Also called: Gardener (Botanical Garden), Curator of Living Collections
Cares for the plant collections at a botanical garden, zoo, or estate, including rare and exotic species.
You might tend a conservatory of tropical orchids, propagate an endangered cactus, or design next spring's tulip display of 100,000 bulbs. Visitors constantly ask you questions, so you're part gardener, part teacher.
Estimate; curators earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Associate or bachelor's in horticulture; garden internships (like Longwood Gardens) help a lot.
Ways in: 4-year college, 2-year college, Apprenticeship. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Horticulture, Botany, Plant Science.
Growing about average.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps track plant records; caring for rare plants and teaching visitors stay hands-on and human.
Classes: Biology, Horticulture CTE, Art.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.