Degrees/jobs in horticulture

13 years ago

I've been a biology major since last year, but I recently became interested in a local university's horticulture program. I have always been interested in plants (my favorite places in a home improvement store is the nursery section). The current school I'm in only offers a general biology degree, but I do not find myself enjoying the program too much. As much as I like biology, I do not really agree with current research ethics, and would not really enjoy going into research to work in a lab. I enjoy being outside and around nature. The horticulture program at the university seems to offer a lot of hands on classes, and they pertain to things that interest me.

I'm writing to ask if anyone else here has a degree in horticulture, and what have you done with it? Though I plan to send a transfer application in, I'm not sure if I'll get into the program (it's a big university and thousands of people apply a year). I would like to hear about other people's experiences so I can know what to expect if I do get in, and to have an idea of where this degree may lead. I'm putting a lot of thought into this, and I would like to discuss it with others with similar interests.

Thank you.

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Comments (5)

west_gardener
13 years ago
Since you are into the college situation, you may want to seek advice from the counselors at the colleges you are interested in. I don't have any knowledge or experience with horticulture programs,but I do have experience and credentials with college counseling.
bett_julibrissin
Original Author
13 years ago
I've already talked to the transfer advisor from my school (wasn't too helpful) and mentioned it to my biology advisor. I'll talk to an advisor at the school I'm applying to eventually, though I'd rather do that either after I've been accepted or if I need to chose spring classes that'll transfer to the other school. Right now I'd just like to hear about people's experiences in the field to gain some knowledge of where I may be heading in the future.
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Oh boy, this really is a tough subject area... First thing I wanted to state is that I never wanted to be a plumber or whatever, if that's what I wanted to be, I would have went to school for that. Second, I feel the working at McDonalds reference was a bit extreme, I know for sure I can find better than that. I did have the ability to go to college for whatever I wanted, but the two things I wanted to do is horticulture and cabinet making, which are both considered dead end career paths. Anything else I would be going to school just for money, and not every money making career will necessarily make you money either; my cousin went to college for eight years to be a lawyer, and he's 30 making minimum money as a magazine writer because he can't find a job. The issue with the way I go in the career path is that it may be heavily influenced by future lifestyle changes. Right now, I don't even have a wife and kids in mind (don't even have a girlfriend), and all I need is four wheels, clothes on back, a place to live, and food to keep me happy, I don't need a lot of fancy toys. However though, later on I may care more about supporting a family than I do my job. I may also decide later in a few years that there's a better paying industry I'm into. Right now I'm going to college completely free so it's not a huge loss if I chose to go to college for something else. However, if I stay in the field, I do have some stuff in mind. Right now, it's still early, but I've been the best in my class, and I will make deans list easily at this pace. The ideal realistic careers I want to get into are campus groundskeeper and possibly landscape/garden design. Campus groundskeeper usually doesn't pay well, but it offers great benefits like housing, healthcare, steady employment, and money towards degrees. Landscape design is similar to the cabinet industry; if you are determined to do what you do and make a name for yourself, you will be alright, otherwise though, no. I may actually have an advantage there because I am into that and do it as a hobby currently.
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west_gardener
13 years ago
Glad to see that you took advantage of the professional advisors in your college system. Hope you get the answers you are looking for.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
I have a BS in Horticulture, as does my husband. You may or may not know that there are many different fields of emphasis under the Horticulture umbrella. What are you interested in doing? You'll need a bit more direction that 'being outside and around nature'. Any ideas?

Email me personally, if you wish.
bett_julibrissin
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm interested in multiple different fields, and I really can't choose one or the other as it is now. I like to take the direction that life leads me, and though I've not even lived 20 years, I'm happy with the direction I'm going. As a child I always loved animals and wanted to be a vet, and though I didn't develop that plan further, my interest in biology led me to.. well, a biology major. Now I feel that my interest for a future career is narrowing down to the plant based field of biology, and with my like of working with and growing plants, I think horticulture may be the way to go. If I get into the program, I'm sure I'll eventually narrow down my career interests more if I need to.
So really, my current direction is just I like plants and feel I could do something in life with them. Just a short list of things I've thought of recently (some might be a bit uncommon and far fetched, but hey, an idea's an idea):
Working with endangered plants (read an interesting article the other week about bringing back an extinct type of date palm), landscaping or growing the plants needed for it (there's probably a ton of people out there doing that already though, no?), invasive species control (can you fight them with horticulture?), and maybe working with native species for gardening. There's a lot of other directions I'd be happy to go in as well. Since I'm only in my second year of college, I think I should still have a bit of time to find the right path.

Degrees/jobs in horticulture

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Degrees/jobs in horticulture

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