ABSTRACT
Practicing planners are multifaceted individuals who have been academically prepared and have or are just cutting their teeth in real-world agencies and departments. The attributes of a good practicing planner can be viewed from several perspectives, the most important being those of the employer, the applicant, and the citizen. A good practicing planner also is able to control his or her personal preferences for certain types of design or site plan solutions, and controls any tendency to build an extra-legal power base. There are essential skills for survival on the job. A planner's first job often will involve explaining the rules of the game to a citizen who wants to do something that the government regulates. Planners often must venture out in public to communicate what their work is about to the people they need to persuade, inform, and positively impress. Hired planners quickly learn it takes more than an academic background and desire to be an effective planner.
