Education and experience go hand and hand, in my opinion. That 'piece of paper' comes with priceless exposure to the world of science that hands on experience does not. It's the WHY, rather than the HOW. I've known a zillion folks who have had all kinds of experience, but weren't open to any changes, alternatives, or scientific data.

My first thought upon reading your post was that you would need to get a BS in Horticulture, not a Masters. My BS requirements included a lot of chemistry, plant pathology, physiology, entomology, soils science, and more. Much more. All of which I have used over the years, in my profession. Well, I could have done withOUT some of those three semesters of chemistry! ;-(

Anyway, if you are even thinking about a Hort. degree, make darned sure that its useful to you in terms of being able to really and truly use what you've learned. I promise you, for example, that you will learn more than you ever thought possible from that college level Propagation course.

My degree opened up doors for me that would have remained tightly locked. As I added many years of experience to that valuable degree, I have been able to do things I never thought possible.

I strongly suggest you go for the BS and see what that piece of paper does for you! You just might change your attitude!

Thank you for your input- I have a few thoughts to add, but I'm on my way to work. I'll be on later.

You've already defined where you want to work. That's a good start. I reread your thread several times to be sure I am understanding it accurately. You actually did advance to such a position, but you are not working in it now, and you want to return to it but can't find a position comparable to what you did before. You're not sure if the reason is because you don't have an advanced degree in horticulture, or if it's because there just aren't any jobs out there.

You really didn't say what your present degree is in. It may be so totally removed from horticulture that, aside from being a well educated person, you have no formal education in horticulture?

I've changed careers three times in my life, each one unrelated to the previous, and of course had university level coursework in preparation for each of them. I was just thankful as much of it translated from field to field, as did. Believe it or not, universities used to be much, much stricter than they are now about translating previous college credits to satisfy requirements for degree programs. I have a lot of empathy in regard to taking coursework (or job training) you think is redundant. Part of it boils down to there is no recognition of your previous accomplishments and that can be a pill to swallow. But, you can be your own worst enemy by convincing yourself you have nothing to learn. BTW....I think you're getting off very easy by just having to take four courses before being accepted into their master's program in horticulture.

But, don't you think before you make that sort of committment in time and money, you might want to do some research to see if there are even jobs out there in this rather specific area, and then contact those who are looking for candidates to find out what their educational and work background expectations are? Sort of get it from the horse's mouth.

phalaeo, just ignore me if I'm being nosy, but some details might help other folks give you more targeted answers.

Why did you leave the botanical garden position (or did you, I'm not clear)? Was there no opportunity to advance there? I'm kind of surprised that you were offered an opportunity to teach without a degree in hort - did you actually end up taking the teaching job and how did you like it? What sort of position are you hoping to find?

I'm in a rather similar situation. Starting in mid-life, after being a stay-at-home mom for a decade, I did garden center work, then interiorscaping, now I'm back at garden center/production greenhouse, still hoping for a job with the local arboretum/conservatory at some point. My BA is in economics; I would love to get a hort degree, but we are putting our kid through college and can't even afford that. And at age 45, I'm not sure I'm willing to go through the gruntwork that goes with being a hort student, or the time and energy required to get another degree. Not to mention that the education options within a reasonable driving distance are limited and expensive.

Anyway, I hope others can help you out, and good luck!