Degree to Occupation Map
Occupations related to a horticulture degree
NCES and BLS publish a crosswalk relating instructional programs to occupations. This page lists every occupation that crosswalk relates to horticulture, with the BLS typical entry education, 2025 median wage and projected growth for each, and links to the RoleSprint page covering the role where one exists.
What occupations does the official crosswalk relate to a horticulture degree?
The CIP 2020-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk published by NCES and BLS relates 10 CIP 2020 programs in horticulture to 9 occupations. That maps a field of study to lines of work; it is not a statement that a horticulture degree qualifies someone for any of them, and the crosswalk carries no figure for how many graduates enter each. Across the 9 with a published 2025 BLS wage the median is $58,430, ranging from $39,150 for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers to $98,700 for Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary. BLS typical entry-level education splits 1 at no formal educational credential, 6 at high school diploma or equivalent, 1 at master's degree, 1 at doctoral or professional degree: 7 at or below a bachelor's degree and 2 above it. Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is projected to grow fastest at +4.7% over 2025-35. The highest-paid are Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary ($98,700), Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers ($89,900) and Farm and Home Management Educators ($60,220).
- Related occupations
- 9, from 10 CIP 2020 programs in horticulture (a further 1 related occupation has no BLS or O*NET row on this site and are not listed)
- What the mapping means
- NCES states only that it "crosswalks 2020 CIP Codes to 2018 SOC Codes". It relates a program to an occupation. It does not establish qualification, hiring, or how many graduates take that path.
- BLS typical entry-level education
- No formal educational credential: 1; High school diploma or equivalent: 6; Master's degree: 1; Doctoral or professional degree: 1
- Median wage across these occupations
- $58,430 (2025); 9 of 9 have a published BLS wage
- Next step
- 3 of the 9 occupations have a dedicated RoleSprint page covering what the role requires and how the work is performed.
Source and method
2020 CIP / 2018 SOC Crosswalk, National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-06. Program-to-occupation relationships are reproduced from the NCES/BLS crosswalk exactly as published; RoleSprint groups CIP programs into the field of study a person would search for and lists the union of their related occupations, showing every member CIP code. Wage, typical entry education and outlook are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code. Working-condition figures are O*NET 30.3 means. No relationship strength, employment share or qualification judgement is published, because no source supplies one.
What this list is, and what it is not
The crosswalk's own description of itself is one sentence: “This file crosswalks 2020 CIP Codes to 2018 SOC Codes in ascending order by CIP Code.” It relates a field of study to lines of work.
It does not say a horticulture degree qualifies anyone for these occupations, that graduates usually enter them, or what share do: the crosswalk publishes no such figure. The wage and education columns come from a separate source, BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, and describe the occupation rather than the degree. Typical entry education is what BLS observes most often among people already doing the work; it is not a rule about who may be hired.
The 9 related occupations
Ordered by BLS median wage, highest first. 9 of 9 have a published wage.
| Occupation | BLS typical entry-level education | Median wage | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary SOC 25-1041 Contact with others 4.2 · Time pressure 3.6 · Sitting 4.0 · Outdoors, all weather 2.5 of 5 | Doctoral or professional degree Above bachelor's | $98,700 2025 median | +2.9% 2025-35 · 0.8 openings/yr |
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers SOC 11-9013 Contact with others 4.3 · Time pressure 3.5 · Sitting 2.4 · Outdoors, all weather 4.8 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $89,900 2025 median | -3.4% 2025-35 · 70.8 openings/yr |
Farm and Home Management Educators SOC 25-9021 Contact with others 4.4 · Time pressure 3.2 · Sitting 3.5 · Outdoors, all weather 3.4 of 5 | Master's degree Above bachelor's | $60,220 2025 median | -3.2% 2025-35 · 0.8 openings/yr |
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers SOC 45-1011 Contact with others 4.3 · Time pressure 3.9 · Sitting 2.7 · Outdoors, all weather 4.5 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $59,320 2025 median | +3.8% 2025-35 · 7.2 openings/yr |
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers SOC 37-1012 Contact with others 4.6 · Time pressure 4.3 · Sitting 2.3 · Outdoors, all weather 5.0 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $58,430 2025 median | +4% 2025-35 · 23.9 openings/yr |
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers SOC 41-1011 Contact with others 4.8 · Time pressure 4.2 · Sitting 2.3 · Outdoors, all weather 2.0 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $48,520 2025 median | -3.7% 2025-35 · 113.5 openings/yr |
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation SOC 37-3012 Contact with others 3.6 · Time pressure 4.2 · Sitting 2.5 · Outdoors, all weather 4.8 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $46,340 2025 median | +3.9% 2025-35 · 3.3 openings/yr |
Forest and Conservation Workers SOC 45-4011 Contact with others 4.3 · Time pressure 3.0 · Sitting 2.5 · Outdoors, all weather 4.7 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $43,680 2025 median | -1.5% 2025-35 · 2.2 openings/yr |
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers SOC 37-3011 Contact with others 3.2 · Time pressure 3.3 · Sitting 1.8 · Outdoors, all weather 5.0 of 5 | No formal educational credential At or below bachelor's | $39,150 2025 median | +4.7% 2025-35 · 149.5 openings/yr |
The crosswalk relates 1 further occupation to this field (99-9999) for which BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 publishes no line item on this site. They are counted here rather than listed, because there would be nothing to show beside the name.
BLS typical entry-level education for these occupations
7 of the 9 have a BLS typical entry-level education at or below a bachelor's degree; 2 are above it. "Typical" is BLS's word: it describes the workers already in the occupation.
- No formal educational credential
- 1
- High school diploma or equivalent
- 6
- Master's degree
- 1
- Doctoral or professional degree
- 1
This is BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2's description of the education most workers in each occupation typically hold when they enter it. It is not a list of requirements, and it says nothing about licences, certifications or experience, which BLS records separately and this page does not show.
Which programs this covers
“Horticulture” groups 10 CIP 2020 instructional programs. The occupation list above is the union of everything the crosswalk relates to them.
- 01.0601 Applied Horticulture/Horticulture Operations, General
- 01.0603 Ornamental Horticulture
- 01.0604 Greenhouse Operations and Management
- 01.0605 Landscaping and Groundskeeping
- 01.0606 Plant Nursery Operations and Management
- 01.0607 Turf and Turfgrass Management
- 01.0608 Floriculture/Floristry Operations and Management
- 01.0609 Public Horticulture
- 01.0610 Urban and Community Horticulture
- 01.0699 Applied Horticulture/Horticultural Business Services, Other
Grouping is RoleSprint's, and it is printed here so it can be checked. CIP's own grain is finer than the phrase anyone searches; the alternative is one page per code, which would put near-identical lists in front of the same question. How this map is built.
Working out which of these is realistic
A related occupation is a starting point, not a verdict. Three different questions decide whether one is worth pursuing, and each has its own page.
Program-to-occupation relationships from the 2020 CIP / 2018 SOC Crosswalk, National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage, typical entry education and outlook from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Working-condition figures from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA and RoleSprint has modified some of this information.
What to do next
A crosswalk relates a field of study to lines of work. Whether one specific opening is worth your time depends on what you can actually show, which is a different question and the one RoleSprint answers.