Laura, based on the information you've provided it'd be pretty hard to give you a dollar figure :-) What exactly does this "inventory" position entail? Is it maintaining inventory details in a data base (essentially a computer position)? Propagating the inventory? Potting up or maintaining the inventory? Each requires a different degree of knowledge and specialization and would carry a different wage structure. And since you are new to the industry, it is likely they would not be offering a premium wage to someone unfamiliar with the business and what it entails. It is also helpful to realize that the vast majority of horticulture-related postions do not generate high wages - a good many are at or slightly above minimum wage. The ones that do pay higher rates generally require significant plant/horticultural knowledge or experience or make use of other, specialized skills, like developing or maintaining a data base.

Inventory control is a biggie in the plant business, no matter what size operation you run. My business is phone heavy and I need to know almost immediately what is actually on the bench, what is promised out, and in what time frame a particular item will be available.

There are a lot of issues with the physical inventory matching the paper inventory. rofl. The thing with plant material is people who pull stock if they are in any position of authority, sometimes have to fly by the seat of their pants and make decisions like subbing or back-ordering. It can be a real nightmare if you have salesmen out there taking orders against stock you are "supposed" to have, but don't.

If your background is secretarial, and they know this from your employment appication or resume'. They must feel you have some skills they can use. Your guess is as good as ours what a secretarial wage is like in your area. Wages for the business end of a greenhouse nursery operation might surprise you and it isn't always true that the industry pay sucks eggs. They also know what good clerical or administrative help goes for.

You sound like most people do who haven't been to an interview yet, IOW, you may not know exactly what your duties will be. You may be asked to wear boots and jeans and go do physical inventories on the material to match it up with the paper one.

I don't like the salary expectation question either. I've also worked in personnel and it's a good one to use to fish for the lowest $ figure for which you can get a good candidate. You know, it all depends on how much you want that particular job. When I first entered the "green business" with some schooling but no experience at it, I took a 75% pay cut from a previous job. Had I shared what my former salary was, I don't think I'd have ever been hired. I likely made more than the owner.

Yes, the salary question is a stinker. When I applied for a job as an interior landscaping technician, I got the same question. I hadn't a clue, beyond something above minimum wage. I said that I was hoping to at least match what I'd been making working retail at a garden center the previous summer and told them what that had been. They were obviously surprised, and offered me about 25% more, with an increase after 30 days. I was pleasantly surprised!

Go to www.salary.com and search on 'Inventory Control'. Look through the job descriptions until you find one that best matches the type of position you are applying for.

Once you find the job classification, you can specify your location for a regional report. On some job classifications you can also specify the particular industry. As an example, an "inventory control clerk" in retail may have very different compensation from "inventory control clerk" for a computer manufacturer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salary Dot com

Well, I am very curious (is anybody else?) about how the interview went and what you decided to do. What they really wanted for that position. These forums can benefit both the people who have a question to ask and the people who offer their expertise and experience. I am curious as to how other nurseries and greenhouses operate and would appreciate your input after the interview. It would give us back a little information for our efforts. Thanks.

Sorry I'm so late getting back here. I didn't have to come up with a number; they told me what it paid, and it was fine for me. The position is in the greenhouses, moving stock around to make room for new stuff, deading out plants, and trying to keep flats sorted/graded so the sales stock person can easily find the best plants to move to her sales greenhouses. I get input from all these different people on how to best arrange the flats in the greenhouse; there are so many considerations and points of view that my head is spinning. I can say I'm getting more training than I ever did in a reception job (where they show you your desk and then disappear), but I had done a particular secretarial type job for 18 years that I had real skills and training for. I like the new job very much; love getting to work with people and be outside and do physical labor, but I certainly miss having actual education and experience in what I'm doing. I just want to be efficient and do what's optimal for the plants and other workers. Just not sure how to learn that quickly, before the busy season hits, without driving those in charge totally nuts with the questions.

laura, don't worry, you'll catch on fast. There's always a big learning curve at the beginning of any job. I'm glad it's working out for you!

I worked for a while at a nursery that had several layers of management (part of a regional chain of about 20 stores). We would spend a whole day arranging truckloads of annuals according to their light needs. Then the store manager would want everything rearranged based on some marketing/display plan. Then the regional manager would come in and want everything redone ANOTHER way!

I actually got permanent rotator cuff damage from moving flats of annuals for a solid week. I wish I had gotten it diagnosed promptly, I'd have a workman's comp claim.

rofl. Hey, thanks for checking back in! You'll learn really quickly. Whether you have training in hort or not, the first season is always that way.

Watergal, LOL, I've been jacking flats of annuals around for 20 years. My rotators don't even have cuffs anymore.

calliope,

Yeah, it's funny, it's the little stuff that will get you!

Unloading tractor trailers full of 18-24" yews was just about the hardest work I had to do there, but it was the stupid little flats that destroyed my shoulder! Never expected that.

Watergal: Did you damage your shoulder from having to lift the flats up high, or were they on low tables? Most of the work I do is on low tables, although I have helped a little with loading and unloading trailers that have a higher shelf too.

My knees are quite shocked at what I'm asking them to do; all the leaning forward with knees braced against the tables while reaching and moving flats is all for them. They say "ow." But it sure is working out that I have monkey arms and small fingers. I have a real knack with agaves, though I'm not so fond of yuccas, which are sneaky in their attacks.

I bought a canvas tool belt thing to help me cope with carrying all the tools of my new trade. I almost wish I could fit a laptop computer in there. After being a secretary so long it seems kind of weird not to have access to a computer every moment of the day.

The trickiest thing I tried to do was help fertilize the small pots. The darn round fertilizer pellets are extremely uncooperative and don't want to stay in overflowing pots at all. Nobody else seemed to be having trouble though.

laura, the tables we used were made out of pallets, and they were two deep on each side, so we had to stretch way forward with the flats in front of us to put the flats in the back rows. The tables were roughly waist high, if I remember, maybe a bit lower. You couldn't slide the trays because the wood was too rough, the trays would get snagged. It didn't seem like a problem at the time, but after a week of it, we left for vacation and I was in horrific pain with no doctor handy and a lot of driving to do, which was very uncomfortable. I still have residual pain if I twist while lifting certain ways. If I stop and think first, I can do most things without hurting myself. Pulling the starter cord on a mower or snowblower hurts too much, though.

Some days get my knees, and others my back, and the agaves wreak havoc on my skin, but the most painful part is my right elbow. Nobody warned my about golfcart elbow. It's from shifting the shifter sideways to get in and out of reverse. I've learned to use different techniques, like 2-handed, or better yet get out of the cart and use a straight push or pull motion. Sometimes I even use my foot. Who'da thunk?

It's funny the weird little stuff that will get you. I get allergic reactions to yuccas (welts on my skin where I touch the leves and terrible sneezing fits for about an hour if I have to trim off dried leaves). Some of the bromeliads get me too, and ficus and poinsettia sap can itch and burn a bit sometimes.

So how do you like your new career, now that you've been there a while? PS - get ready for a wild ride in the spring - you'll be SO busy! Stock up on Advil now! ;)

Yes, I love my job ... almost every day. I like variety. I'm very insecure about the dormant plants because one of my jobs is to dead out stuff, and learning what to look for with different plants is challenging (and they are uninteresting compared to green plants). I've bought bulbs before, but never a "plant" that appeared to be just a pot of dirt, LOL. With my own plants I don't generally grow stuff in pots except for herbs, and I just neglect dormant plants until spring, when I cut them back and wait to see if they come back.

I can't even imagine how it's going to be in the spring. We definitely need to get a system that works better. At this open house I apparently wasn't fast enough to get plants I was told to replenish, because before I could get back with a load, somebody else would be there, duplicating what I was trying to do. I gave up and filled out customer order sheets instead, and interacting with customers was a blast, not to mention satisfaction at seeing who the "children" were going home with - HA! The only customer service I've done before was in medical settings, where everybody is sick, in pain, and having long waits. So this open house with customers happy to be shopping for plants was fun.