How to Become a Landscaper

1. What landscapers do

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups landscapers with groundskeepers, tree trimmers and pesticide applicators as grounds maintenance workers. Typical duties include mowing, edging and fertilizing lawns; weeding and mulching beds; trimming hedges and shrubs; planting; watering; and monitoring plant health.

BLS says landscaping workers “plant flowers, shrubs, trees, and other vegetation to create new outdoor spaces or to upgrade existing ones”, and that some “grade and install lawns or construct hardscapes such as walkways, patios, and decks.” Most work under the direction of a landscaping, lawn service or groundskeeping supervisor.

Source for figures and quotes in this guide unless noted: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Grounds Maintenance Workers (last modified September 14, 2026).

2. Do you need a degree?

No. BLS says grounds maintenance workers “typically do not need a formal educational credential and are trained on the job.” Employers may prefer a high school diploma or equivalent, and studying landscape design, horticulture or arboriculture can help.

• Training time: typically 1 month or less on the job, covering planting and maintenance and how to use mowers, trimmers, leaf blowers and small tractors.
• Pesticide work: sprayers, handlers and applicators may need additional training lasting up to 1 year.
• Bigger employers such as golf courses, campuses and cities may add training in horticulture, tree climbing or small-engine repair.

3. Licenses and certification

• Pesticides: BLS says most states require licensing for workers who apply pesticides; licensing for fertilizers varies by state. The U.S. EPA says federal law requires anyone who applies or supervises the use of restricted use pesticides to be certified, and that “many states require all commercial applicators, not only those using RUPs, to be certified.” You must be certified in each state where you apply them. Source: U.S. EPA, How to Get Certified as a Pesticide Applicator.
• Certification: BLS says professional certification “is not required” but “demonstrates competency and reliability for prospective clients and employers.” CareerOneStop has a certification finder.

4. Pay and hours, honestly

• $18.82median hourly pay, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, May 2025
• $40,080median yearly pay, all grounds maintenance workers ($19.27 an hour)
• $50,980median yearly pay for all U.S. workers, for comparison

For many office workers this is a pay cut, at least at first. BLS also says some work is seasonal, with more hours in spring, summer and fall, and that some workers provide other services in winter, such as snow removal. See our landscaping pay and job outlook guide for pay by role and industry.

5. Skills from an office job that transfer

BLS lists these important qualities. Several map onto office work:

• Communication: conveying information and instructions to clients, customers and supervisors.
• Self-motivation: working with little supervision.
• Visualization: imagining how plants and landscaping will look before planting or trimming.

Skills you may need to build: physical stamina and strength, dexterity with heavy equipment, and, for tree work, being comfortable at heights. Our office to outdoors plan covers how to test these before you quit.

6. A first 90 days plan

This is our suggested plan, not a BLS recommendation:

1. Days 1 to 30: do full days of real outdoor work (your yard, a friend’s, a community garden). Learn the basic safety gear. Practice estimating: measure a bed and work out the mulch, or a path and work out the gravel.
2. Days 31 to 60: apply for seasonal or part-time crew work. Spring through fall is when BLS says crews are busiest.
3. Days 61 to 90: decide what to specialize in (lawn care, planting, hardscapes, tree work) and whether you need a pesticide license in your state.

Practice the estimating side with our calculators: mulch, gravel, concrete, deck boards and square footage.

7. Safety

BLS says: “Grounds maintenance work may be dangerous.” Workers using lawnmowers and chain saws must wear protective clothing, eyewear and earplugs; those applying pesticides or fertilizers need protective gear, sometimes including respirators. BLS also notes that “tree trimmers and pruners have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations.” Take the safety training your employer offers seriously.

8. Where it can lead

• Crew leader or supervisor: BLS says workers with formal education or several years of experience may advance.
• Your own business: “Some workers use their experience to start their own business, such as a landscaping company.” BLS reports that 20% of grounds maintenance workers are self-employed.
• Landscape architect: a separate, degree-based route with a state license. See the pay and outlook guide.

9. Your resume

Lead with reliability, safety, client communication and any hands-on work you have really done, such as volunteer planting or estimating materials for a project. For help reframing office experience, see Career Switch Tips, 10 Resume Summary Examples and our guide to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. When you are ready to apply, tailor each resume to the job post and use its words only for things you have really done. Next guide: Landscaping and Groundskeeping Pay and Job Outlook.

FAQ

Keep going

• Data guideLandscaping pay and job outlookPay by role and industry, growth and openings.
• Career-change guideOffice to outdoors: a career-change planReality check, skills and how to try it first.

Last checked: September 27, 2026. Figures are from the sources linked above; we will update them when BLS publishes new data.