How Do You Get A Green Job Gardening For A Living?
Ranked #1,265 in Education, #30,276 overall
Green Jobs: How Do You Get a Green Collar Job Gardening For A Living?
You wonder if it's possible to turn your hobby and passion for gardening into a career. I've now done it for over 7 years working at various garden centers and am currently a plant buyer at an upscale garden center in Washington, D.C. This article is part of a series called Getting Dirty - a guide to help you pursue your dream of gardening for a living.
Whether you're an avid gardener, volunteer gardener, master gardener, garden club member, a student in horticulture or landscape design, recently retired or just plain love gardening and want to explore getting a job in gardening, Getting Dirty covers a complete range of topics on what to expect.
My Life As A Gardener
For the past seven years, I've enjoyed gardening for a living but consider myself a life long gardener having played around with planting flowers and vegetables since I was a kid.I used to have a regular 9-5 job. But since I walked away from corporate life, I've had many people ask me how I did it.
How could I walk away from my steady job?
Is gardening a risky career choice?
What kind of jobs are available?
Quote Source Below: Confucius
Find A Job You Love & You Will Never Have To Work Again.
The Green Collar Economy
How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
"The Green Collar Economy is both a rallying call and a road map for how we can save the planet, reduce our dependency on budget-busting fossil fuels, and bring millions of new jobs to America. Van Jones shows how climate solutions can turbocharge the ailing U.S. economy. So what are we waiting for?"
Fred Krupp - Environmental Defense Fund
Work In The Garden Instead Of A Cubicle
Green Is the New Internet
How Going Green Can Turbo Charge The Economy & Create Jobs
In the 90s, the internet was the premium career choice. I staked my claim by working at washingtonpost.com. But I left around the time the dot.com bubble burst, trading in my white collar for a green collar with a job in gardening.
Green Is the New Internet
Seven years later, I haven't looked back and come to find out that the latest career trend these days is the green economy and green collar jobs. President Obama is leading the charge with his Economic Stimulus package with plans to create more green jobs to kickstart the economy and save our planet.
Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
Amazon Product Description
People of all ages and backgrounds are seeking work in career fields that will help save the planet, yet many people are unaware of the variety of green careers available. This unique career guidance book, based on labor market research, covers green jobs representing almost every area of career interest.
What Is A Green Job?
Helps Improve the Environment & Increase Sustainability
Obama's administration is working with labor and business leaders on a task force which is working towards developing green jobs with livable wages while stimulating the green economy to fight global warming.
- Obama 's Warped View Of The Free Market: Cronyism Over Job Creators
- The Obama Administration Loaned Over Half A Billion Dollars To Solyndra ? Which Later Went Bankrupt And Laid Off 1100 Employees. ?In a blow to the Obama administration's efforts to create green jobs, solar-cell maker Solyndra announced Wednesday that ...
- Day of stunts, stagecraft on presidential campaign
- On one coast, Romney made a surprise trip to the former California headquarters of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra to accuse Obama of currying favor with campaign supporters by giving a federal loan to the green energy company that later went ...
- The green jobs Obama may destroy
- By LIZ PEEK The Obama Commerce Department last week moved to slap 31 percent tariffs on solar panels imported from China. That may prop up failing US panel-makers like Solyndra, which have received hundreds of millions in taxpayer support ? but it's a ...
- Solyndra, explained
- Republicans have repeatedly argued that the Obama Administration's investment in Solyndra is part of a failed energy policy and, worse, shady dealings by the White House. Republican US presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt ...
Green Collar Jobs
Books About Green Careers Saving the Planet
This Lens Supports The Food For Everyone Foundation
Partial Proceeds From Any Purchase Help The Food For Everyone Foundation
The Food For Everyone Foundation's mission is to teach and assist families everywhere to grow successful and sustainable vegetable gardens, and really enjoy the experience.
Ten Best Green Jobs For The Next Decade
Fast Company - January 13, 2009
1. Conservation Biologist
2. Energy Efficiency Builder
3. Farmer
4. Forester
5. Green MBA and Entrepreneur
6. Recycler
7. Solar Power Installer
8. Sustainability Systems Developer
9. Urban Planner
10. Wind Turbine Fabricator
Source: Fast Company
Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-Friendly Employment
Amazon Price: $0.18 (as of 06/01/2012)
Amazon.com Product Description
You're interested in going green and, lucky for you, the opportunities for environmentally skilled workers are skyrocketing. Green Jobs will help you to find a job you like-and that'll make the world a better place. This one-of-a-kind handbook shows you how to identify the greenest jobs in every industry, break into the fastest growing eco-friendly fields, go for extra training if needed, start your own eco-friendly businesses.
Careers in Horticulture and Botany
Books About Landscaping & The Environment
This Lens Supports EnviroCorps
Partial Proceeds From Any Purchase Help EnviroCorps
EnviroCorps is a nonprofit organization that provides you with self-directed opportunities to serve your community close to your home. Litter free roads and parks in one of our objectives available to anyone, anywhere at any time.
Do Green Jobs Pay the Green?
Six Figure Green Jobs That Pay $100K by Forbes.com
Here's a list of job opportunities compiled by the Political Economy Research Institute that will build the green economy and fight global warming.
By The Numbers: Six Figure Green Jobs
Forbes.com has compiled a list of lucrative possibilities when it comes to carving out a green career "These days, you can make green by being green. No longer do environmentalists need to take a vow of poverty before starting their careers. Global giants ranging from Google to General Motors are making room in the corner office for executives with titles like chief sustainability officer and chief environmental officer."
1. Chief Sustainability Officer
2. Climatologist/Environmental Meteorologist
3. Commercial/Industrial Designer
4. Conservation Scientist
5. Environmental Engineer
6. Environmental Lawyer
7. Environmental Specialist/Scientist
8. Renewable Energy Portfolio Manager
9. Senior Hydrologist
10. Senior Urban Planner
Source: Forbes.com
Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
Amazon Product Description
Green Careers is the ultimate guide for job seekers hoping to enter the green sector of the economy: the rapidly growing area at the nexus of business and sustainability. Green jobs are popping up in virtually all industries and all types of organizations, from nonprofits to startups to government agencies to Fortune 1000 companies.
Read this book to learn: where the jobs are in the green sector, why the green economy is poised for rapid, recession-proof growth, about today's hottest "green" areas: clean tech, socially responsible investing, green building. Where to look for jobs that fit your education Insights from the insiders: how real people have forged green careers.
Will Gardening Jobs Still Be Available?
In This Economy Is Gardening A Wise Career Choice?
According to a market research study conducted in 2007 by the National Gardening Association, over the last five years, there has been a continued increase in the number of households who currently hire at least one type of lawn and landscape service -- that's an estimated 34.5 million households or 30% of all households nationwide.
Now more than ever, whether tending another person's garden or working in a garden nursery, there is more work than qualified individuals available. With many people simply not having the time or skills to do the work themselves, that's where you come in.
In the retail sector, more people are interested in going green and there are a growing number of people interested in gardening that need help to buy the right plant, tool, etc. More than 91 million or 83% of American households are active with indoor and outdoor lawn and garden activities so there is an ongoing need for knowledgeable people to assist these do-it-yourselfers, many who are novice gardeners.
Is A Green Career In The Future For Me?
"Getting Dirty" Guide Focuses on Gardening & Landscaping Jobs
The books listed here will help you pinpoint what kind of green job to pursue, the job requirements, salary and education required. There are also books available on starting your own lawn care and landscaping business with information on how to get paid to take care of someone else's garden.
I'm working on a book called Getting Dirty which will focus primarily on getting a job at a garden center. Right now there isn't a book available on the subject so I'll keep posting excerpts here. In the meantime, you may find this book useful which covers careers from floral design to landscape architecture to gardening to agriculture.
Careers for Plant Lovers & Other Green Thumb Types (Careers For Series)
Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 06/01/2012)
Amazon Product Description
Do you enjoy getting your hands dirty planting herbs in your backyard? Are you forever wandering the aisles of greenhouses looking for new and unique flowers? If so, your passion can be nurtured and directed into a fulfilling career. The opportunities for plant lovers are diverse and rewarding.
In Careers for Plant Lovers, you'll learn how flora aficionados like yourself can earn a healthy living as floriculturists, garden educators, scientists, flower curators, farmers, specialty breeders, garden retailers, groundskeepers, landscape architects, gardening book writers and flower photographers.
Inside you'll find all the information you need on salaries, working conditions, and opportunities for professional advancement. Written for newcomers and career changers alike, Careers for Plant Lovers will show you how to successfully cultivate your talents and watch them blossom into your dream job.
So You Want to Start a Nursery?
Tony Avent
"Great American nurseries remodel our gardens simply through the plants they introduce. Many of these businesses are small and idiosyncratic, the brain-children of people with odd and original visions of how gardens should be."
- Mac Griswold, October 1997, Garden Design Magazine
So You Want to Start a Nursery
Amazon Price: $12.00 (as of 06/01/2012)
Few books share the nitty gritty details of what it actually takes to run a nursery. Author Tony Avent has taken the time to document and share his experiences with owning specialty nursery, Plant Delights which focuses on rare and unusual perennials, hostas and U.S. natives.
Here's an excerpt from the book where Tony offers specific information and advice on how to start a mail order nursery. Return here for the lowest price available to purchase the hardcover book "So You Want to Start a Nursery" by Tony Avent. Consider it due diligence, a nursery business plan primer. $16.47 is a small price for business intelligence on nursery start-up costs and day to day expenses.
Vita Sackville-West on Gardeners
English Poet, Novelist & Gardener
The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.
Guestbook
So Are You Thinking Of A Green Career?
-
-
readabooki Apr 3, 2012 @ 10:43 pm | delete
- What a great lens. When I searched on it I didn't think a lens like this existed but you made one. Thanks.
-
-
-
LensSeller
May 2, 2011 @ 6:19 am | delete
- A very informative lens with plenty of ideas for anyone who wants to turn their "green" interests into a living.
-
-
-
VJYoung
Aug 13, 2010 @ 1:27 am | delete
- We at EnviroCorps are very appreciative of the support squidoo supporters are giving us.
-
-
-
TacTac
Jun 25, 2010 @ 11:28 pm | delete
- What an excellent idea for a lens. Great information. Thanks for writing it.
-
-
-
myFootpathAdvisor
Apr 10, 2010 @ 9:50 am | delete
- This lens is very well-written and packed with information. I checked out "Getting Dirty" as well, nice blog! I'm all for anything that encourages people to pursue their passion!!!
-
-
-
GeothermalVids
Sep 18, 2009 @ 2:27 pm | delete
- Thanks for this lens. Gives me a lot of insight into what it is like to be a gardener. :)
Bill
-
-
-
poutine
May 15, 2009 @ 11:42 am | delete
- First of all, let me say that I just love your title " How Do I Get a Green Collar Job Gardening For A Living?".
And furthermore, I really enjoyed reading this lens and find it very well documented.
Poutine
-
-
-
EchoTarpeian
Mar 17, 2009 @ 11:44 am | delete
- Great Lens, Adrienne! thank you for contributing to Planet Earth: Our Garden of Eden, we are featuring you and your Lens in the new module, Green Employment!
looking forward to more great lenses from you:)
Namaste`,
Echo
-
-
-
sherridan
Mar 13, 2009 @ 7:55 pm | delete
- Great lens...please do submit it to my Career and Work Oracle Group (www.squidoo.com/career-site) and then I might feature it.
Cheers
Sherridan
-
-
-
daria369
Mar 9, 2009 @ 7:44 pm | delete
- Great lens!! :)
Thank you for joining one of my groups! See more and add your lenses to link plexos at: http://www.squidoo.com/all-inclusive
-
- Load More
About Me
I've Worked in Garden Centers For Over 7 Years
by AdrienneJenkins
Eat, Write, Love. I'm currently living "La Dolce Vita" in Rome, Italy with my husband who's a professor of architecture. I'm getting to fulfill the dr... more »
- 60 featured lenses
- Winner of 10 trophies!
- Top lens » Moscow Mule Copper Mugs
Explore related pages
- Sustainable Gardening Non-Profit changing the world one garden at a time. Sustainable Gardening Non-Profit changing the world one garden at a time.
- Start a profitable Gardening business Start a profitable Gardening business
- Odd Jobs Club Odd Jobs Club
- Organic Gardening & Natural Living Organic Gardening & Natural Living
