Joe Perloff, PLA, Landscape Architect at W&A Engineering, is celebrating his five-year anniversary with our firm this month. Joe joined the W&A team fresh out of graduate school, after completing his master’s degree in landscape architecture at the University of Georgia. “Back in 2014, the job market was not quite what it is today. Many of us were looking for jobs after school, and finding something close to the Athens area was not easy,” recalled Joe. Joe was familiar with the reputation of some of the W&A Landscape Architects in the local community and decided to respond to a job listing he stumbled upon online. Joe really wanted to find a firm that would allow him to utilize his arborist skills, and he also wanted to be able to work on commercial projects. Luckily, he found all of those things and more at W&A. After meeting with the Director of Landscape Architecture and some of the firm’s associates, he knew the position was a good fit. “What I really love most about my job is the people I work with. We’re like a family. I also like to be creative in my work, and some of the projects I work on allow for that kind of creative thinking.”
Throughout Joe’s tenure, he has transitioned from an entry-level Design Associate position to his current role as a licensed Landscape Architect. This process took about two years to complete with the support of the firm. For associates who are interested in pursuing their professional license, the firm covers the cost of their first attempt at taking the licensure exams, the cost of their license, and annual renewal fees. “Coming straight out of grad school, there’s no way I could have afforded to pay for my PLA licensure on my own. I’m very grateful to W&A for supporting my goal to become licensed,” said Joe. While working to complete his licensure, Joe gained experience working on a variety of landscape architecture design plans, from planting designs for amenity sets to lighting designs and more. He is most proud of his work for his department assisting with the implementation of Land F/X software, a landscape architecture software platform that interfaces with CAD. Joe has also been a part of internal processes to train new associates with the Land F/X software and helped establish the firm’s current Land F/X resource library.
Looking ahead, Joe envisions growing in his career at W&A by becoming more versatile in project experience and hopes to one day be able take on more complex, project design roles, such as designing erosion and sediment control plans and utility planning. “There are many great role models here at W&A who are well versed in multiple aspects of our business. I would like to work towards a project management role so that I can become more involved in both the engineering and technical design plans in addition to landscape design,” says Joe.
W&A Engineering is fortunate to have so many talented associates who see a progressive career path for themselves within our firm. That mindset is nurtured by a company culture committed to its employees and their personal and professional growth. Having dedicated associates like Joe who support our goals and our mission to build better communities is vital to the firm’s growth. Working to retain talented people like Joe by investing in their futures helps foster positive working relationships and makes W&A a great place to work. Building a workforce that emulates our firm’s values and puts forth the highest level of dedication on every project is what makes the relationships we form with our clients so special.