Is being a master gardener a profitable occupation?
Posted on December 22nd, 2008 in gardener |
mattysmom asked:
I live in Chicago and would love to be a master gardener, signed up for classes, but my parents say there is no “real”future in this. Is it true? What happened to doing what makes one happy? LOL!
I live in Chicago and would love to be a master gardener, signed up for classes, but my parents say there is no “real”future in this. Is it true? What happened to doing what makes one happy? LOL!
6 Responses
Why don’t you ask one. Go to the home & garden section leaderboad (top 10 answerers) and e-mail Garden Dok MG with your question. He is one of the best Master Gardeners in Southern California. He can tell you more about the profession than most and I’m sure he’ll be able to give you some ideas as to whether there is a future in it or not. Plus, he is a super nice guy!
being a master gardener isn’t really an occupation…its a way of life… (hippie sounding eh?)… all it is is a summer class that teaches u the basics and leaves the rest up to you to figure out…. if you want to make an occupation out of playing with plants you want to go to school for Horticulture… where there is a real future …. not a whole lot of money unless your on top of the food chain but there is enough to get by…
I didn’t really learn that much in becoming a Master Gardener many years ago…..the most I learned was by taking courses in horticulture at the college level…because I already had a degree from another college, they let me take upper level courses in propagation, etc. I did this when I was 50 (15 years ago) and found no trouble working in a greenhouse for 19,000.00 a year. I was a happy camper…and still am….gardening every day of my life…There is a real future for you if you go to a good agricultural university and earn a degree in horticulture, ornamental plants, or whatever…good luck
Quite frankly, you’ll never make good money at it, unless you have the wherewithal to transfer this knowledge into owning and operating your own nursery. And that takes the capital to begin with. You would have to really love your work, but probably have something else as a major occupation in order to live normally. Where I live, master gardeners are even lower on the food chain than horticulturists, and horticulturists are lumped in the same group as farm help, the people who water plants in non-automated greenhouses, and unless you know someone who appreciates your skill (to run a nursery, for example), you could get stuck making about $9.00 or $10.00 an hour doing menial jobs. Sorry, but that’s how it is in the real world, at least in my area: Ontario, Canada. So I will educate myself in various capacities of horticultural knowledge simply because I love the work and the complexities of what appears simple in the world of plants, knowing that I could never get rich from this. Your parents are obviously concerned about you, and probably want the best for you. So do what you love doing, but always have a career type of skill to “fall back on” if and when you choose to venture out and get employment in the occupation that you love. In the meantime, I have an interview coming up to transfer out of my department where I work, and the upcoming job will entail making use of my horticultural skills as a part of the job description, so I will have the best of both worlds. But this doesn’t happen very often. My intention is to inform you, not to turn you off from seeking your dream. Always dream, but keep in mind the reality, also. Always pursue your dreams. Never stay stuck as some drone in a hateful job. That is what I am doing; the opportunity for my upcoming job change came up, and I am acting on it. Only you can make the changes in your life that make you happy. Good luck to you.
“Master gardener” is nothing more than a feelgood name for someone who’s completed a basic horticulture course offered by state university extension services. It might help to qualify you for a greenhouse/nursery job, but the operator will still want to train you himself.
If you enjoy gardening, by all means take the course. You’ll learn a lot! Just don’t expect it to be a career step. It’s more about being the master of your back yard!
our parents are right. check out the occupational college for careers in landscaping, gardening.