Choosing Landscaper as a Career: What to Consider
Choosing Landscaping as a Career: What to Consider
If you are considering a career in landscaping, you should know the ins and outs of the profession first. There are a lot of different factors to consider, as well as what the normal pay and benefits include.
Let’s discuss what goes into being a professional landscaper, and how you can get started in the process. First, let’s get into the basics of what a landscaper does.
What Does a Landscaper Do?
Being a professional landscaper goes far beyond simply taking care of your lawn chores. While yes, they do handle mowing lawns, mulching, raking, and cleaning up debris, the job can be much more intensive.
Landscaping includes planting new plants and flowers, shrubs, and trees to create a new landscape. In addition to actually putting the new plants in the ground, they also prune, shape, and keep them healthy as well.
The profession can also include hardscaping, meaning that your landscapers could help you with patios, fences, water features, etc. Irrigation is included on the list of potential tasks as well.
For those who aren’t sure what they want to do with their property, discussing the issue with a landscaper could give some insight into what would work best as far as design and plants go.
Sometimes the terms landscaper is used interchangeably with groundskeeper and greenskeeper. The job descriptions are actually different for each of them. A groundskeeper simply keeps the grass, plants, flowers, shrubs,and trees looking nice in a certain area, and doesn’t do any planting or building. A greenskeeper does the same thing, but for a golf course.
Now let’s take a look at what requirements are necessary to become a landscaper.
Requirements for Landscapers
Becoming a landscaper can definitely seem intimidating, but in truth, there are only a few requirements to obtain. Before applying for a landscaping position, make sure that you have:
A high school diploma
Have a variety of skills including pruning, hardscaping, being able to handle machinery, etc.
Look into getting certifications for different skills or even for your state
Make sure that you are physically fit enough to handle the tasks the job entails.
Depending on the specific position being applied for, there may be different requirements to consider. However, building your skills and taking a look into getting certifications doesn’t hurt, no matter where you are applying for a job. Just consider that they may require additional steps as well.
The Benefits of Being a Landscaper
Now that the job has been laid out, what are the benefits of becoming a landscaper?
There are actually quite a few different advantages to choosing this career path. With landscaping, there are so many opportunities for hands-on training and experience. It’s fantastic for young people who want to gain as much knowledge as possible, and it makes it much easier to learn.
Another advantage of being a landscaper is the significant amount of job growth it has. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, landscapers have a projected increase in employment from 2016 to 2026 of 11%. The average growth rate for all combined occupations is about 7%, so this is definitely a job that isn’t fizzling out any time soon.
Landscaping doesn’t necessarily require a college degree, making it more accessible to those without higher education. However, that might be a good step to take for getting into landscaping management and higher positions.
Lastly, landscapers get the satisfaction of beautifying the natural world with their talents. Taking something that needs improvement and making it something lovely is an amazing job, and it’s well worth it for the right people.
Getting Started as a Landscaper
If a landscaping career seems like the ideal choice, how does one get started?
There are many different apprenticeships available for someone who is brand new to the field of landscaping, and job postings are a constant as well. Depending on the area, there may be different types of landscaping opportunities.
For those who are in the San Mateo/San Francisco Bay Area, consider contacting Homescape Now about our open position. We are currently looking for a laborer/landscaper to join our team!
To contact us about the position, please inquire through email at [email protected].
