Career Overview
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities. Work may involve reviewing contracts to ascertain service, machine, and workforce requirements; answering inquiries from potential customers regarding methods, material, and price ranges; and preparing estimates according to labor, material, and machine costs.
Also Known As
- Golf Course Superintendent
- Grounds Manager
- Grounds Supervisor
- Landscape Supervisor
Alternate Job Titles
- Arborist Crew Leader
- Buildings and Grounds Supervisor
- Cemetery Workers Supervisor
- Enhancement Manager
- Field Manager
- Gardening Manager
- Gardening Supervisor
- Golf Course Manager
- Golf Course Superintendent
- Greens Superintendent
- Greenskeeper Supervisor
- Grounds Crew Supervisor
- Grounds Foreman
- Grounds Maintenance Supervisor
- Grounds Manager
What You'll Do
In this role, your typical responsibilities include:
- Establish and enforce operating procedures and work standards that will ensure adequate performance and personnel safety.
- Schedule work for crews, depending on work priorities, crew or equipment availability, or weather conditions.
- Tour grounds, such as parks, botanical gardens, cemeteries, or golf courses, to inspect conditions of plants and soil.
- Monitor project activities to ensure that instructions are followed, deadlines are met, and schedules are maintained.
- Direct activities of workers who perform duties, such as landscaping, cultivating lawns, or pruning trees and shrubs.
- Inspect completed work to ensure conformance to specifications, standards, and contract requirements.
- Plant or maintain vegetation through activities such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, or pruning.
Emerging Responsibilities
As this field evolves, you may also:
- Repair irrigation systems.
Knowledge You'll Use
You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Personnel and Human Resources
Essential Skills
Success in this career requires strong skills in:
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
Key Abilities
This career requires key abilities in:
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
- Near Vision
- Visualization
- Speech Recognition
- Written Comprehension
- Speech Clarity
- Inductive Reasoning
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
Work Style
People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:
- Leadership Orientation
- Dependability
- Cooperation
- Attention to Detail
- Perseverance
What Matters in This Career
This career tends to satisfy these work values:
- Independence
- Relationships
- Working Conditions
- Achievement
- Support
Education & Preparation
Typical Education: Bachelor's Degree
Related Work Experience Needed: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month
Education Details: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Experience Required: Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Technology You'll Use
Popular Technologies & Software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
Tools & Equipment
- Adjustable hand wrenches
- Adjustable widemouth pliers
- Bed shapers
- Brick cutters
- Bucket trucks
- Chainsaws
- Claw hammers
- Cordless drills
- Desktop computers
- Dump trucks
- Equipment trailers
- Farm tractors
- Fertilizer spreaders
- Forklifts
- Garden spades
Work Environment
- Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Contact With Others
- Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities
Salary & Job Market
| Salary Percentile | Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | $39,270 |
| Median | $56,170 |
| Top Earners (90th percentile) | $83,080 |
Workers Employed Nationally: 124,130
Related Careers
If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
Education: Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)
Median Salary: $78,690
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers
Education: Bachelor's Degree
Median Salary: $59,330
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $78,300
First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $47,520
First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: Varies
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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.