A textbook for the required course on professional practice in all accredited degree programs in landscape architecture. Covers essential areas of professional practice from marketing to project management, legal issues and technical specifications. Guides readers through planning a successful career in this field.

In authoring this unique book, Bruce G. Sharky has rendered the landscape architecture community a valuable and much-needed service. On the one hand, it satisfies the long-standing demand for a comprehensive textbook for required courses on professional practice given in accredited landscape architecture degree programs throughout North America. At the same time, it functions as a superb guide to professional literacy and a career planner for young professionals just starting out. Few writers are as qualified as Bruce G. Sharky to author such a book. In addition to his extensive pedagogical experience, he has had more than twenty-five years professional experience working in top firms in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Winnipeg and as a partner in his own thriving Anchorage-based firm. In researching Ready, Set, Practice, Professor Sharky conducted a survey of professional practice courses offered in more than sixty programs in the U.S. and Canada. That survey revealed that there are more than 100 topics universally considered to be indispensable in a course designed to prepare students for the real world. As a consequence, each of these crucial topics is covered in depth. Sections span a broad range of basic subject areas, including: ethics and professional conduct; career paths - including new and emerging career options; preparing for the LARE; starting and managing a small design firm; marketing your design services; legal and contractual issues; technical specifications and contract administration; project management - from concept design through construction documentation, and actual construction; and gaining a competitive edge in the job market. Illustrated with numerousphotographs of works in progress and including chapter-end problems based on real-world situations, Ready, Set, Practice is an excellent teaching text. It is also an indispensable tool of the trade for recent graduates getting started in their professional careers.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-257) and index.

Historical Perspective.

Ethical Perspectives and Professional Conduct.

Forms of Professional Practice.

Professional Continuum.

Marketing Yourself.

Professional Service.

Organizational Perspectives.

Starting a Small Design Firm.

Business Marketing.

Office Records.

Life of a Project.

Legal Issues.

Professional Services Contracts.

Technical Specifications.

Contract Administration.

Concluding Thoughts.

Appendices.

Bibliography.

Index.