Should You Consider a Career as a Gardener?
The world of work can be a tricky one to navigate on an individual basis. Between the costly morning commutes and the drawn-out days spent at desks or in spreadsheets, it’s common for office workers to find themselves burnt-out with little to show for it.
According to a recent study, nearly four in five of UK workers have experienced burnout – an astonishing statistic, speaking to the various hoops we jump through for an often-unfulfilling day job. These statistics also speak to the growing interest in career change amongst the working population, with people going freelance or changing careers entirely for a change of pace.
There is one career shift that often goes overlooked by workers – especially those accustomed to work meaning time spent at a desk. Horticulture is an incredibly rewarding career path, that may well call out to the more green-fingered of the working population. If you enjoy tending to your garden or balcony flowerbox, might you enjoy a career as a gardener? Here are some key reasons to give it some thought.
Working Amongst Nature
The first and foremost benefit to working in the horticultural industry, in almost any capacity, is the ability to work in the great outdoors. Whether tending to individual flowers or crafting an entire garden, you get to spend your days drinking in the fresh air and working directly with your passion.
This may be especially appealing to those for whom office-based roles are a little claustrophobic. In working outdoors, your desk and computer are replaced with hands-on tools and hearing protection for safety. Otherwise, you are free to work in a nourishing environment, and a nourishing capacity.
Wide-Ranging Opportunities
Gardening, horticulture and arboriculture are incredibly wide-ranging fields, with roles that far outstrip the simple notion of green-fingered gardening. If your passion lies with gardening but you don’t have hands-on experience in plant care, you may find lucrative positions in garden planning and landscape architecture.
Alternatively, you may be particularly good at cultivating houseplants, but have little practical experience besides. These experiences could stand you in good stead for horticulture and plant care. There are countless ways to find a niche in gardening, that speaks to your strengths and enables you to work your hobby in your own way.
Earning Potential
Cold as it may be to reduce a passion to its earning potential, it is important to recognise the financial viability of such a career – especially when it may be the prevailing concern for any budding gardener. As it stands, gardening and landscaping careers are particularly lucrative for skilled persons and could represent a serious step up for the average earner.
Experienced gardeners can expect to start at around £25,000 annual wage, while those with ambitions to work as a landscape architect could see their earning potential rise to £45,000 or more. Of course, these figures stand to increase a great deal if you decide to operate as a freelance contractor or decide to get a horticultural degree.