Read the land before drawing
You walk the land checking existing trees, grades and drainage data against the site map.
Career profile
Landscape Architect
Landscape architects plan outdoor spaces, including walkways, the land around them and their plants.
A curve in a park walkway has to suit the slope, the nearby trees and the people using it, not just look pretty.
A day in the life
Draw around a tree worth saving
Sketch a rough plan that spares a tree worth keeping, then check how the walkway joins nearby areas.
Specify the paving and plants
You draw contractor-ready plans in computer-aided design and drafting software, naming the paving and plant materials.
Gather the public's input
For public projects, you present a proposed layout at community meetings, gathering feedback that might change it.
Check the build against drawings
On site, you check the installed work against the drawings and talk through mismatches with the construction crew.
Quick facts
Degree + experience + licensing exam
United States
$79,870/year
United States · May 2025
4.4% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Degree + experience + licensing examAn accredited landscape architecture degree is the usual starting point; state licensing requirements vary.
Pay
$79,870/yearNational median for landscape architects, equivalent to $38.40/hour.
Outlook
4.4% projected growthAbout 1,700 openings a year, including replacements for people leaving the occupation.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy imagining how a flat drawing would feel as a place.
- You like connecting design choices to soil, water, and construction.
- You can explain an idea and revise it after listening.
Things to weigh
- Much of the job happens at a desk, even when your project is a park.
- Deadlines can create pressure, and some workweeks extend beyond 40 hours.
Where AI may help
Some designers use artificial intelligence (AI) image generators to explore planting combinations or early visual ideas.
What people still lead
You must check whether an attractive image actually fits the site. Generated images can misrepresent space or invent details.
What we can’t predict yet
How far these tools can move from concept pictures into dependable, site-specific design remains unsettled.
Pay in context
Earnings
Employer type matters. These national employee wages exclude self-employed earnings.
The middle and the spread
The median was $79,870 a year, or $38.40 an hour. The 10th-percentile wage was $54,770 and the 90th was $130,190. These describe the workforce, not starting and senior salaries.
Pay by workplace type
Annual medians were $107,410 in government, excluding state and local education and hospitals; $82,290 in architectural, engineering, and related services; and $65,150 in landscaping services. Switching industries does not guarantee those differences.
Openings include replacement hiring
Employment is projected to grow 4.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,700 openings annually. Many openings replace workers who change occupations or leave the workforce.
Getting started
Start with a professional bachelor's degree
Usually four to five years.
- What the route involves
- Study design, construction, and natural sciences in a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture or Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture program.
- What it can lead to
- A program accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board provides the usual educational foundation for licensure.
Enter after a different bachelor's degree
Usually three years of full-time graduate study.
- What the route involves
- Complete a first professional Master of Landscape Architecture designed for students coming from another field.
- What it can lead to
- You gain professional landscape architecture preparation without starting another undergraduate degree.
- What to check
- Check that the program is an accredited first professional degree; research and post-professional degrees have different purposes.
Build experience in an entry design job
- What the route involves
- Join a practice as an intern landscape architect and develop drawing, budgeting, and project skills.
- What it can lead to
- Qualifying supervised work builds the experience needed for a state license.
- What to check
- Check the board's rules for acceptable supervisors and experience before assuming a job will count.
Education and work experience usually connect: choose a qualifying degree, then build experience toward licensure.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization. This path also has a credential or licensing boundary; see the requirements and limits.
Get established
Learn the office's drawing standards and use feedback to make your plans clearer.
Carry more of a project
Connect design decisions with cost estimates, then follow the work into construction to see what needs adjustment.
Lead or specialize
Move toward project management, coordinating design reviews, contracts, and construction issues.
- Specialize in historic landscapes, using site records and field observations to plan changes that preserve important features.
Where you can work
Landscape architecture and design firms
Your projects may range from a small plaza to a waterfront. Larger studios can combine landscape architecture with planning and urban design; office design work connects with site visits.
- Office
- Field work
National Park Service design and construction
Some roles manage outside firms' designs and construction contracts. You coordinate reviews and travel to projects while keeping natural and historic resources central to decisions.
- Office
- Field work
- Travel
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Sketch a familiar courtyard or park entrance from above. Mark paths, trees, shade, and low spots. Redraw one awkward connection while keeping existing features. Explain what improves and what you give up; notice whether you enjoy working through those competing needs.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 17-1012.00 — Landscape Architects. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Landscape Architects — Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Landscape Architects. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- American Society of Landscape Architects. What Skills Do I Need?. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. Requirements & Process. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. The examination process. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- American Society of Landscape Architects. Putting AI to Work: Practical Applications of AI in Landscape Architecture. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- National Park Service. Creating Beautiful Spaces Through Landscape Architecture. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- National Park Service. Planning — Cultural Landscapes. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- SWA Group. Services. Accessed 2026-10-04.