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Career Details

37-3011.00 - Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers


Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.


Key Facts
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Bright Outlook
1
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
1,167,800
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
1,239,600
Estimate
Change in Employment
+71,700
Estimate
Change in Employment %
+6.1%
Estimate
Tasks
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Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Mow or edge lawns, using power mowers or edgers.
  • Care for established lawns by mulching, aerating, weeding, grubbing, removing thatch, or trimming or edging around flower beds, walks, or walls.
  • Use hand tools, such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, saws, hedge or brush trimmers, or axes.
  • Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.
  • Gather and remove litter.
  • Mix and spray or spread fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides onto grass, shrubs, or trees, using hand or automatic sprayers or spreaders.
  • Water lawns, trees, or plants, using portable sprinkler systems, hoses, or watering cans.
  • Trim or pick flowers and clean flower beds.
  • Rake, mulch, and compost leaves.
  • Follow planned landscaping designs to determine where to lay sod, sow grass, or plant flowers or foliage.
  • Plant seeds, bulbs, foliage, flowering plants, grass, ground covers, trees, or shrubs, and apply mulch for protection, using gardening tools.
  • Decorate gardens with stones or plants.
  • Attach wires from planted trees to support stakes.
  • Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.
Supplemental
  • Shovel snow from walks, driveways, or parking lots, and spread salt in those areas.
  • Maintain or repair tools, equipment, or structures, such as buildings, greenhouses, fences, or benches, using hand or power tools.
  • Provide proper upkeep of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, fountains, planters, burial sites, or other grounds features.
  • Maintain irrigation systems, including winterizing the systems and starting them up in spring.
  • Care for natural turf fields, making sure the underlying soil has the required composition to allow proper drainage and to support the grasses.
  • Use irrigation methods to adjust the amount of water consumption and to prevent waste.
  • Haul or spread topsoil, or spread straw over seeded soil to hold soil in place.
  • Advise customers on plant selection or care.
  • Care for artificial turf fields, periodically removing the turf and replacing cushioning pads or vacuuming and disinfecting the turf after use to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
  • Plan or cultivate lawns or gardens.
  • Install rock gardens, ponds, decks, drainage systems, irrigation systems, retaining walls, fences, planters, or playground equipment.
  • Mark design boundaries, and paint natural or artificial turf fields with team logos or names before events.
  • Build forms and mix and pour cement to form garden borders.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
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Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 English Language
  • 68%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Customer and Personal Service
  • 65%
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
 Chemistry
  • 60%
    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
 Mechanical
  • 59%
    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
 Public Safety and Security
  • 55%
    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
 Administration and Management
  • 53%
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 Biology
  • 52%
    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
 Mathematics
  • 50%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
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Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Holding and clamping tools
  • Adjustable widemouth pliers
 Wrenches and drivers
  • Adjustable wrenches
  • Screwdrivers
  • Socket wrenches
 Lifting equipment and accessories
  • Aerial lift trucks
  • Forklifts
  • Hydraulic booms
 Agriculture, forestry and garden handtools
  • Arena rakes
  • Artificial turf groomers
  • Axes
  • Dirt shovels
  • Flail mowers
  • Greens mowers
  • Hedge shears
  • Hedge trimmers
  • Hoes
  • Hydrostatic mowers
  • Infield grooming rakes
  • Iron rakes
  • Leaf rakes
  • Loppers
  • Manual mowers
  • Mulching forks
  • Pick axes
  • Pruners
  • Push mowers
  • Rakes
  • Riding mowers
  • Scuffle hoes
  • Shovels
  • Snow shovels
  • Sod lifters
  • Spades
  • Turf sweepers
 Earth moving machinery
  • Backhoes
  • Bucket loaders
  • Drag brooms
  • Drag leveling bars
  • Drag mats
  • Drag spikers
  • Front end loaders
  • Nail drags
  • Plow pan spikers
  • Snow blowers
  • X-drags
 Power tools
  • Backpack blowers
  • Chain saws
  • Hammer drills
  • Handheld power drills
  • Leaf blowers
  • Leaf-grinding machines
  • Line trimmers
  • Power drills
  • Power saws
  • String trimmers
  • Wood chippers
 Dispensing tools
  • Backpack pump sprayers
 Agricultural machinery for soil preparation
  • Box blades
  • Brush trimmers
  • Bunker rakes
  • Cultivators
  • Drawn box scrapers
  • Flexible chain-link harrows
  • Land levelers
  • Land planes
  • Landscape rakes
  • Power rakes
  • Reversible spike harrows
  • Soil pulverizers
  • Tillers
  • Turf rollers
  • Turf striping rollers
 Ladders and scaffolding
  • Extension ladders
  • Ladders
 Dispersing and spraying appliances for agriculture
  • Fertilizer spreaders
  • Hand spreaders
  • Pressurized sprayers
  • Salt spreaders
  • Sprinklers
  • Truck-mounted chemical sprayers
 Measuring and layout tools
  • Field layout systems
  • Measuring tapes
  • Mound slope gauges
 Drafting supplies
  • Field painting stencils
 Power generators
  • Gas generators
 Forming tools
  • Ground picks
  • Hammers
  • Rubber mallets
 Soil measuring equipment
  • Hex pluggers
  • Soil probes
  • Soil profilers
 Clamps
  • Oetiker clamps
 Paint applicators and painting accessories
  • Paint sprayguns
  • Wheeled paint sprayers
 Industrial trucks
  • Pallet trucks
 Paving equipment
  • Power sweepers
  • Tractor broom attachments
 Hearing protectors
  • Protective ear plugs
 Pumps
  • Puddle pumps
 Cleaning equipment
  • Roller squeegees
 Safety apparel
  • Safety gloves
 Welding machinery
  • Shielded arc welding tools
 Heavy equipment components
  • Snowplow attachments
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
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Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Content authoring and editing software
  • FacebookHOT
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
  • Microsoft WordHOT
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
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Certifications
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
 Specialty
 Core
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
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Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
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Online Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Mountain Empire Community College
Southside Virginia Community College