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The differences between yard 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 yard worker and an irrigation technician. Additionally, an irrigation technician has an average salary of $35,472, which is higher than the $32,628 average annual salary of a yard worker.
The top three skills for a yard worker include OSHA, basic math and strong customer service. The most important skills for an irrigation technician are golf courses, trenchers, and sprinkler heads.
| Yard Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $32,628 | $35,472 |
| Hourly rate | $15.69 | $17.05 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 63,408 | 27,291 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A yard worker provides landscape maintenance services to homes and establishments. Their responsibilities typically include meeting with clients to identify their needs and landscape preferences, mowing lawns, growing plants and trees, applying pesticides and fertilizers, operating irrigation systems, and maintaining grounds clean and presentable. There are also instances when a yard worker may participate in installing fixtures such as ponds, topiaries, lighting, Christmas ornaments, and other decorations in adherence to the directives of clients or management.
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.
Yard workers and irrigation technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Yard Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Average salary | $32,628 | $35,472 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $39,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Concord, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Rasmussen Co Inc | San Diego College of Continuing Education |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Construction |
There are a few differences between a yard worker and an irrigation technician in terms of educational background:
| Yard Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between yard workers' and irrigation technicians' demographics:
| Yard Worker | Irrigation Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3% | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | 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% |