Career Explorer Buildings and grounds
Grows with AI
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
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.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 66% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.0% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement and physical dexterity.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $58,430
- Job growth to 2035
- +4.0%
- Openings a year
- 23,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 243,000
- Usual route in
- High school diploma
Where people already use AI for this work
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
- Explain technical details of products or services
- Investigate organizational or operational problems
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Supervise personnel activities
- Maintain operational records
- Inspect completed work or finished products
What the work looks like
- 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.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Animal control workersHuman edge, growing, Index 75, +4.0%
- ElectriciansHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +9.2%
- Aircraft cargo handling supervisorsHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +9.2%
- Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialistsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +13.1%
Also known as: Golf Course Superintendent, Grounds Manager, Grounds Supervisor, Landscape Supervisor, Field Manager, Grounds Crew Supervisor, Grounds Foreman, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.