To Be an Urban Designer

This is why sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy for wanting to be an urban designer:

Current job posting on GGLO website.

Did you catch all that? Let's make it a numbered list so we can keep track (my comments in grey).

Urban Designer (job posting at GGLO, Seattle)

1. 3-5 years of experience (This is a joke, if you could do all of the stuff on this list in 3 years, you are Superman.  Maybe they really mean 3-5 years of experience in everything on this list!)

2. (My point...) Experience designing and coordinating complex urban design and planning projects for both public and private client groups. (Cause that's possible in 5, not to mention 3 years!)

3. Works collaboratively... on projects located throughout the Pacific and Mountain West. (Is that a requirement? Maybe that is really supposed to be part of the job description.)

4. Preparation of urban design guidelines, planning reports, development codes and vision documents (including document layout, graphics, and writing). (This and the next 4 seem reasonable in concept, but overwhelming in practice.)

5. Collaborating with diverse project team that may include clients, municpalities, consultants and public agencies.

6. Experienced facilitator and presenter at public meetings and forums.

7. Demonstrated proficiency with AutoCAD, ArcGIS, 3D modeling/rendering software.

8. Photoshop, InDesign, SketchUp, hand sketching and rendering skills required.

9-12 (Be a great coworker too.)

13. Involved in their community. (You mean you're supposed to do all that and also extra-curriculars? How about a social life?)

And the grand finale:

14. Undergraduate degree required, an advanced degree in urban design, planning or landscape architecture preferred. (So that's one, two, or three degrees (urban design can be a post-masters degree) to start...)

15. LEED Accreditation preferred (...plus an accreditation)

16. Licensed architect (preferred), or completed IDP and working towards licensure in Washington. (...and did they mention, on top of all of that, just be an architect too, in Washington, no big deal.)

Thanks GGLO, now I have a life to-do list!