Urban Planner
Shape how towns and cities grow — housing, transport, green space and who benefits.
Top grade: university degree plus one of the hardest competitive exams, leading policy and management roles. What does this group mean?
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- Typical pay
- €32k–€60k
- Usual education
- Degree
- Outlook
- Growing with housing pressure and climate adaptation work.
A day in the life
Assessing applications, modelling scenarios, consulting communities and writing recommendations that councillors will debate.
Ways in
- Planning degree
- Geography degree plus conversion
- Planning apprenticeship
What to study at 16
The subjects you choose for the final years of secondary school can shape which degrees, exams and careers are easiest to reach. This is about choosing courses, not choosing a school.
Spain
Bachillerato de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales
Portugal
Ciências Socioeconómicas
Italy
Liceo classico / scienze umane
Netherlands
Profiel Economie & Maatschappij
Austria
AHS Oberstufe
Belgium
ASO – General secondary
Exams you'll need
The gates between you and this job, and when each one comes.
EPSO competitions
The route into the same kind of work inside the EU institutions.
RequiredOposición Grupo A1
Entry to this post is through the competitive exam for its group.
Skills that matter
Best courses to take
The study routes that lead most directly into this career.
BSc Urban Planning & Development
Cities, housing, transport and planning law.
The accredited planning route.
Helpful school subjects: Geography, Maths
Places that hire for this
Ajuntament de Barcelona
One of Europe's best-known city planning departments.
Câmara Municipal de Braga
Young, fast-growing city with innovation and youth programmes.
Câmara Municipal de Coimbra
University-city council with education and heritage services.
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa
Large municipal employer recruiting by procedimento concursal.
Câmara Municipal do Porto
City-scale roles from planning to culture and social services.
Ville de Paris
Large planning and public space teams.