Moderator:
Welcome to today's Education Marketplace discussion with Adele Ashkar. Adele, thank you for joining us. What exactly does a landscape designer do?
Adele Ashkar: Thank you for having me. It is great to be here!
A landscape designer is a professional who designs outdoor environments for homes, commercial properties, institutions and recreational areas. The landscape designer is typically paid by the homeowner, developer or architect to propose improvements to the site of a project, including elements like driveways, paths and walks, terraces, walls, steps and plantings.
Silver Spring, MD:
What are the most essential prerequisite skills for someone interested in pursuing a career in landscape design?
Adele Ashkar: Passion, courage and motivation!
You have to have a passion for gardens, and of course an interest in creating gardens. You need courage to pursue your design ideas, for which you will receive guidance in a good design program (like GW's!), and you must have the motivation to work hard. It is akin to learning a new language - the language of design.
To come to GW, you need to have a prior Bachelor's degree (in any field).
Washington, D.C.:
How long does it take to complete your program?
Adele Ashkar: At GW, it is possible to earn a Landscape Design Certificate in a little over two years, although it takes most of our students about three years, sometimes more, depending on what other demands they have on their time.
Atlanta, GA:
Good morning. I have been a full time, unemployed mom for 16 years. My BS degree is in Zoology. Two questions: Do you know of a similar educational program in the Atlanta area (I'm a recent transplant from NoVa), and what are the realities of job placement in landscape design? I am way too old for spending a couple of years in school only to find jobs are scarce for middle-age women. Thank you.
Adele Ashkar: In the Atlanta area, I only know of the University of Georgia that has a respected Master's program in landscape architecture. Typically, Master's programs attract many mid-lifers, or career changers. They really do make the most motivated students!
In our area, job placement for middle-age women has been excellent. They usually prove to be far more efficient in their use of time, and they bring a world of life experience to their jobs.
Arlington, Virginia:
What level of employment could you expect to obtain with a Certificate in Landscape Design? With a Masters? How is the job environment (hours, compensation, etc.)?
Adele Ashkar: In our area, a GW certificate in Landscape Design is a door opener: we have been around since 1973, and are very well respected in the field. The types of employment varies from working with small landscape designers to design/build companies (who build their own designs, with their own crews), to being a designer at a plant nursery.
With a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture, you can be employed by larger landscape architecture and multi-disciplinary firms, doing much larger and much more comlex projects.
Hours do tend to be structured around client deadlines, and are much less flexible in landscape architecture firms than in landscape design environments.
Alexandria, VA:
Who can I contact (phone # or e-mail address) to get additional information on the landscape design program, such as class schedules and tuition rates?
Adele Ashkar: You can call us at GW (202) 973-2776 or (202) 973-1160 to request a catalog, or find us on the Web at www.cpd.gwu.edu where all catalog information is posted.
Moderator:
Adele,
What percentage of your students are career changers?
Adele Ashkar: I would say that about 90 percent of our students have a current career in a different field (law, engineering, military, teaching, scientists, homemakers etc.) and are hoping to switch or even retire to a career in landscape design. Others are currently active in the landscape as contractors, for example, and are seeking to upgrade their skills.
Moderator:
How do employers view hiring adult career changers in this field?
Adele Ashkar: Very positively!
Employers typically are aware of the quality of our graduates, and are usually delighted with the passion, motivation and life experience that our graduates bring to their jobs.
Washington, D.C.:
Please explain how this program is geared to working professionals. I would think you must offer flexibility.
Adele Ashkar: Excellent question!
Our primary market is the working professional. Unlike mainstream university programs, GW classes are taught in the evening and on Saturdays, allowing people to maintain their work schedules. Additionally, we don't expect students to be able to manage more than one or two courses at a time, and our scheduling reflects that. Courses are offered frequently, so if you have to sit out a term because of schedule conflicts, you can usually jump right back in when you're ready.
Silver Spring, MD:
Is it a big disadvantage to not have a degree in landscape architecture?
Adele Ashkar: It depends on how you want to practice!
If you are interested primarily in small-scale design applications, i.e. residential and small commercial properties with emphasis on the use of plants, then a certificate is appropriate. If on the other hand you would like to pursue larger projects, such as multi-use or multi-unit developments, urban redevelopment projects, parks and recreation, etc., you would do better with a degree in landscape architecture. University of Maryland offers an undergraduate degree, Virginia Tech (right here in Alexandria) offers a Master's degree.
Alexandria, Virginia:
What's the current state of the job market for this profession?
Adele Ashkar: The job market has been very robust in this area. It has been particularly strong over the past few years, with many landscape companies unable to meet the demands of the marketplace for lack of employees.
Arlington, Virginia:
Is there a big demand for landscape design professionals in this area? Does GW have a career center that helps with placement upon completion of certificate?
Adele Ashkar: As mentioned, the job market has been very strong. We have found that we do not need to offer job placement, as the jobs usually come to us! Every year, we are bombarded with requests from area companies looking to hire our students and graduates. In fact, many advanced students decide to leave their previous careers to jump in part-time and gain some experience even before they graduate.
Alexandria, VA:
What is the typical starting salary at a design firm, and at a garden center? Also, do the courses start at all times of the year or do they follow a traditional spring/fall college schedule?
Adele Ashkar: I'm afraid I don't have current figures for starting salaries, since I'm not in the hiring business! However, a garden center will most likely pay a lower base salary plus commissions, and a design firm will offer a straight salary.
GW has five eight-week terms per year, with classes starting each term - so you have five chances to start per year.
Moderator:
Adele,
Is there a professional group to join that can provide networking, job leads and professional contacts?
Adele Ashkar: There is a local networking group formed largely by our many area graduates called the Landscape Designers Group, which meets monthly, informally, and offers great opportunities for networking, professional contacts and fellowship. The LCA (Landscape Contractors Association of DM, DC, VA: www.lcamddcva.org) is another group that offers networking and workshops. Farther afield, there is the Virginia Society of Landscape Designers (VSLD) and the national Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD: www.apld.org).
Middleburg, VA:
I have always been very intertested in landscape design, but I am not sure that I want to make it my profession. Is it possible to audit courses? If so, which courses would you recommend?
Adele Ashkar: It is of course possible to audit our courses, however, in design education, you usually learn by doing - and actually working out the projects assigned is the only way to really learn about the profession. So I don't really recommend auditing.
Richmond, VA:
Are any or all of the classes available online?
Adele Ashkar: Design education is very much a studio-based learning environment - you learn almost as much from discussing your classmates' work as your own. There is no good formula in existence (yet!) for putting the process online.
But since you are in Richmond, check us out at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. We run the identical GW Landscape Design Certificate program there: just call their main number and ask to speak to the GW director, Lucy Coggin.
Somewhere, USA:
What are some of the lanscape projects you've done that you're most proud of and why?
Adele Ashkar: I have worked on a great variety of projects, ranging from major international projects all the way down to elementary school playgrounds and private homes. Looking back on them, though, I find that I derived the most satisfaction and pride from projects that had a real service component: designing and directing the construction by volunteers of an elementary school playground is one such project. Recently, my favorite project has been teaching landscape design to such passionate and motivated students as we have in the GW program.
Adele Ashkar: It has been such a pleasure receiving and answering your questions! I only wish there had been more time for all the questions.
Do some Web surfing: there are many landsape-oriented Web sites, with loads of information on all the related professions - and don't forget to check us out at www.cpd.gwu.edu
Moderator:
Our thanks to Adele Ashkar, GWU and all who participated.
It is never too late to decide to make a change in your career. If you feel stranded behind a desk dreaming of working in a more visual and stimulating environment and have a love of beautiful plants and gardens, talk with Adele Ashkar. 
