Interior landscaper to landscape designer
An interior landscaper already meets 29% of what the landscape designer role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.9/ 100
1 How much of what a landscape designer is expected to do is already part of an interior landscaper’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the landscape designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A landscape designer role treats 7 of its required skills as things an interior landscaper already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- create landscape designs
- design principles
- develop architectural plans
- perform pest control
- perform weed control operations
- pest control in plants
What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A landscape designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an interior landscaper background worth leading with.
- already held create landscape designs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held landscaping materials agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held develop architectural plans communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform pest control assisting and caring
- already held perform weed control operations handling and moving
- already held plant species natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 10 carried skills, including the 7 the landscape designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn environmental design required
- still to learn landscape architectural instruments required
- still to learn landscape architecture required
- still to learn surveying methods required
- still to learn topography required
- still to learn landscape analysis required
- optional, not held green building practices optional
- optional, not held green building standards optional
- optional, not held principles of landscape construction optional
- optional, not held rainwater management optional
- optional, not held building codes optional
- still to learn make drawings required
- still to learn advise supervisors required
- optional, not held work independently in landscaping optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- still to learn perform studies and field investigation required
- still to learn review construction plans authorisations required
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- still to learn ecology required
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held characteristics of plants optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- still to learn manage landscape design projects required
- optional, not held lead hard landscape projects optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding landscaping optional
- still to learn inspect project regulations required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a landscape designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 make drawings practise this
- 02 perform studies and field investigation practise this
- 03 advise supervisors practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held create landscape designs skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held develop architectural plans skill
- already held perform pest control skill
- already held perform weed control operations skill
- already held pest control in plants knowledge
- already held plant disease control knowledge
- already held agronomy knowledge
- already held landscaping materials knowledge
- already held plant species knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held horticultural design optional
- optional, not held horticulture principles optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
- optional, not held manage rainwater optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held work independently in landscaping optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held green building practices optional
- optional, not held green building standards optional
- optional, not held horticultural design optional
- optional, not held horticulture principles optional
- optional, not held lead hard landscape projects optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding landscaping optional
- optional, not held manage rainwater optional
- optional, not held principles of landscape construction optional
- optional, not held rainwater management optional
- optional, not held building codes optional
- optional, not held characteristics of plants optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
19 held skills the landscape designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess risks and implications of a design skill
- not needed by the target role assist in interior plant projects skill
- not needed by the target role build garden masonry skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role create plant displays skill
- not needed by the target role design landscape schemes skill
- not needed by the target role enhance landscapes skill
- not needed by the target role environmental indoor quality knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage time in landscaping skill
- not needed by the target role operate landscaping equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform services in a flexible manner skill
- not needed by the target role plants contribution to indoor climate and health conditions knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare artificial plant displays skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flower arrangements skill
- not needed by the target role prepare planting area skill
- not needed by the target role prune hedges and trees skill
- not needed by the target role specify landscape design components skill
- not needed by the target role transport physical resources within the work area skill
- not needed by the target role work in a landscape team skill
18 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn environmental design required
- still to learn landscape architectural instruments required
- still to learn landscape architecture required
- still to learn surveying methods required
- still to learn topography required
- still to learn ecology required
- still to learn landscape analysis required
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held green building practices optional
- optional, not held green building standards optional
- optional, not held horticultural design optional
- optional, not held horticulture principles optional
- optional, not held principles of landscape construction optional
- optional, not held rainwater management optional
- optional, not held building codes optional
- optional, not held characteristics of plants optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can an interior landscaper become a landscape designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An interior landscaper already covers 29% of what a landscape designer is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 7 of which the landscape designer role treats as required.
What skills does an interior landscaper need to become a landscape designer?
13 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is make drawings.
How hard is the move from interior landscaper to landscape designer?
Its learning distance is 73.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.