How To Become A Nursery Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a nursery worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a nursery worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.02 an hour? That's $27,083 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 6,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreNursery WorkerUS Average

Salary

2.1

Avg. Salary $27,083

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

3.2

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.17%

Asian 1.81%

Black or African American 4.28%

Hispanic or Latino 28.18%

Unknown 3.05%

White 61.51%

Gender

female 77.81%

male 22.19%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

3.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a nursery worker

Explore nursery worker education requirements

Most common nursery worker degrees

Bachelor's

43.4 %

High School Diploma

24.5 %

Associate

20.8 %

Start to develop specific nursery worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Pigs	18.05%
Water Plants	11.04%
CPR	10.86%
Child Care	10.20%
Church Services	7.73%

Complete relevant nursery worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New nursery workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a nursery worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real nursery worker resumes.

Research nursery worker duties and responsibilities

Haul and spread topsoil, fertilizer, and other materials to condition soil, using wheelbarrows and shovels.
Service the work trucks by checking the oil and gas, same with the weed eaters and the lawn mowers.
Earn a CPR and varous other certifications.
Work on the installation crew installing sprinklers and landscaping.

Prepare your nursery worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your nursery worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a nursery worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable nursery worker resume templates

Build a professional nursery worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your nursery worker resume.