Do yourself a HUGE favor...bite the bullet, deal with your impatience, enroll in U of Guelph, and earn your MLA. I'm new around here, thus the late response...but I feel I'm qualified to give you some career advice. I'm a managing partner/owner (and RLA) in a Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering firm. I'll be very frank with my response...my hope is that you'll take it seriously and not be offended. If I were to get a resume from you with the MLD from Conway as your highest level of education (along with your BA History of course), I wouldn't give you a second thought. With a promising cover letter, I MIGHT peruse your info to find out more about the Conway education but you would not be a candidate for any job openings. With the current massive layoffs in the industry, you will be up against some of the top talent in the field...believe me - I've already laid them off or seen their recently brushed off resumes. To sit for the LARE, in MOST states/provinces you'll have to ALREADY have completed 2+ years of apprenticeship under a licensed landscape architect. On top of that you'll be required to have a BLA or MLA from a CLARB accredited school (schools have to renew their accredidation with CLARB every few years and that in itself is no cakewalk for the institution). There are sometimes (depending on state/province) ways around the education part, and you could very well qualify with your work experience...BUT... And then of course is the test...I worked with a person who sat for it numerous times during a 15+ year career before passing (wasn't good with the grading and construction sections but was a great conceptual designer). And that's just the licensing part. Reading your posts, I believe you're ready to go into a MLA program...and I recommend and encourage you to do so if you're serious about this: "primary interest is along the lines of large scale design, subdivisions, parks, resorts etc." You will never do that type work without being a LICENSED/REGISTERED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. The profession is so much broader and truly design-based than plants, patios, and pergolas. I think you've realized that whether you know it or not. When I was in school, we students had an inside joke...we thought it was easier to get a degree in landscape archtecture than it was to quadruple-major in art, horticulture, engineering, and ecology. And for some perspective, you mention "2 of the 3 projects are on a scale that far exceeds garden design or even residential layouts..." In my BLA program (and I'm sure is the same across the board), we would do 4-6 projects on a scale that far exceeds garden design or even residential layouts in one class (each semester)...and that was only our studio course, which was on top of a couple of lecture classes and/or core-related electives. I could go on and on with reasons why you should get your MLA over the Conway certificate, but I don't want to wear my fingers out typing (I've got a little sketching to do tomorrow)...just do yourself, your significant other, and future family a favor and complete your education to prepare you for what (I think) you truly want to do. A few final and perhaps random thoughts: - You mention putting a time constraint on what you want to achieve...with the time constraint you'll never achieve your goal of designing subdivisions, resorts, parks, etc. - Listen to DD when he talks about the rules...they are in place and you have to play by them. - The Univ. of Guelph will prepare you for a great career in Landscape Architecture...my best employee (who I've unfortunately had to lay off) is a graduate and is an extremely talented designer who understands the design process and is effective at commuunicating his design intent, which is always very well thought out. Of all my employees, I think his education prepared him better than most. - You've got to quit equating "landscaping" and "landscape design" with "landscape architecture"...they are two totally different things and are on very different levels. You must embrace that fact. - And on plantings, planting design, and the horticulture end of our profession... There's currently great debate regarding how plants and planting design fit into our profession and if it is or isn't being given it's proper attention. I'm of the opinion that unfortunately it's on its way to being a lost art. IMO, it's our greatest medium, but too many don't appreciate and understand plants as well as they should; and many RLAs deal very minimally with plants and focus instead on other aspects and scales of the profession where individual plants don't come into play . Plantings are VERY IMPORTANT to my designs, but only about 10% of the work I do actually involves plantings...the rest is planning (at varying scales and phases), rezoning, grading/drainage design, hardscape design, construction administration/observation, coordination of plans and designs with other consultants, water quality strategy with my PEs, etc, etc. - Pick up a few books to see if they peak your interest...if so, enroll in Guelph...try these: Landscape Architecture: A Manual of Site Planning and Design by John O. Simonds Site Analysis: Linking Program and Concept in Land Planning and Design by James A. LaGro Jr Design with Nature by Ian L. McHarg The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte Those are a few...there are many more. Good Luck!

Thanks, everyone. bboy, I commend you on your intuition right from the start! calliope - I think you hit it right on the head - I'm never going to move up anywhere careerwise working part-time. Until recently, I had been very intentional about working only part-time due to various family obligations. Also, my husband was pondering early retirement, so I preferred part-time work in the hopes that we could spend more time together when he retired. So I started my part-time interior landscaping business, with the intention of eventually growing that into several days a week and quitting my other part time job. My interior landscaping business is doing much better than I had hoped, but growth is stalled out now with the economy. Husband will not be retiring for quite a while, also thanks to the economy. So I'm kind of stuck. If I take a full-time job, I won't have time for my own business. If I take a part-time job, I'll never go anywhere, and the choices are much more limited. laag, I quite understand what you are saying about being pigeonholed as a laborer. I don't quite understand what you mean about "putting yourself in a position where you won't be able to do those things at a nursery as it would be a conflict" - can you elaborate, please? I have actually looked for other part-time work in a totally nongreen industry just to broaden my choices. But laag, you do have a point about making contacts. Any suggestions on what might be relevant industries to consider? I don't have a lot of current experience or interest in many other industries.

juddgirl, I'm a mid-life MSW and I'll say that it doesn't lead to many low-stress, low-confrontation jobs and most entry-level jobs for MSWs don't pay enough to warrant the cost of the degree. I'm in a job market similar to the one you'll face in Tennessee and nearly everyone I went to MSW school with five years ago regrets the degree due to low pay and high-stress positions. That said, if you do attend an MSW program you will make valuable community and employment connections while you are in school, and with your law degree in hand as well, you will no doubt have a different pool of jobs open to you than the "average" MSW. My advice to anyone of any age about getting an MSW is to find five people in the area where you might want to practice, who have been working as MSWs for at least five years, and ask them whether they would advise their own child or best friend to pursue an MSW. My experience suggests that 4 out of 5 will advise against it. My DD wants to follow in my footsteps and I am working hard to convince her otherwise. MSW school is a racket if ever there was one.

Here' what I don't like about the technical position; you are not at the heart of the organization's mission, you are supporting those who are. That would be less interesting to me for starters. Also, working at home does make work-life balance easier, but as long as you do not have a long commute and/or lots of travel or entertaining, and if you have resources to help (DH and hired help), I think the office position is entirely doable. I might also add, that the early years are easier to juggle ... i personally found parenting most intensive from say grade 6-9.