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The differences between irrigation technicians and grounds people can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an irrigation technician and a grounds person. Additionally, an irrigation technician has an average salary of $35,472, which is higher than the $33,955 average annual salary of a grounds person.
The top three skills for an irrigation technician include golf courses, trenchers and sprinkler heads. The most important skills for a grounds person are ladders, PPE, and CDL.
| Irrigation Technician | Grounds Person | |
| Yearly salary | $35,472 | $33,955 |
| Hourly rate | $17.05 | $16.32 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 27,291 | 37,122 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | High School Diploma, 55% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An irrigation technician is responsible for installing, testing, and maintaining irrigation equipment such as sprinklers, suction valves, and pumps. Typical duties for this position include operating heavy machinery for trenching, installing wiring systems for irrigation timers, and inspecting equipment for a day's work. In addition, an irrigation technician may be required to travel to the client's location to install, test, or perform preventative maintenance of irrigation equipment. You are also expected to dig trenches and install lines and pipes and troubleshoot and replace faulty parts.
A grounds person is responsible for the overall upkeep of an institution's grounds, public parks, and other similar areas. They are usually employed in schools, especially in schools with provisions for outdoor sports or lawn sports such as soccer, golf, tennis, and football, among others. A grounds person is in charge of the maintenance of the grass on the lawn, of the repairs and maintenance of fixtures such as lights, benches, and fountains, and even of the cleanliness of the area. As such, it is expected that a grounds person is familiar with taking care of plants, conducting routine maintenance work, and repairing fixtures.
Irrigation technicians and grounds people have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Irrigation Technician | Grounds Person | |
| Average salary | $35,472 | $33,955 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Concord, CA | Waltham, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | San Diego College of Continuing Education | Schnitzer Steel |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an irrigation technician and a grounds person in terms of educational background:
| Irrigation Technician | Grounds Person | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | High School Diploma, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | General Studies |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between irrigation technicians' and grounds people' demographics:
| Irrigation Technician | Grounds Person | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% | Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 26.0% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 2.2% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |