 2:23 pm
Pay for landscape architect and landscape designer maybe different. One is licensed and the other is not. One deals with public/civic/commercial projects and the other deals with residential work so it maybe different.
Just noting... some heap through a bit of research should tell.
Marc Miller
Nov 17, 15 4:27 pm
Lamont,
Look at the ASLA salary survey or the spend some money and get the latest Design Intelligence salary report. But by far the best thing to do is to "telephone and tell a friend" that you are looking for work out there and want get a sense of the salary ranges.
3tk
Nov 18, 15 10:28 am
A lot of range early in your career: low 40s to mid 50s (total package) is a reasonable expectation in that area. The range has to do with:
1. skillset: AutoCAD/Adobe/3D software (SketchUp, Rhino, Vectorworks, Revit) fluency, not just ability to use them, but trouble shoot, code and learning in depth uses
2. efficiency of your work (speed and quality)
3. type of projects firms work on (some types are more profitable than others)
4. size of firm
5. benefits package (these can easily add up to thousands of dollars): health, 401k/IRA, profit sharing, total sick/vacation/personal/professional development (I've seen 12~25 days depending on firm), professional memberships/license/continuing ed, flex time.
6. expected work hours - some are 35hrs/wk billing others expect 50+.
7. city/location of the office
x-jla
Nov 18, 15 10:51 am
1. For an arch firm expect what 3tk posted...
2. For a design build firm expect about the same unless you are working in the residential market which is typically a commission based pay....10-15% per project. Some guys make 30k some make 200k...depends on your skills and the type of projects the firm does. Design/sales is imo a crappy project delivery method, but I would say 90% of the residential design build firms employ this system...
3. For a self employed designer you can expect quite a struggle for the first 2 years...25-35k max...after you have a few contacts and built projects you can get into about 40-60...after 8-10 years or so 80+.
scottdesign
Apr 21, 17 4:46 am
The Average pay scale for Landscape Architecture in California is $ 65,298 per year. Some of the best Landscape firms in California are listed below:
Hi all,
It's been over a year since graduating from college with an accredited degree in landscape architecture. I worked at a private landscape architecture firm for a year but have been laid off since.
I was wondering what is the expected salary as a landscape designer with about a year experience in California.
Also, if anyone has any recommendations on landscape architecture firms here in Southern California, that would be great!
Try checking out salaries.archinect.com for some salary reports from landscape architects in California...
Pay for landscape architect and landscape designer maybe different. One is licensed and the other is not. One deals with public/civic/commercial projects and the other deals with residential work so it maybe different.
Just noting... some heap through a bit of research should tell.
Lamont,
Look at the ASLA salary survey or the spend some money and get the latest Design Intelligence salary report. But by far the best thing to do is to "telephone and tell a friend" that you are looking for work out there and want get a sense of the salary ranges.
A lot of range early in your career: low 40s to mid 50s (total package) is a reasonable expectation in that area. The range has to do with:
1. skillset: AutoCAD/Adobe/3D software (SketchUp, Rhino, Vectorworks, Revit) fluency, not just ability to use them, but trouble shoot, code and learning in depth uses
2. efficiency of your work (speed and quality)
3. type of projects firms work on (some types are more profitable than others)
4. size of firm
5. benefits package (these can easily add up to thousands of dollars): health, 401k/IRA, profit sharing, total sick/vacation/personal/professional development (I've seen 12~25 days depending on firm), professional memberships/license/continuing ed, flex time.
6. expected work hours - some are 35hrs/wk billing others expect 50+.
7. city/location of the office
1. For an arch firm expect what 3tk posted...
2. For a design build firm expect about the same unless you are working in the residential market which is typically a commission based pay....10-15% per project. Some guys make 30k some make 200k...depends on your skills and the type of projects the firm does. Design/sales is imo a crappy project delivery method, but I would say 90% of the residential design build firms employ this system...
3. For a self employed designer you can expect quite a struggle for the first 2 years...25-35k max...after you have a few contacts and built projects you can get into about 40-60...after 8-10 years or so 80+.
The Average pay scale for Landscape Architecture in California is $ 65,298 per year. Some of the best Landscape firms in California are listed below:
Lesaca Landscape Co.
La Loma Development Co.
Fina Construction Group Inc.
Cannon Design