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Building & grounds

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

Typically requires No formal educational credential

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyLow uncertainty

Analyst take: Softer prospects — +3.6% projected growth, low AI exposure (2/100).

38
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Low uncertainty means the score leans mostly on measured data (growth, pay) rather than forward-looking bets, so it's comparatively solid.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (2% of tasks exposed).
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 62% of careers (+3.6%).
🐻 Bears say
  • Below-median pay ($38,090).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +6.1% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +2.1%. The forecast held up well — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+3.6%
Median pay
$38,090
AI exposure
2/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 167 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$32,402
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$25,000
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.3×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Golf Course Operation and Grounds ManagementApplied Horticulture/Horticultural Business Services
Selective schools offering these majors
College of the Ozarks
MO · 12% admit rate
$33,734/yr
$41,592 grad pay
University of Florida
FL · 24% admit rate
$22,523/yr
$71,588 grad pay
Florida State University
FL · 24% admit rate
$25,720/yr
$61,675 grad pay
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · 31% admit rate
$32,265/yr
$90,768 grad pay
University of Georgia
GA · 38% admit rate
$27,993/yr
$68,726 grad pay
Clemson University
SC · 38% admit rate
$35,015/yr
$71,513 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

servicehands-on