To pursue a career in greenhouse operation, individuals typically need a certificate or an associate or bachelor's degree in this field. Many community colleges and technical schools offer one-year certificate or two-year associate's degree programs in greenhouse management, while universities might incorporate greenhouse management courses into four-year degree programs focusing on botany, horticulture or agriculture studies. Many universities also offer extension programs in agriculture management. However, the associate degree is the most common route for this career field. To get into this type of program, a student typically needs a high school diploma or GED as well as competitive standardized test scores.
Classes in a greenhouse operation training program cover topics such as marketing, business administration, economics and agricultural management. Students learn the day-to-day functions for which they are responsible when overseeing the business of a greenhouse. Their other classes might include inventory control, training/supervision and retail sales, along with pathology, fertilizer application, climate control and irrigation. Other classes cover plant nutrition as well as plant-breeding and cross-hybridization. Classes additionally can focus on herbaceous plants, entomology, greenhouse pot plant production and soil management. These classes prepare students to choose seeds for planting, to maintain greenhouse facilities, to train and supervise workers and to maintain and order supplies. Students also learn how to comply with safety and environmental regulations.
Many programs additionally offer lab and internship experiences, according to the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute, which offers an associate degree program in greenhouse production and management. Internships can involve several weeks of full-time employment in a greenhouse or nursery business, and students actually can be paid. Through the internship experience, students gain hands-on training in running a greenhouse and handling plant care procedures, and they are graded on their job performance for academic credit.
After completing a greenhouse operation training program, graduates can find work on corporate farms, for garden centers, in greenhouses or for horticultural companies. Other individuals pursue jobs in crop production, pesticide application or plant propagation. Still, other program graduates become lawn and garden equipment supply store managers or nursery managers. These professionals can work for research organizations, universities, plant wholesalers or agricultural companies. Their titles can include greenhouse grower, technician, production specialist or manager. They also can work in sales, public horticulture or consulting.
Employment of agricultural managers is expected to grow by about 6 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median expected salary for a typical nursery or greenhouse manager in late 2009 was $40,414, according to Salary.com.