Thanks, everyone. bboy, I commend you on your intuition right from the start! calliope - I think you hit it right on the head - I'm never going to move up anywhere careerwise working part-time. Until recently, I had been very intentional about working only part-time due to various family obligations. Also, my husband was pondering early retirement, so I preferred part-time work in the hopes that we could spend more time together when he retired. So I started my part-time interior landscaping business, with the intention of eventually growing that into several days a week and quitting my other part time job. My interior landscaping business is doing much better than I had hoped, but growth is stalled out now with the economy. Husband will not be retiring for quite a while, also thanks to the economy. So I'm kind of stuck. If I take a full-time job, I won't have time for my own business. If I take a part-time job, I'll never go anywhere, and the choices are much more limited. laag, I quite understand what you are saying about being pigeonholed as a laborer. I don't quite understand what you mean about "putting yourself in a position where you won't be able to do those things at a nursery as it would be a conflict" - can you elaborate, please? I have actually looked for other part-time work in a totally nongreen industry just to broaden my choices. But laag, you do have a point about making contacts. Any suggestions on what might be relevant industries to consider? I don't have a lot of current experience or interest in many other industries.

You've already defined where you want to work. That's a good start. I reread your thread several times to be sure I am understanding it accurately. You actually did advance to such a position, but you are not working in it now, and you want to return to it but can't find a position comparable to what you did before. You're not sure if the reason is because you don't have an advanced degree in horticulture, or if it's because there just aren't any jobs out there. You really didn't say what your present degree is in. It may be so totally removed from horticulture that, aside from being a well educated person, you have no formal education in horticulture? I've changed careers three times in my life, each one unrelated to the previous, and of course had university level coursework in preparation for each of them. I was just thankful as much of it translated from field to field, as did. Believe it or not, universities used to be much, much stricter than they are now about translating previous college credits to satisfy requirements for degree programs. I have a lot of empathy in regard to taking coursework (or job training) you think is redundant. Part of it boils down to there is no recognition of your previous accomplishments and that can be a pill to swallow. But, you can be your own worst enemy by convincing yourself you have nothing to learn. BTW....I think you're getting off very easy by just having to take four courses before being accepted into their master's program in horticulture. But, don't you think before you make that sort of committment in time and money, you might want to do some research to see if there are even jobs out there in this rather specific area, and then contact those who are looking for candidates to find out what their educational and work background expectations are? Sort of get it from the horse's mouth.

The jobs do exist. It is certainly a bad time to be looking at state or city jobs with the economic nightmare we are living through. Also, you might want to read the forum on "What to do when your body wears out." I have worked for the state of CA, private landscape contractors and now work on a private estate. I do have a hort degree which definitely helped getting my first jobs. Most of the people working for the city and state have very little experience when they start. Most of my co-workers with the state could not function in private employment. They just couldn't take the pace. Something else you might want to consider is that alot of the time you are digging ditches, spending time behind or riding noisy machinery, spraying weeds etc. There are always co-workers and the public to deal with in any gardening situation. The pay range now for Ca I think is $2800-3000 a month, plus benefits. But remember, that is all changing with the budget crisis that every state and municipality is going through. I wouldn't change jobs right now. And one last thing, in the spring and fall I get lots of people saying how great it would be to have my job. No one says that in the summer when it's roasting hot, or in the winter when it's pouring rain and freezing cold. Imagine the joy of living in your rain suit and rubber boots 8 hours a day!!

***This is totally IMHO-YMMV**************** Do not have him quit without having another job. If he thinks a firing is in the near future, he *really* needs to ramp his job hunt into overdrive. There is nothing more terrifying for a sole bread winner than having a wife/hubby and young children with no job and no insurance. Chances are, he'll jump into the first job he's offered, rather than a job he loves. So, a year from now, you'll be in the exact same situation. How serious is he with his job hunt outside his company? How many resumes has he sent out? How up to date and well done is his resume? Chances are, with only one year in editorial, he'll end up with a tech job again. DH was in a similiar position this summer. He'd been with his employer for nearly 10 yrs in a few different positions inclduing this one which he'd had for about a yr. He wasn't miserable, but he was tired of the industry and could tell he'd hit the ceiling with this employer. He'd been casually job hunting for months. Then, out of nowhere, his company announced they were looking to trim 1/4 of the entire workforce. They offered voluntary seperation packages with a good severance package to anyone who volunteered. DH took that as an opportunity to kick his career hunt into overdrive. He sent over about 50 resumes, got several interviews, and eventually got 2 good offers. He was fortunate that one of the offers was exactly the type of position he'd wanted. He gave his official notice and three weeks later started the new job. He was one of two out of his department to announce plans to leave. Everyone else chose to take their chances and let the deadline pass them by. They were caught off guard a few days later when the company began massive layoffs. They were completely unprepared to enter the job search. So, now it's the slow season in hiring and the severance package will run out 10 days before Xmas. They're scrambling to update resumes, hone interviewing skills (most of them haven't interviewed outside the company for a decade), network, even simply evaluate the job market. I know the idea of realizing a dream is a tempting one, but reality is that this may not be the right time. DH ran a small consulting business on the side for a little while and still does contracting on the side, so we'd talked about doing it fulltime. I'd have to work for insurance, assuming I could get a job with benefits, and occasionally put the kids in daycare. There would be start up costs, as well, legal questions to be answered. Also, in order to qualify for small business loans, he'd need a really good business plan done. It was going to take months to set this up and get started. Not to mention getting clients into the pipeline to earn a steady income. See where I'm going with this? Can you survive without a real income for at least a year? I'm not trying to discourage you or your DH. Just take a calm rational look at your situation. Get some health insurance quotes and look at your monthly budget. First and foremost, update DH's resume and get really well aquainted with job search sites! Good luck and remeber my mantra "What will be, is as it should be".