I still have a long time to think about this, but it's something I've began to think about a bit more seriously. I'm a freshman at a small three year free college where I am majoring in Horticulture. The major focuses on Horticulture, Landscaping, and Turf Management, and at the end I will recieve an associates degree. The school has a great program, as far as that goes, we have four hours of academics over the day and four hours of hands on field work. The program has boasted a 100% post graduate employment rate in the past 15 years, and while this isn't an actual statistic, my instructor said we should expect an annual salary around $35,000 which is sort of what I expected. I entered the field because I pretty much grew up with plants and I really enjoy this as long as being outside. I was never an office kind of guy, and never one who desired a lot of money.
A lot of people in my program and a lot of people that graduated seem to go into the landscaping (as in grass cutting), nursury, or tree service industries. Personally, I have little interest in all those except possibly nursury. The four I show interest in now is grounds keeping, agriculture, nursury, and landscape design.
Groundskeeping is something I think I would enjoy, and if I work for a publically funded place like a college or park, I would likely get great benefits and solid pay. I may have to go to a different college and get a bachelors degree to be successful here though.
Agriculture is something I have considered for years. This is also one I find more and more discouraging as I learn more. I always had an image in my head of a small organic farm with goats for milk, free range chickens, and organic crops. While this is trendy and I live in an ideal area for it, I have never heard of anyone having success with this and I feel it's bound to fail. Owning my own commerical farm would be a long shot, and working for a big agricultural company would likely require more college.
Nursury is an easy one to get into because there are plenty of nurseries around that would gladly take me. However though, I can see inconsistent workload and relatively low average salary being an issue.
Landscape design is a money maker, but it definetely requires a bachelor degree, maybe even a 6 year degree. I enjoy building landscapes already, and I live in a middle to upper class area which is an advantage.
With all that in mind, does anyone with experience have any input? You can even suggest something I didn't have listed, I actually would encourage that if applicable. Even if you give me a legit reason to back out of the field I would take that too.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
dbarron
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
eibren
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
mike758Original Author
dbarron
mudhoney
mike758Original Author
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
mike758Original Author
garnergarden