Lisa, Is your goal to be an employee, or the Big Boss running your own company? The end goal makes a big difference. I enjoy designing edible and native plantings, but it is one TINY piece of the pie for me. I also design hardscapes, additions, swimming pools, decks, homebuilder streetscapes, and anything else that pays. I stay busy because I'm a generalist. I know a guy who is very, very good at doing edible gardens. That's pretty much all he does. As such, he is not very busy. If he's willing to do other tasks, I may consider trying to bring him on board. As for an associate's degree... meh. Do a ton of research about the program. Who are your instructors? What professional opportunities are available to you? If you were to come to me as a potential hire with field experience and an associate's degree, you would have my interest. Without the experience, if you were up against another applicant who had the experience, they'd be the stronger candidate. To my mind, a two-year degree tells me that you have an interest in the subject area. A two-year degree and some time on the job tells me you're serious about doing it.

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.

***This is totally IMHO-YMMV**************** Do not have him quit without having another job. If he thinks a firing is in the near future, he *really* needs to ramp his job hunt into overdrive. There is nothing more terrifying for a sole bread winner than having a wife/hubby and young children with no job and no insurance. Chances are, he'll jump into the first job he's offered, rather than a job he loves. So, a year from now, you'll be in the exact same situation. How serious is he with his job hunt outside his company? How many resumes has he sent out? How up to date and well done is his resume? Chances are, with only one year in editorial, he'll end up with a tech job again. DH was in a similiar position this summer. He'd been with his employer for nearly 10 yrs in a few different positions inclduing this one which he'd had for about a yr. He wasn't miserable, but he was tired of the industry and could tell he'd hit the ceiling with this employer. He'd been casually job hunting for months. Then, out of nowhere, his company announced they were looking to trim 1/4 of the entire workforce. They offered voluntary seperation packages with a good severance package to anyone who volunteered. DH took that as an opportunity to kick his career hunt into overdrive. He sent over about 50 resumes, got several interviews, and eventually got 2 good offers. He was fortunate that one of the offers was exactly the type of position he'd wanted. He gave his official notice and three weeks later started the new job. He was one of two out of his department to announce plans to leave. Everyone else chose to take their chances and let the deadline pass them by. They were caught off guard a few days later when the company began massive layoffs. They were completely unprepared to enter the job search. So, now it's the slow season in hiring and the severance package will run out 10 days before Xmas. They're scrambling to update resumes, hone interviewing skills (most of them haven't interviewed outside the company for a decade), network, even simply evaluate the job market. I know the idea of realizing a dream is a tempting one, but reality is that this may not be the right time. DH ran a small consulting business on the side for a little while and still does contracting on the side, so we'd talked about doing it fulltime. I'd have to work for insurance, assuming I could get a job with benefits, and occasionally put the kids in daycare. There would be start up costs, as well, legal questions to be answered. Also, in order to qualify for small business loans, he'd need a really good business plan done. It was going to take months to set this up and get started. Not to mention getting clients into the pipeline to earn a steady income. See where I'm going with this? Can you survive without a real income for at least a year? I'm not trying to discourage you or your DH. Just take a calm rational look at your situation. Get some health insurance quotes and look at your monthly budget. First and foremost, update DH's resume and get really well aquainted with job search sites! Good luck and remeber my mantra "What will be, is as it should be".