When taking a walk around your locality, have you ever wondered who plans the roads, buildings, and other types of infrastructure in the area? This activity is undertaken by town planners. Town planning is a complex and skill-oriented task that needs the right qualification and skills. The designing of urban towns and cities is a monumental task, and takes a lot of planning to ensure that the area is habitable and sustainable.
If you are considering a career in town planning but are unsure about what it entails, you must continue reading this piece. Here, we will discuss what town planning is all about, how you can become a qualified town planner, the skills you will need to succeed in this field, and the career opportunities open to you.
What is Town Planning?
Town planning is the attempt of designing a city or locality which includes buildings, bridges, roads, highways, parks, schools etc. to ensure a decent standard of living for the persons inhabiting the city or locality.
Town planning is done at a national, regional and at a local level. Town planners need to have in-depth knowledge and understanding about the demographical, terrestrial, environmental and ecological structures of the area before proposing a plan or design. These professionals have to find a workable balance between development of the area and the safeguards of the community residing in the area.
Courses & Eligibility to Become a Qualified Town Planner
To become a qualified town planner, you first need to build a background in civil engineering. You can start by pursuing a B.Tech in Civil Engineering, which is a four-year undergraduate degree program spanning across eight semesters. The program is a comprehensive mix of theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills. You will need to have completed 10+2 in the Science stream from a recognised educational board or university with minimum 50% aggregate marks in the qualifying exam.
Once you have graduated, you can then opt for an M.Tech in Town and Country Planning from a leading engineering college. This is a two-year postgraduate degree program spanning across four semesters. The program is designed to provide students with relevant knowledge and training to become qualified and skilled town planners. This is one of the most popular degree programs in this field for a scalable career ahead.
Skills Needed on the Job
Town and country planners need to have a specific set of technical and soft skills in the field. Here are some skills that you must develop when pursuing a degree program in town planning:
- Excellent communication skills
- Interpersonal skills needed to build professional relationships
- Paying attention to details, and thinking creatively and analytically
- Detailed knowledge about geography and mathematics
- A genuine interest in developing people’s living conditions and environment
Career Scope & Opportunities
The future scope in town planning is quite vast. You can pursue a range of career opportunities in public and private sector companies, depending on your career goals. You can choose to work in town planning and designing departments, Public Works Departments in a local government body, architect firm, environmental impact firms etc.
Here are some of the top career opportunities open to professionals holding an M.Tech in Town and Country Planning:
- Town Planner
- Town Development Project Manager
- Town Planning Advisor
- Public Safety Officer
- City Planner
- City Planning Officer
Study Town and Country Planning at Sandip University
Sandip University is one of the best colleges for town planning studies in Nashik, Maharashtra. The University offers B.Tech in Civil Engineering and M.Tech in Town and Country Planning programs to interested and eligible candidates.
These programs are designed bearing in mind the current and future challenges of the industry. The course curriculum of these programs is finalised after consultation of various industry experts. The curriculum is also updated regularly to keep up with the ever-evolving sector.
Besides gaining knowledge-intensive training in modern classrooms, students also receive industry-relevant skill-building training in high-tech labs. Sandip University has dedicated subject-wise labs for students pursuing town and country planning to help them gain a well-rounded education.
Additional focus is paid to overall student development in terms of technical and soft skill development. Various activities like inter-college competitions, national-level competitions, student fests, sporting events, webinars, seminars, industry visits, and field trips are organised to help students develop a wide range of skills.
Sandip University has a dedicated placement cell that organises compulsory internships and provides 100% placement assistance to students. Annual placement drives are held on campus to help students land their dream jobs upon graduation. Over 200 industry leaders participate in these placement drives to recruit talented and well-trained professionals into their workforce.
Sandip University is a hub of quality higher education and students here are trained by the best in the industry. So, if you wish to build a thriving career in town planning then Sandip University is definitely the right college for you!