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The differences between lawn care workers and irrigation technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a lawn care worker and an irrigation technician. Additionally, an irrigation technician has an average salary of $35,472, which is higher than the $29,667 average annual salary of a lawn care worker.
The top three skills for a lawn care worker include GRASS, mowing and water lawns. The most important skills for an irrigation technician are golf courses, trenchers, and sprinkler heads.
| Lawn Care Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $29,667 | $35,472 |
| Hourly rate | $14.26 | $17.05 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 88,268 | 27,291 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A lawn care worker specializes in enhancing and maintaining the cleanliness of gardens and landscapes. Most of the responsibilities will require manual work and attention to detail, along with time management. The majority of the tasks will revolve around mowing and cleaning lawns, trimming trees and other plants, maintaining flower beds, and sometimes cleaning garden fixtures. A lawn care worker may also apply pesticides and other chemicals, install ponds or irrigation, recommend fertilizers, and operate different devices or equipment.
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.
Lawn care workers and irrigation technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lawn Care Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Average salary | $29,667 | $35,472 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $38,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fargo, ND | Concord, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Lawn Doctor | San Diego College of Continuing Education |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Construction |
There are a few differences between a lawn care worker and an irrigation technician in terms of educational background:
| Lawn Care Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lawn care workers' and irrigation technicians' demographics:
| Lawn Care Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.5% Female, 22.5% | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 1.5% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |