Urban planning is pretty complex. Basic competence is a higher bar than you may realize and anyone really good at planning this stuff can make more money in the

Urban planning is pretty complex. Basic competence is a higher bar than you may realize and anyone really good at planning this stuff can make more money in the private sector. Some people take staff jobs because they are good at the bureaucratic stuff. This does not necessarily mean they actually complete projects. It does mean they tend to keep their job and get viewed as competent, even if they may not be, really. A good reason to take a staff job is you are good at the planning part and not so good at being an entrepreneur and would like to actually get paid for your work. I have no idea how many people fit this profile versus how many people are good at playing the game without actually getting all that much done.