Becoming a Landscaper

Landscaping is a thriving industry that takes in a variety employee levels, depending on the employee's degree of education. The most basic employment opportunity within the landscaping industry is a member of the landscape crew, perfect for those who love to work outdoors and undertake tasks assigned to them. Landscape crews do all the manual work from planting to pruning to mowing. A landscape designer is a professional who typically works with private homeowners in planning all facets of the project before the manual work begins. If you consider yourself a logical organizer and visualizer, the job of a landscape designer may be perfect for you if you are willing to pursue a Master of Landscape Design degree at an accredited college. A landscape architect shares many of the skills and aspirations as the landscape designer, but gears his work toward broader public projects and developments. Designing plans for shopping centers, parks, waterfront developments, school campuses and historical preservations sites is his forte.

Combined experience and education at any level in the landscape field could lead you toward a sound and rewarding career in the landscape industry, perhaps eventually to owning your own landscaping firm. If you consider yourself skilled in the art of recruiting, managing projects and crews and dealing with office staff, you may just want to continue in the field toward the top.