NURSERY GROWER

As a nursery grower, you'll get up close and personal with trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers, raising them from tiny shoots to mature plantings. You will water, fertilize, and tend to them, as well as propagate them to produce new plantings. You'll work with the public, selling your living wares to residential customers and landscaping companies, and providing advice on how to care for them. If keeping your hands in the soil and working with plants excites you, this could be just the career for you.

Salary

Retail nursery workers are usually paid an hourly wage of $5.50 to $15, depending on the size of the operation. Average salaries for managers range from $12,000 to $25,000 a year. Retail nursery operators and owners of large wholesale nurseries can earn considerably more, depending on the number and type of clients.

Outlook

Good growth is expected to continue for nursery workers as consumers continue to appreciate the beauty of gardens and plantings. Though nursery operators and managers usually work full-time throughout the year, in regions with short growing seasons, nursery workers, or laborers, may be employed only during the busy spring and summer seasons and at Christmastime.