With more of the world becoming serious about preserving the beauty of nature, a landscaping career promises individuals good long-term prospects. High-end landscape architects can earn more than $95,000 a year. Landscape supervisors oversee crews making sure lawns stay manicured. Irrigation specialists, meanwhile, install and repair agricultural as well as commercial irrigation systems. These upper-level landscape professionals represent part of the green industry projected to grow by more than 10 percent by 2014, according to Cnnmoney.com.
Landscape Manager
Landscape managers or supervisors oversee yard crews to ensure that lawns stay manicured. They supervise crews that maintain business and residential landscapes. Landscaping supervisors typically average $37,000 a year, according to Bis.gov. Managers usually have a high school diploma or general education diploma. Job requirements include good customer service skills and detailed knowledge of how to protect plants, trees and flowers from insects and disease.
Landscape Architect
Landscape architects, also called landscape designers, average $50,000 a year, according to Cnnmoney.com. The high-end pay for a lawn designer is $95,000 a year, while those at the lower end earn an average of $43,000 a year. With a four-year landscape architect degree as a requirement, qualified architects design the yard areas of home and businesses. They design the softscapes (plants, flower gardens, grass) as well as the hardscapes (patios, walkways, retaining walls). The designer draws up the schematic or plan of the layout of the grounds for the crew to follow.
Landscape Irrigation Technician
Landscape irrigation techs design and lay out irrigation systems. They also repair and troubleshoot existing systems. Irrigation specialists earn $30,000 to $36,000 a year and must have a high school education and previous lawn experience. Irrigation techs can specialize in commercial sprinkler systems or they can manage and operate agricultural irrigation systems.
Landscape Superintendent
Landscape superintendents manage large crews of groundskeepers for vast properties, such as large hotels, golf courses, amusement parks, sports arenas and land developments. The salary range for superintendents varies widely depending upon the type of property. The average yearly salary is $49,000, according to Simplyhired.com. Superintendents oversee a staff of foremen or landscape managers and laborers who preserve turf, grass, plants, flower beds, hardscapes, bushes, trees and groundcover. Superintendents require a minimum of an associate's degree in landscaping or landscaping architecture, but most have bachelor's degrees.
