Remember the days of mowing the lawn for a few bucks from your parents (or the neighbors)? Your teen days may be gone, but the satisfying profit of maintaining a beautiful lawn hasn't. Whether a landscaping professional's client is a business, a public park or a private mansion owner, his or her goal is to modify, beautify and maintain an area of land. It usually refers to the way in which plant life is incorporated into private and ... public property. Aesthetics alone won't cut it (no pun for the grass): Landscaping professionals must also have a scientific understanding of botany, and a professional understanding of how it comes together with artistic principles. What's pleasing to the eye, must also be pleasing to the client's business needs (if any) and Mother Nature
Landscape architects plan how the natural environment—including trees, shrubs, and flowers—are made to coexist with manmade structures such as buildings, parks, golf courses, and parkways. They work with other professionals to help plan entire sites, analyzing factors such as soil, water supply, and climate. To make detailed plans, they often use computer-aided design (CAD) or geographic information systems (GIS) technology. Good managerial skills is also as important as scientific literacy and artistic talent, because landscapers often oversee a team of gardeners and/or construction workers involved in the project.
What does a degree and curriculum in landscaping teach? Most degrees cover the skills and technology students will need to succeed in their career and manage client projects from beginning to end. A typical curriculum will include coursework in horticulture, floriculture, design principles, CAD, GIS, estimating and contracting, and even entrepreneurship basics.
Since such a large proportion of landscape architects are self-employed, earning potential is both limitless and widely varied. As long as we continue to live in a where people want natural and man-made elements to coexist in harmony, landscape professionals have excellent job prospects.
Bonus!
Landscaper Penn Foster Career School
Landscape Design Ashworth College
