Good things take time and your career goals are no exception. If you want to get something done, you have to do it right! A career in landscape design can be lucrative but most people cannot simply hop into the career with no issue. As with many careers, getting started in your landscape design career can take time, and there are not many concrete estimates on just how long it takes. Everybody works at their own pace, after all! With so many vague time estimates, people can be left wondering just how long it takes to become a landscape designer.
On average, it takes four to six years to become a landscape designer if you elect to pursue a full college degree. With a bachelor’s degree, you will likely still need a few years of experience to qualify for most positions, meaning that two years of landscaping work on top of a regular four-year program would add up to six years. If you choose to not pursue a degree, you may take three to four years to become a landscape designer as employers will be more concerned with your experience. While it may take less time overall, it means you will require more time in the field and you will make less money- never underestimate the power of a degree!
As with most careers, the time it may take for you to achieve a position as a landscape designer is dependent on the route you take. Forsaking a degree may technically take less time but it will make you less money while going the extra mile and getting a degree will take longer but net you more money. You are not limited by bachelor’s degrees, either! If a college offers a master’s program in landscape design or another horticulture-related field, you can pursue a master’s degree. This new degree may take extra time to pursue your goals, but it will net you far more money. If you are interested in all of the factors that affect how long it takes to become a landscape designer, read on!
Education
You are not limited by degrees! If a college offers a master’s program in landscape design or another horticulture-related field, you can pursue a master’s degree. This new degree may take extra time to pursue your goals, but it will net you far more money!
As mentioned earlier, the length of time it takes to become a landscape designer will mostly depend on the amount of time you dedicate to your education. For obvious reasons, this results in your education being the single largest factor in the length of your career.
While a complete lack of education can result in needing two or three years to build a reputation and credentials as a talented and reliable landscape designer, pursuing a degree can take upwards of four years, depending on how many courses you choose to take per semester.
This may seem like a longer amount of time, but the investment would widely be considered to be worth it, as degree-holders are often given higher ranks in a company and start with higher pay. This means that four years of effort can get you far more money than somebody with three years of effort- the difference in pay is a lot higher than the difference in years. It’s a great deal if you can take it!
Most bachelor’s degrees are structured to be completed in four years, though you can adjust your workload to complete your degree in more or less time depending on your needs. The only limit is how many classes you can afford to take, financially and mentally. If you can afford to take ten classes per semester, that’s great! However, taking more than the recommended amount of classes per year can lead to a lot of stress, and so in this case you will have to balance your desires with your capabilities.
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Internships
Internships are not as much a factor in your timeframe as your college degree is, but depending on the internship you choose, they can take up a significant amount of time!
The average length of internships is 3-4 months, often coinciding with a college student’s summer break so that the student can focus on the internship rather than worry about their classwork and vice versa. However, internships differ depending on the company and the position. Some internships can be as short as a few days, while others can last a year or longer. These longer internships are ideal for students fresh out of college to get more experience before searching for a full-time job, while the shorter ones are optimal for students who elect to take summer courses and only have a few days between their spring and summer semesters.
Longer internships help prove that your labor is worth keeping over an extended period, and internships lasting from three months to a year will inevitably look better to any employer. At the very least, taking an internship should extend your timeframe by no less than three months but no more than a year.
Internships are not required for your degree or employment in general, but it is widely considered to be a good idea and heartily recommended by most experts in the field. Internships can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as through personal connections, through school partnerships, or even by applying to a company like any other job.
Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door, offering a way to build connections, network in the industry, and gain valuable experience in the field. If you’re lucky, you can even leverage your internship to get you a full-time career in landscape design! However, that is reaching a bit far for this section- you’ll read more about that in just a moment.
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The Job Market
You can ask anybody who has had to look for a job in recent years- the job market is a pain to deal with! Hunting for a job can be like hunting for a relationship; you might put out hundreds of applications but you’ll only hear back from two of them, and not even those are guaranteed.
Experts estimate that, in any field, the average time to find a job is around 8 weeks- though some people can go months, if not years, without finding any stable employment! The eight-week average seems to be rising to five or six months, much to the chagrin of many job-hunters. If you’ve had to find a job recently, you understand that pain!
Thankfully, if you’ve gone through an internship, you already have a good in with any company. If you performed well at your internship, most companies would be more than happy to hire you for an official position! An internship is a great way to network and make connections within the industry, so that even if there are no positions available in the company you interned with, they may know another company that is hiring. Leveraging your internship is a great way to reduce your job search time from several months to a matter of weeks if not days!
In Conclusion
To break it all down, it can take upwards of four years to become a landscape designer, and that just consists of receiving your college degree. Internships and job hunting, take upwards of five and a half years, though this is less certain as internships and job hunting both have varying timeframes.
If you want to become certified in your field, certain associations such as the Association of Professional Landscape Designers often require four years of experience for certification. Unless you manage to get your four years of experience in while at college, this can lead to you requiring upwards of eight years to reach your goals!
Luckily, certification is not required, though it certainly helps your chances of future employment. Ultimately, landscape design is not a particularly difficult field to get to and does not take too long. If you set your sights on this goal and are determined to see it through, you will become a landscape designer in no time! Good luck on your journey in landscape design!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I pursue a higher degree than a Bachelor’s, or would that be extra work for no results?
If you have the time and money to pursue a higher degree in something like landscape design or horticulture, it is a great idea! It can take more time, but people with higher degrees can enter higher-ranking positions and get better pay almost immediately!
What are the best ways to get an internship?
If you are in college, many businesses will partner with colleges to offer internships to students in their fields- and this goes for far more than just landscape designers! For any college student, their school may have a career services department that can help land them a stellar internship. For potential land designers outside of college, using personal connections may be your best bet- if you know somebody in your family who has an industry connection, approach them and ask about interning in their company.
To learn more on how you can start your own landscaping business, check out my startup documents here.
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Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Landscape Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a landscape business owner at a job site, driving down the road or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Landscaping Business Boss: I want to help landscape business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.