>>1453438I'm a transit planner for a mid-size system. (1,000 buses).
There are many angles to approach urban planning. Some approach it by civil engineering, others geography/urban studies. Transportation analytics could even use a data science background. We have a analytics department and most of them have PhDs. (In unrelated fields TBF). Masters degree may be necessary especially if you want to live on the coasts or a reasonably sized city. Jobs are extremely competitive. The position I have had 118 applicants. It is common to live somewhere smaller, or more rural when you first start because the best, brightest, most qualified all want to live in the hip progressive cities, NYC, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis.
If I had to do my education again and I was smart enough, I would get a bachelors in civil (transportation engineering) then look at a masters in urban planning or transportation engineering if you are looking at more of the analytics side of things. A civil engineering bachelors has much more job security than a geography bachelors. Also worth noting that urban planning masters programs will usually take people with any bachelors, even if its mostly unrelated to planning like music, languages, etc
