Garden Related Careers for Kids

A gardening life is a fascinating life. Imagine what it would feel like to garden for a job! This would be heaven to most gardeners including kid gardeners. To celebrate school and learning, we’ll talk about careers related to gardening.

Botanist

Explore botany as a garden career. A botanist studies plants. But a botanist doesn’t just study plants that are in the kid’s garden. A botanist studies plants all over the world. Some botanists have specialties. There are even paleo-botanists who study plants that existed a long time ago but are now extinct.

A botanist goes through school and to college just like most other scientists. Take many biology courses including botany, general biology and even animal biology. Why animal biology for a botanist? For one, many animals rely on plants for a food source. Plants are directly linked to animals this way. It's important to study the links between living creatures to understand some of their characteristics and adaptations.

Agriculturist

An agriculturist studies agriculture, the science of raising animals and plants for human consumption and use. An agriculturist works in many different areas of science. Agriculturists study effects of pollution on farm animals and crops.

Check out a local university or community college to look into an agriculture career. Many offer an agriculture degree. Science, math and chemistry are three types of classes you'll be taking to become an agriculturist. But you'll take many classes in economics and farm science too.

Horticulturist

A horticulturist is similar to a botanist but they remain scientists of marketable plants. In other words, horticulturists study plants that are sold in the stores, from crops to flowers. Explore this garden related career if you'd like to get more in depth with the consumer side of the garden.

Many people working in a local greenhouse are at least knowledgeable in basic horticulture. Some might be working in the job to pursue horticulture as a full time career. Horticulturists help the amateur (and even intermediate) gardeners learn more about the gardens and how to make the most of gardening time.

A horticulturist will study the main things a botanist would in college. However, it'll be more specialized. You'll learn about plants specifically for the consumer such as for vegetable and flower gardening.

Food Scientist

Another garden related career worth looking into is a food scientist. A food scientist studies food including the plant crops we eat. A food scientist is a specialized agriculturist. Chemistry is the main subject of this career as well as other basic science skills. Many food scientists work for the governments researching and testing food. Food scientists develop better ways to processing, handling and preserving food. They help improve health and conditions of the food we see on store shelves.

To be a food scientist, you'll have many science and math classes. Laboratory experience will be important even for those in food science management areas. A four-year degree will likely be required to become a food scientist.

Master Gardener

A master gardener is someone who studies gardens and goes through training to become certified. They don't necessarily have degrees but the class work and training they receive gives them an edge to the amateur gardener. They go through training and learn about all aspects of gardening from pest control to how a garden should look.

Ask local garden clubs more about becoming a master gardener. Some cities may have the chance to become a kid master gardener. A college or major university nearby may also have classes and certificate programs for becoming a master gardener.

A Garden of Many Colors

There are many garden related careers for a kid to explore. Research on the Internet, a local library or try to find an expert in each field to find more information. Keep working hard at basic skills and get the training necessary to get a great career in the field of gardening.