Job Description for Groundskeeper
Groundskeepers are responsible for the general maintenance of the landscape of an outdoor sporting facility, including football fields, baseball fields, tennis courts and golf courses. They also perform lawn and gardening maintenance on public parks, gardens and recreational areas. This may include trimming hedges, planting trees and performing general pest-control duties throughout the facility.
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Education and Training
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008 the majority of groundskeepers had little or no education beyond their high school diploma or GED. There's often just a short period of training. However, many groundskeepers who perform pest-control duties are required to obtain a state pest-control certification for applying pesticides to plants and vegetation.
Required Skills
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Groundskeepers must have a sense of personal responsibility---they're often left to manage the maintenance of an outdoor facility with little or no direct supervision for the entire workday. They also must be able to operate machinery such as lawnmowers and weed eaters, in addition to hand tools such as hedgers, trimmers, shovels and rakes. Basic mathematical skills are required for calibrating pesticide spray machines.
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Work Environment
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Groundskeeping work is physically demanding. There's a lot of repetitive bending, lifting, digging and walking for long periods of time. Groundskeepers work outdoors in all kinds of weather, including both hot and dry and cold and wet conditions. It's for this reason that groundskeepers should be physically fit to handle the physical demands of the job. There's very little danger involved (only when the groundskeeper is applying pesticides). According to StateUniversity.com, a groundskeeper's hours can be irregular and may depend on weather conditions and the type of work that needs to be completed.
Compensation
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According to PayScale.com, the average groundskeeper earns anywhere from $9 to $14 per hour, depending upon the groundskeeper's employer and experience. This translates roughly to an annual salary of $20,000 to $32,000.
Job Growth
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Grounds maintenance jobs are expected to grow by 18 percent through the year 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook. In comparison to most of the occupations surveyed in the handbook that have a growth rate of about 13 percent, this expected growth rate is significant.
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References
- Photo Credit Gardener. Watering. image by Alexander Ivanov from Fotolia.com
