With your online Doctorate of Public Administration degree, you may pursue a career as a university Professor, however, if you do not want to continue in academia and research, there are other careers you may choose to pursue. Your Public Administration program will cover many topics, such as, urban politics or regional planning, which may peak your interest in becoming a City Planner.
Although City Planners are not always required to have a doctorate degree, completing a doctorate program will hone your problem solving and critical thinking skills which are required skills to have as a City Planner, especially if you are interested in a leadership position. Your doctorate degree will put you a cut above the rest when applying for an important position like City Planner.
The position of a City Planner comes with large responsibilities. They are tasked with analyzing and researching the geographic resources within a city or urban community. They must evaluate the lay of the land and determine its best use, therefore, requiring you to be an analytical thinker. They are responsible for infrastructure construction and for the future planning goals, all while estimating population increases, as well as, where schools, parks and roads need to be built.
As a City Planner, your online Doctorate of Public Administration degree will become extremely valuable. Your knowledge will prepare you to do extensive research regarding land surveys and map land areas. You will also need to know how to predict trends based on a city’s growing population, as well as, predict their transportation needs.
Your communication skills will allow you to interact with other specialists such as, contractors, lawyers, land developers and the general public. Conducting town hall meetings, in addition to, working closely with government officials all are included in the responsibilities and duties of the City Planner. A City Planner is also allowed to approve or reject other’s proposals, as well as, defend their own before governmental offices.
Other duties of a City Planner may involve designing and implementing other programs such as, senior housing projects and improving high traffic areas, in addition to, dealing with issues surrounding crime prevention and garbage collection. You will need to be prepared to answer to elected officials and perhaps, most importantly, the citizens from the community in which you serve, who may have very strong opinions about your plans.
By earning your online Doctorate of Public Administration degree, your salary will increase. The City Planner’s salary will vary greatly depending on location, population and experience, however, the average salary in 2016 was approximately $70,020 annually. You can expect more with an advanced educational degree.
In most states, licensure or registration in not a requirement, however, you should check with your state’s rules and regulations on licensure. Additional certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) may be obtained, however, continuing education will be required to keep your certification.
If you would like more information about this field of work, please check out our choices for the Best Online Schools for Online Doctorate of Public Administration degree programs to help you along your educational journey.