[Alberto]

I joined this site originally because I was unhappy with my pay and I wanted to get some idea of what landscape designers made throughout the USA. That didn't work out since not one person responded in a meaningful way to my question! That's okay, but would it have actually hurt anyone to say "I pay my designer $800 a week + 5% of his jobs"?!

Then, my comments on other posts have resulted in one post being split into two, and another post being terminated. I thought there might be healthy, possibly even "good-natured" heated discussions about issues but apparently that's not wanted here. Instead I just pissed off respected long-time members mrusk and Dale Wiley without even intending to.

I sincerely apologize to anyone I offended. It's been interesting and a real eye opener. Good Luck to all! Alberto

[mrusk]

You never pissed me off.

[johnkeegan]

My guess is most of us here don't have designers on staff. We usually are the designers (I speak for myself) or perhaps are asked to bid on jobs already spec'd out and designed by an LA.

And don't let the 1% of threads that might go astray here ruin the other 99% that are helpful.

As far as having your statements misconstrued...hey, that's only going to happen everyday. But then again, I'm married, and have learned to accept that fact...

[Greensmith]

Most companies with multiple LA's on staff are already sufficiently big enough that they aren't posting on forums looking for advice.

I wouldn't take criticism on the web to heart, people tend to be more blunt then anything they would ever say face to face.

[PSUscaper]

I pay my designer the same thing I pay my mechanic, my secretary, my accountant, my estimator, my driver, my machine operator, my purchasing agent, and my.......hold on, I can think of more things I do!

What can a designer make. I know 'designers' that make $400 bucks for plan I would charge 2k for. I have been offered jobs for design/sales with base salaries of $400 a week and 5% of gross sales.

The problem is that the question you ask is SOOO vague. Without know what YOU can do, who knows what you would get paid in similiar markets. I know a lot of overpaid designers that get a lot of companies into a lot of trouble. I also know a lot very underpaid college students who get no where near what they should for some of the plans they do.

So what do others pay.....got me! I pay myself, and I'm a designer, so what do I pay myself........sorry, not going to say that here!

[agla]

I think Alberto answered his own question when he pointed out that companies are doing plans for free and clients are expecting that. That means that his boss is not getting a ton of money (low value market) for plans, so how much can he pay his help to draw them?

Since it is a low value market it would be difficult for an independent designer to make a living designing on his own. That means there is little choice for someone wanting to be a full time landscape designer. Since there are a lot of people who want to be designers, it makes it easy to replace one without paying more.

That addresses two of the three things that determine how much you can expect to be paid as a designer (1. how much landscape design is valued in the market in general, 2. client or employer options).

The third is personal ability. Alberto could be a great designer, but with those other two circumstances working against him, he has little value where he is.

I think several people made these points, bt Alberto just expected a going rate of pay and did not want to take this all in, understand it, and try to figure it out.

[dan deutekom]

Originally posted by agla

I think several people made these points, bt Alberto just expected a going rate of pay and did not want to take this all in, understand it, and try to figure it out.

As usual AGLA makes insightful and well thought out points. One of the best things about this forum is that although you do not always get the answer that you are looking for in simple black and white you do get all of the information that you need to figure out what works for your operation.

You can't take everything that is written on this site as gospel but I do find that most are truthful about their operations and post honest opinions about what works for them. As for the numbers we have to remember that we are getting them from all over North America {and even elsewhere} and what can be expected in one region would never fly in others. There is no use in challenging these numbers and getting into a p*()ing match about it. Just use the info that you find useful and disregard the rest.

I hate to see these "I am out of here threads" that really are nothing more than a heated discussion that if were face to face would be settled with a "We agree to disagree"and a cold

[papercutter]

To be honest, I've been amazed at the specificity of some of the dollar amounts discussed here. I know that one of the graphic design forums I check out from time to time forbids pricing discussions. Not sure why, but it's a hard and fast rule over there.

Dave

[autophil]

Originally posted by papercutter
To be honest, I've been amazed at the specificity of some of the dollar amounts discussed here. I know that one of the graphic design forums I check out from time to time forbids pricing discussions. Not sure why, but it's a hard and fast rule over there.

Dave

It has to do with legal issues over price-fixing.

[Stonehenge]

Interesting. I think that forum might be overly cautious on that topic.

[papercutter]

I think we're safe, Stonehenge- getting everyone here to agree 100% on something, especially how to price, would be akin to herding cats. But harder.

Dave

[Raj Venugopal]

If you're quitting the forum, why announce it? Why point attention it? Because it gets a reaction?

Add inexperience as an LA, plus little time on GTX and not getting what you're looking for, and it appears patience isn't a strong suit.

It's hard to know what threads will elicit discussion and which ones don't, but picking up your marbles and going home never solves anything. I've found this forum great for sharing some things I've learned with others, asking some questions and looking for different perspectives on challenges I face on my sites.

Even if you pissed off Matt or Dale, who cares? Speak your own truth and move on.