How To Become A Grower: What It Is and Career Path

What is a grower and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

S. Cory Tanner

Growers usually like plants, which is a good thing because they spend their whole day around them. Growers work in greenhouses, fields, and anywhere a company grows crops and ensures that its plants are healthy and thriving. They work with flowers and other decorative plants or food crops. In states where certain substances are legal, growers can make lucrative careers growing the specific green, leafy plant.

The grower's daily tasks include anything involving the health of their plants. This can consist of preparing space to plant seedlings, monitoring conditions in the planting area to ensure optimal growing conditions, and checking plants for any diseases that could kill the crop. They also work with fertilizers, irrigation systems, and other tools of the trade.

Growers need to know a lot about helping plants grow, and that kind of knowledge doesn't usually come overnight. In fact, many growers have an associate's or bachelor's degree in horticulture or a related field. They also have a lot of practical experience working with our green leafy friends.

What general advice would you give to a Grower?

S. Cory Tanner

Horticulture Program Team Director, Clemson University

Gain practical, hands-on horticulture experience through internships, co-ops, summer jobs, etc. No amount of academic training substitutes for “hands in the soil.”

ScoreGrowerUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,332

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

3.2

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.15%

Asian 1.79%

Black or African American 4.11%

Hispanic or Latino 22.90%

Unknown 3.04%

White 67.01%

Gender

female 36.20%

male 63.80%

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

4.3

Complexity Level is basic

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

2.7

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Grower in Columbus, OH

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a grower

Explore grower education requirements

Most common grower degrees

Bachelor's

52.0 %

Associate

20.3 %

High School Diploma

16.0 %

Start to develop specific grower skills

Skills	Percentages
Harvest	24.64%
Cleanliness	11.70%
Pesticide Applications	6.94%
Marijuana	6.26%
Greenhouse Environment	5.82%

Complete relevant grower training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New growers 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 grower based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real grower resumes.

Research grower duties and responsibilities

Manage controlled environments and greenhouses for research on corn, soy, and wheat plants.
Provide back-up for lab crew with assisting in PCR, DNA extraction, seed plating and stocking solutions.
Work on plants, clone, up pot, feed, water.
Propagate cannabis plants from seed and clone.

Prepare your grower resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your grower 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 grower resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Grower Resume templates

Build a professional Grower 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 Grower resume.

Apply for grower jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a grower job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do growers rate their job?

3/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Grower reviews

3.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019

Pros

1)repetitive tasks 2) fence repair is jigsaw puzzles waiting to fix 3) Grow crops as well raise goats 4) Goats tend to bounce back unlike most livestock 5)no commute necessary

Cons

1) not for impatient 2) anti-goat people 3)gophers and rats 4) stormy weather, you have go in while someone somewhere must be in cooped up in office your out there in nature being rained on knee deep in mud trying figure out who escaped.