Floral designer essential career information:
- 2012 median pay: $23,810
- 2012, number of jobs: 47,110
- Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: -9 percent
- Entry-level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
Floral designers; what they do:
Floral designers often create flower arrangements for important life events in our culture, such as weddings, graduations, birthdays, and other celebrations, banquets, or ceremonies. Floral designer careers include arranging live, dried, and silk flowers in beautiful arrangements for decorative purposes.
Floral designers know the appropriate seasons for different flowers, as well as average sizes, color variations, and needed conditions to maintain optimal flower health.
Some floral designers grow their own flowers, while others work with a wholesaler. Floral designer careers include meeting a customer’s needs for a specific flower. In many cases, clients ask floral designers for their expert opinion or recommendations of flowers, colors, and locations of arrangements. Floral designing careers include meeting directly with customers and making every effort to work within the customer’s budget.
Floral designers also perform care and maintenance on their flowers, including watering them, stripping leaves below the waterline, mixing flower food solutions, and cleaning workspaces.
Floral designers who own their own shop also deal with management tasks, budgeting, ordering supplies, scheduling events with customers and taxes.
Floral designers job titles:
- Wedding floral designer
- Florist
- Flower shop laborer/designer
- Floral artist
Floral Designers Education, Certification and License Requirements
A floral designer career requires a high school diploma or equivalent. Floral designers generally learn their trade from on-the-job training.
Private floral schools, vocational schools, and community colleges offer floral design and floriculture programs; they offer certification or a diploma upon completion. Some schools provide an Associate of Floral Design or Bachelor of Floral Design.
Floral designers may earn the Certified Floral Designer certification through the American Institute of Floral Designers; it’s a voluntary certification.
Floral designer programs cover subjects such as:
- Flower and plant identification
- Floral design concepts
- Advertising
- Business courses
- Greenhouse
Career Advancement Opportunities
Floral designers with formal design
training can obtain a chief floral designer or
supervisor position or open their own business.
Floral Designers Job Outlook
Forecast: Nine percent decline in employment from 2010 to 2020 for floral designers. Fewer people purchase elaborate floral designs and, instead, purchase fresh flowers from markets, grocery stores, and general merchandise stores.
Floral Designers Salary
- 2012 median annual wage: $23,810
- 2012, workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $29,710
- 2012, workers at the 25% percentile annual wage: $19,730
Major Employers
- Floral shops
- Grocery stores
- Merchant wholesalers
- General merchandise stores
