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Home , Horticulture

University of Kentucky CCD Home CCD Profiles College of , Food and Environment

Careers in and Related Fields Horticulture is an applied science dealing with , vegetables, and ornamentals. It is an extremely diversified field with nearly unlimited career opportunities in a variety of job settings.

The majority of horticultural positions require a minimum of either a two- or four-year degree. In some careers, however, educational requirements can vary greatly, depending on the level of expertise required for the position. Some entry level positions provide on-the-job training and require only a high school diploma, while other positions within that same career may require specialized technical or professional training. also propagate , teach, and/or conduct research. Employed by arboreta, botanical The following list is meant to provide basic , city parks, colleges/universities, information on some of the more common careers historical sites, nature preserves, public and in horticulture and horticulture-related fields. private gardens, and recreational areas. Wide range of educational requirements. Agricultural Business Consultant Evaluates agricultural businesses with the /Urban / Service goal of increasing productivity, efficiency, Technician and profits. Assists in establishing budgets. Concerned with all aspects of the care, protection, Provides advice on taxes, estate planning, and and maintenance of woody plants, especially , other financial issues. May be self-employed in urban settings. Employed by arboreta, botanical or work for financial consulting firms and gardens, colleges/universities, consulting firms, . Requires a four-year degree in Cooperative Extension, government agencies, agricultural business or agricultural education. maintenance firms, large private estates, parks departments, research institutions, /Botanical / resorts, theme parks, tree nurseries, tree service Horticultural Garden Worker companies, and utility companies. Wide range Involves planting and of educational requirements. maintaining collections Voluntary certification available in naturalized, systematic, or through International of aesthetic arrangements. May .

Agriculture & Natural Resources • Family & Consumer Sciences • 4-H/Youth Development • Community & Economic Development

Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of , color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Botanist/Plant Biologist Enologist/Oenologist Studies the and function of plants. Most Studies the science of wine and winemaking. are employed by educational institutions and Job types include operating machinery, government agencies. Others may be employed picking grapes, teaching, and research, as by arboreta, biological supply companies, well as winemaker. May be hired by colleges/ biotechnology firms, botanical gardens, chemical universities, wineries, and grape producers. companies, food companies, growers, Wide range of educational requirements. research institutions, and companies. Requires a minimum of a four-year degree. Extension Agent Develops and coordinates programs to promote Business Sales Representative agriculture in the county. Involves research Promotes, markets, and distributes agriculturally (such as field trials and test demonstrations) and related products to retail or wholesale businesses providing educational opportunities for growers. and growers. May work for companies that Employed by land grant universities. Requires a manufacture or sell chemicals, , minimum of a four-year college degree. equipment, or horticultural supplies, as well as seed and plant suppliers. Wide range of educational requirements.

Communications Involves one or more forms of mass media. Types of positions include agriculture/ news director, book/magazine author, editor, journalist, photographer, public relations, scientific writer, technical illustrator, videographer, and Web designer. Employment opportunities include firms, newspapers, radio/TV stations, and trade/garden magazines. Wide range of educational requirements. Extension Specialist Consultant Develops and coordinates programs to promote Provides expert horticultural advice to businesses horticulture in their state. Provides educational and growers. May specialize in one area; e.g. opportunities for Extension agents and conducts nursery . Many are self-employed; others applied research. May also have teaching work for equipment companies, landscape firms, responsibilities at the university. Employed by and companies. Requires a minimum land grant universities. Requires a Ph.D. of a four-year college degree. Floriculturist Educator A general term for horticulturists who specialize Teaches horticulture or related subjects at in cut , bedding plants, and potted plants. colleges, high schools, junior colleges, technical May be involved in marketing floral supplies schools, universities, and vocational schools. and products, teaching, or conducting research. Requires a minimum of a Bachelors Degree or Employed by colleges/universities, florists, Masters Degree. Ph.D. required for teaching at garden centers, producers, and technical schools. the college or university level. Wide range of educational requirements. Florist/Floral Designer Grower/Plant Producer/Farmer Floriculturists who design and foliage plant Produces horticultural crops for retail or arrangements. May also care for and sell live or wholesale markets. Works on and/or owns a dried floral material. Positions in florist shops , nursery, , sod farm, vegetable and floral retail businesses; also large grocery farm, , etc. May be an independent stores and retail chains with floral departments. grower or be employed by other producers. Wide Wide range of educational requirements. range of educational requirements.

Horticultural Therapist Uses plants and horticultural activities to improve emotional, mental, and/or physical well-being of patients. Works as part of a team consisting of other health-care professionals, rehabilitation specialists, and/or social workers. May work with mentally disabled, emotionally disabled, senior groups, inner city youth, and prisoners. Employed by hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, schools, and rehabilitation centers. Requires specialized training in a post-secondary program accredited by the American Horticultural Food Scientist/Technician Therapy Association. Involved in every aspect of food production and processing from farm to table. Concerned Interior with such issues as food safety, quality, and Involves designing, installing, and maintaining nutrition; developing new food products; and interior plantings in private or public buildings. educating consumers. Employed by food May be self-employed or work for landscape processing companies, government agencies, or interior design companies. Wide range of and universities. Typical positions include food educational requirements. inspector, quality assurance specialist, marketing representative, researcher, and technician. Irrigation Specialist Requires a college degree. Sells, installs, operates, and repairs irrigation systems at various locations, such as athletic Garden Center Owner/Manager/ fields, , golf courses, , and Worker nurseries. Requires a two- or four-year college Sells landscape plants, tools, and supplies in a retail degree in grounds management, landscape outlet. Provides plant information to customers. design, or a closely related field. Positions include field worker, garden center owner, greenhouse worker, manager, and sales Landscape Architect clerk. Wide range of educational requirements. Plans and designs exterior for parks, recreational areas, campuses, industrial sites, Greenhouse Manager/Worker institutional grounds, shopping malls, and other Plants, cultivates, manages, and harvests large projects. May be self-employed or work for greenhouse crops. May be hired by commercial developmental companies, government agencies, greenhouses or landscape companies. Wide landscape architectural firms, or resorts. A range of educational requirements. four-year college degree is required for most entry level positions; however, some positions May be employed by processing companies, require a graduate degree. State registration or producers, and marketing organizations. Post- certification required. secondary training is required.

Landscape Construction Nurseryman/Nursery Manager/ Installs material, turfgrass, and Nursery Worker structural landscape features according to plans Plants, transplants, maintains, and harvests from a landscape designer or landscape architect. nursery crops. May be involved in Employed by a landscape contractor firm or and propagating plants. Job opportunities landscape nursery. Wide range of educational at greenhouses, landscaping companies, and requirements. wholesale or retail nurseries. Wide range of educational requirements. Landscape Designer Plans and designs exterior landscapes for Plant Breeder/Geneticist homes, estates, and small commercial buildings. Produces new and improved plant varieties. Generally involved in smaller projects, compared Positions with arboreta, biotechnology firms, to a landscape architect. May be self-employed or botanical gardens, colleges/universities, work for landscape firms. Requires a minimum consulting firms, government agencies, and of a two-year college or technical degree. research and development departments in large corporations. Requires a four-year college degree Landscape Maintenance/Landscape for entry level positions and a graduate degree /Groundskeeper/Grounds for advanced positions. Manager Involves planting and maintaining private Plant Diagnostician and public landscapes, gardens, and . Specialists who attempt to determine the cause of Employment opportunities exist at amusement various plant problems, which can include plant parks, cemeteries, golf courses, parks, diseases, insects, and cultural problems. Provides and garden service companies, public grounds, pest management solutions. May be employed by racetracks, recreation and sports facilities, and colleges/universities, the Cooperative Extension university campuses. A two- or four-year college Service, greenhouses, and large nurseries. degree is recommended. Requires post-secondary training.

Lawn Care Specialist Plant Inspector Home lawn maintenance, including mowing Inspects plants in commercial nurseries, garden grass, seeding lawns, applying , centers, , field plantings, as well as and making applications. Generally county, state, or national entry/exit points, to employed by lawn care companies, but may also ensure material is free of specific insects or work for landscape firms or government agencies. diseases. Generally federal or state employees. Some serve as independent contractors. Wide Requires a four-year degree or graduate degree. range of educational requirements. Plant Pathologist Marketing Studies plant diseases, their cause, and their Involves all aspects of marketing and promoting management. May be involved in teaching, horticultural crops or products, including research, diagnostic work, or agribusiness sales. improving methods and equipment used in Some serve as private consultants, while others grading, packaging, storage, and shipping. may be employed by colleges/universities, the Cooperative Extension Service, industrial firms, and researchers. Employed by arboreta, government agencies, pesticide companies, and botanical gardens, chemical companies, colleges/ regulatory services. A four -year college degree is universities, government agencies, research and required for technical positions, while a graduate development departments in large corporations, degree is essential for more advanced positions. research firms, and seed companies. Requires a minimum of a four-year college degree; however, Plant Propagator some positions require a graduate degree. Propagates new plant material using various techniques (e.g. grafting, seed production, Tree Assessors culture, and vegetative propagation). Employed who estimate tree values and the cost of by arboreta, botanical gardens, greenhouses, tree damage for insurance claims. Employed by propagation nurseries, and universities. Wide insurance companies. Requires post-secondary range of educational requirements. training.

Pomologist Turfgrass Management Specializes in the production and marketing of Develops and maintains turf areas, such as those tree fruits, tree nuts, and small fruits. May be at commercial sites, golf courses, sod farms, and an independent grower or employed by colleges/ sports fields. Types of positions include golf universities, food processing companies, and course superintendent, golf course manager, research institutions. greenskeeper, and sod farmer. May Wide range of educational work for athletic fields, golf courses, requirements. government agencies, landscaping companies, lawn care companies, Researcher and sod farms. Requires a two- or Conducts experiments, four-year college degree in turfgrass studying various aspects management. of plant cultivation, propagation, production, Viticulturist pest control, etc. Basic Studies grape production for wine, and/or applied research. juice, raisins, and other grape Employed by arboreta, products. Employers include chemical companies, companies grape colleges/universities, experiment stations, products, colleges/universities, , and government agencies, private industry, public wineries. Requires a four-year college degree. gardens, research institutions, and seed companies. Requires a graduate degree. Related Careers Ag Economist Ranger Sales Clerk/Sales Manager Ag Engineer Habitat Restoration Coordinates sales of horticultural crops and Agronomist Specialist products. Provides information and advice to Conservationist Naturalist customers. Employed by floral shops, garden Ecologist Park Manager centers, nurseries, and other retail outlets. Wide Entomologist range of educational requirements. Environmental Plant Physiologist Engineer/Scientist Silviculturist Technician Farm Business Scientist Provides technical assistance to professionals, Manager Water Quality Specialist such as arborists, , landscape architects, Forester Scientist Selected Resources • Careers in Horticulture (American Society of • Agripedia Careers in Agriculture (University Horticultural Science) of Kentucky) http://ashs.org/index.php?option=com_content& http://www.ca.uky.edu/agripedia/AGMANIA/ view=section&id=9&Itemid=66 CAREER/ • Careers in Plant (American • American Horticultural Therapy Association Phytopathological Society) http://www.ahta.org/ http://www.apsnet.org/careers/ • Career Search (Schools in the USA) careersinplantpathology/Pages/default.aspx http://www.schoolsintheusa.com/career_search. • Horticulture and Career cfm Guide (Vocational Information Center) • Careers in Agriculture (Florida Department of http://www.khake.com/page21.html Agriculture) http://florida-agriculture.com/kids/education/ careers/

Reviewed by Jack Buxton, Professor (Issued 2004); Reviewed by Christy Cassady, Extension Specialist (Reviewed 2008; Revised 2011) Photos by Christine MacAlpine, Texas A & M (pg. 1); Steve Patton, University of Kentucky Agricultural Communications (pg. 2); Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons (pg. 3); and Matt Barton, University of Kentucky Agricultural Communications (pg. 5) November 2011 For additional information, contact your local County Extension agent