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Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Mix and spray or spread fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides onto grass, shrubs, or trees, using hand or automatic sprayers or spreaders.
    • Mow or edge lawns, using power mowers or edgers.
    • Trim or pick flowers and clean flower beds.
    • Install rock gardens, ponds, decks, drainage systems, irrigation systems, retaining walls, fences, planters, or playground equipment.
    • Shovel snow from walks, driveways, or parking lots, and spread salt in those areas.
    • Gather and remove litter.
    • Maintain or repair tools, equipment, or structures, such as buildings, greenhouses, fences, or benches, using hand or power tools.
    • Build forms and mix and pour cement to form garden borders.
    • Decorate gardens with stones or plants.
    • Rake, mulch, and compost leaves.
    • Plant seeds, bulbs, foliage, flowering plants, grass, ground covers, trees, or shrubs, and apply mulch for protection, using gardening tools.
    • Maintain irrigation systems, including winterizing the systems and starting them up in spring.
    • Care for natural turf fields, making sure the underlying soil has the required composition to allow proper drainage and to support the grasses.
    • Trim or pick flowers and clean flower beds.
    • Care for artificial turf fields, periodically removing the turf and replacing cushioning pads or vacuuming and disinfecting the turf after use to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
    • Haul or spread topsoil, or spread straw over seeded soil to hold soil in place.
    • Use irrigation methods to adjust the amount of water consumption and to prevent waste.
    • Build forms and mix and pour cement to form garden borders.
    • Water lawns, trees, or plants, using portable sprinkler systems, hoses, or watering cans.
    • Use hand tools, such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, saws, hedge or brush trimmers, or axes.
    • Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.
    • Mix and spray or spread fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides onto grass, shrubs, or trees, using hand or automatic sprayers or spreaders.
    • Plant seeds, bulbs, foliage, flowering plants, grass, ground covers, trees, or shrubs, and apply mulch for protection, using gardening tools.
    • Mow or edge lawns, using power mowers or edgers.
    • Plan or cultivate lawns or gardens.
    • Attach wires from planted trees to support stakes.
    • Follow planned landscaping designs to determine where to lay sod, sow grass, or plant flowers or foliage.
    • Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.
    • Advise customers on plant selection or care.
    • Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.
    • Care for established lawns by mulching, aerating, weeding, grubbing, removing thatch, or trimming or edging around flower beds, walks, or walls.
    • Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.
    • Mix and spray or spread fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides onto grass, shrubs, or trees, using hand or automatic sprayers or spreaders.

    Skills

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    Knowledge

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 36100/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 17.36/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 42,650
    • Yearly Projected Openings 5470

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Self Control
    • Dependability
    • Achievement/Effort

    Tools

    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Agricultural tractors
    • All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
    • Axes
    • Backhoes
    • Cable reels
    • Cargo trucks
    • Concrete mixers or plants
    • Cultivators
    • Draglines
    • Dump trucks
    • Ear clamps
    • Ear plugs
    • Fertilizer spreaders or distributors
    • Forestry saws
    • Forklifts
    • Front end loaders
    • Garden forks
    • Gas generators
    • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
    • Goggles
    • Graders or land levelers
    • Grinding wheels
    • Hammers
    • Hand sprayers
    • Handheld thermometer
    • Harrows
    • Hedge clippers
    • Hoes
    • Hydraulic truck cranes
    • Ladders
    • Lawnmowers
    • Levels
    • Measuring wheels for distance
    • Paint sprayers
    • Pallet trucks
    • Picks
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Power blowers
    • Power chippers
    • Power drills
    • Power saws
    • Power trimmers
    • Precision file
    • Protective gloves
    • Rakes
    • Rollers for lawn or sports grounds
    • Rubber mallet
    • Saws
    • Screwdrivers
    • Scrubbing machines
    • Secateurs or pruning shears
    • Seeder attachment
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Shovels
    • Snow blowers
    • Snowplow attachments
    • Sockets
    • Soil core sampling apparatus
    • Spades
    • Sprayers
    • Squeegees or washers
    • Stencils or lettering aids
    • Tape measures
    • Tarpaulins
    • Trowels
    • Water pumps
    • Water sprinklers
    • Weeders
    • Wheel loaders

    Technology

    • Electronic mail software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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