Green House Assistant

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Green House Assistant

Career Overview

For those that love to work with plants a career as a green house assistant may be just the career for you. This is a specialized job that includes all aspects of caring for plants as well as managing and maintaining the actual physical space used to grow the plants.

Green house assistants may be involved in seed collecting and planning, starting cuttings, data collection and record keeping, data analysis as well as implementing research protocols and procedures along a set timeline or experimental design.

Green house assistants may also be required to do general care and maintenance of the actual facility. This may require some heavy lifting, basic understanding of repairs, some engineering experience or basic soil and plant science training and education. Often green house assistants help with the development and implementation of research projects depending on the type and stage of the research.

Some green house assistants are also involved and responsible for public education and providing information about the greenhouse and the plants found within.

Career Requirements

Often there are no specific requirements for a green house assistant although many agencies, both in the private and public sector, require a science background with an emphasis on plant science, horticulture, or soil science. In addition experience working with plants and a strong biology, chemistry and life science background is considered a strong asset.

A green house assistant must be self-motivated, able to complete basic repairs, able to work without direct supervision and able to follow both written and verbal orders or requests accurately and within the provided guidelines.

Often the green house assistant will need to apply specific amounts of water, light, fertilizers or chemicals to various plants or may be required to make cuttings or preserve samples of plants or plant tissue at critical times in the research project.

Job Outlook

With all research based jobs there is a constant steady demand for trained and experienced individuals within both the private and governmental sectors of the economy. As more pharmaceutical companies move towards natural products and herbal medicines and treatments there is an increased need for green house assistants to care for the plants during trials and experimental phases.

Career Track

Green house assistants can move into management positions within the green house facility or may also continue their education and achieve Bachelor or higher level degrees in Plant Science or Horticulture. Many green house assistants are graduate students or undergrads that are working to gain experience for their graduate work.

Green house assistants are also employed in the private sector in commercial green houses, botanical gardens and other plant based industries such as commercial vegetable and fruit production.

Compensation

Green house assistant is usually considered an entry level position and the starting salary ranges between $10.00 and $14.00 per hour, depending on experience. A more senior green house assistant can earn up to $36,000 per year, especially in a private sector or pharmaceutical job.

The job may require some weekend work but rarely includes night shifts or extended overtime hours. Compensation is usually provided for extended hours or weekend shifts.