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Career options: Urban and environmental Planning

Compiled by: Careers and Employment Service, Student Services, Griffith University

Occupations and industries

Positions and employers

Sample job advertisements

Vacancies on-line

Targeting potential employers

Employment prospects and starting salaries

Professional associations

Other useful career-related links

Planners are involved at all levels of government - local, state and federal - with most in local government. Australian-trained planners also find employment overseas in developed and developing countries.

Developers, community groups, local councils and other government bodies contract planning consultancies. Large development companies increasingly employ their own planners to develop and implement proposals. This degree will enable you to practise in all these areas. In addition, you will have specialised environmental knowledge and skills, which are in high demand by government, industry and the community.

As an Environmental Planning student, you should be aware that in addition to discipline-related content and skills, you are acquiring other skills that are highly valued by employers. These skills, known at Griffith as “generic” or “professional” skills are sometimes referred to as “transferable”, as they can be transferred from one environment to another (learning to the workplace, part-time to professional work). To learn more about recognising your skills, go to Skills Explorer.

Occupations and industries

Environmental Planning graduates are employed in a wide range of occupations and industries including:

  • Transport planning
  • Urban planning
  • Disaster recovery
  • Strategic land use
  • Tourism
  • Urban renewal
  • Social planning
  • Environmental impact assessment
  • Port authorities
  • Electricity supply companies
  • Property development
  • Recreational planning
  • Land use & Economic development
  • Development assessment
  • Energy & greenhouse issues
  • Heritage planning
  • Commercial & industrial planning
  • Building statutory compliance
  • Railways

Positions and employers

It is important to note that employers often do not specify a particular major or specialisation when recruiting. Some are even quite flexible about the degree applicants have studied, for example, some major employers recruit “any degree”. Such employers often indicate an interest in a broad range of graduate skills together with passion, commitment and a strong work ethic rather than specific program content. Your Environmental Planning degree may be appropriate to a wide range of positions many of which may not seem obvious at first glance.

Examples of positions and employers include:

Assistant Environmental Planner Maher and Cooper
Assistant Town Planner Delfin
Development Assessment Planner Caboolture Council
Environmental Advisor Brisbane City Council
Environmental Officer Main Roads Department
Environmental Planner Brown and Root
Environmental Planning Officer         Planning NSW
Environmental Scientist IT Environmental
Infrastructure Planner Brisbane City Council
Greenhouse Project Officer Maroochy Shire Council
Planner Buckley Vann Town Planning Consultants
Graduate Planner Department of Public Works
Graduate Planner GHD
Planning Officer Noosa Council
Policy Officer Queensland Transport
Policy Resource Officer Queensland Housing
Program Officer, Air and Energy Brisbane City Council
Project Transport Planner Queensland Transport
Policy Resource Officer Queensland Housing
Research and Policy Officer Property Council of Australia
Research Assistant Caloundra City Council
Strategic Planner Gold Coast City Council
Technical Officer Logan City Council
Town and Environmental Planner Heathwood Cardillo Wilson
Town Planner Brisbane City Council
Town Planner Queensland Building Consulting Group
Transport Planner Eppell Olsen and Partners
Technical Officer, Transport Planning Redland Shire Council
Urban Design Graduate Roads Traffic Authority NSW
Water Quality Assistant Officer Brisbane City Council

Some sample job advertisements

Queensland Main Roads has a vacancy for a Graduate Town Planner.

As a Town Planner within Main Roads you could be involved in some of the State's largest and exciting planning projects. Town Planners are involved in the planning for road transport infrastructure, considering anticipated land use, town planning scheme requirements, demographics, projected employment patterns, social and environmental issues, safety and budget constraints. A key role of Town Planners in the department is to actively participate in the drafting and reviewing stages of Integrated Planning Act (IPA) planning schemes. Town Planners are also involved in undertaking development assessment and participating in regional transport strategies and studies.

This program is for recruitment of persons graduating in mid 2005 and/or end of 2005. A degree or higher qualification which has been recently received from a recognised tertiary institution and accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) as a prerequisite for Corporate Membership of PIA is mandatory to take up this position.

Caboolture Shire Council is seeking applications from urban and regional environmental planning graduates.

Caboolture Shire is growing! As a result of continued population growth and urban development, they require the services of dedicated planning personnel to join their award winning planning team.
They are seeking applications from urban and regional planners who wish to join their enthusiastic Planning team, committed to the sustainable management of their Shire's natural and built assets.
These positions are newly created positions.

The positions will:

The successful applicants will have:

Vacancies on-line

Listed below are the names of some of the best-known graduate vacancy websites relevant to your degree. For links to these, and other useful sites, check Links in CareerBoard.

Australia
International

Targeting potential employers

There are many other potential employers of Environmental Planning graduates. Remember, many positions may never be advertised in newspapers or on the Internet. You will enhance your chances of finding the job you want if you identify potential employers, and approach them in one of the recognised ways, for example, via work experience, a speculative application, networking, or a workplace interview. For information on how to approach employers, see Career Smarter modules, Career connector and How do I Get the Job I Want.

There are over 200 Australian & international industry directories covering a wide range of industries in Careerboard including:

Employment prospects and starting salaries

You can significantly enhance your chances of obtaining graduate employment quickly and of securing your preferred job after graduation by using a number of simple strategies. Start preparing for graduate employment from your first year - see Making Employment Happen in Career Smarter. Make strategic use of course placements - see Career Experience, Making the Most of Your Prac, also in Career Smarter. Take a proactive approach to your job search by “marketing” yourself to prospective employers rather than simply relying on vacancies advertised in the press or on the Internet. Learn about proactive job search with Career Smarter modules Stand Out Job Search and Career Countdown.

100% of Griffith Environmental Planning graduates are in full time employment four months after they complete their degrees, and earn a median starting salary of approximately $47,500 per year.

Professional associations

While speaking directly with employers might seem daunting, it is a recognised and effective way of developing a career direction and finding graduate employment. One excellent strategy for meeting with employers is to join a professional association. Professional associations may conduct conferences, seminars, presentations and social functions to help members keep abreast of current practices and for networking purposes. For students, these events can be an excellent source of contacts and relevant information. Membership is usually open to students at a reduced rate. The following association websites relevant to Environmental Planning students are linked to CareerBoard.

Other career related links for Environmental Planning students