dirtybearprince asked: Would you encourage someone with a career goal of working extensively with plants to pursue a major in horticultural science or botany? Is experience or formal education more important for opening up doors in the field? Is it justifiable? Some people seem to think it is a waste of time and money and there are no jobs in the field. When I bring up going to school for something other than healthcare or computer science, the blank stare I receive from people is kind of discouraging.
“Discouraging” is hitting the nail on the head. Being an English major, the responses I’d get when announcing my chosen track usually ran the gamut from sympathetic pats on the back to outright laughter. It was always a shot to the gut—being told to follow passion one minute and pragmatism the next. But empathy doesn’t answer your question, so I passed it along to a couple of our NYBG experts to see if they could offer any advice.
Naturally, these are their own opinions as individuals, separate from that of the NYBG itself. It’s likely some of our other botanists and horticulturists would have very different opinions based on their own experiences, as will others on Tumblr, and there’s plenty of debate to be had there (which is likely for naught—personal experience is just that: personal). But I hope you can glean something from these answers. —MN
Charles Yurgalevitch, Ph.D. — Director, School of Professional Horticulture
A lot depends on what you are interested in doing in a career. If you are interested in botany, then the types of jobs available would be field jobs, more research oriented. A person interested in a career in botany should probably get at least an MS degree, or preferably a Ph.D., but again, it all depends on what they want to do—teach or do research?
Horticulture is a more applied field of study. A horticulturist learns how to grow plants (fruits, vegetables, landscape plants) and why they grow the way they do. A horticulturist has more options available to them—continue for a graduate degree if interested in teaching and/or research, work for a nursery, landscape design/build firm, botanical garden, park or be self-employed. Horticulture is a broad field, where a person could specialize in trees (become a certified arborist), landscape plants, or food crops.
James Boyer, Ph.D. — Director of Children’s Education
I would say that I’m somewhat old school and new school on such issues (sorry about the impending soap box). I feel that people should pursue their passions if they are ever going to be satisfied with life. If plants are a passion then you should pursue it, but this doesn’t mean that you need to get a job in this area. Going to college is about becoming a “well-rounded” and educated individual, not just finding a job. You may pursue a plant passion as a volunteer, a hobby, or part-time and be completely satisfied.
With that said, I also feel that people need to be well-rounded with a set of skills that allows them to be adaptable. The modern world makes it difficult to just get a job as a botanist. You need to know how to market yourself, balance budget, learn how to write, argue ideas convincingly, etc. In my case, I have a Ph.D. in botany. I am not hired as a botanist at NYBG, but I have complete satisfaction with plants in my life. Toward the middle of graduate school I realized I was much more interested in the connections of plant-based and science education on the public, and I decided to explore this tangent while in graduate school. It is now my career, but I still get to “dabble” in science research and other science opportunities. I do not regret becoming a botanist. I feel I have a greater understanding of science because of getting this Ph.D., but I also don’t think this is the only route for enjoying plants or understanding science.
Ignore the nay-sayers and the dispassionate people with myopic views of “getting jobs.” I was a philosophy major in college, and a paleobotany student in graduate school. Based on that, I SHOULDN’T be employed according to most people. I would humbly say I have been successful in my career (so far). This was because I worked hard, constantly analyzed my next steps, found new niches and ideas to work in, and found passion in what I do.
There are many roads to happiness, but following your passion tends to lead you there…
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