He Wants to Trade His Blackboard for a Shovel
Henry David Thoreau might have liked Francisco Madrigal, a 45-year-old Long Beach resident who is quietly plotting an escape from his urban life as an elementary school teacher. Madrigal doesn’t know where he’ll end up--maybe the Northwest, maybe Texas--but he’s certain it will be a quiet, beautiful place, with gardens and bodies of water.
He also doesn’t know what he’ll do next. But in his mind’s eye, he already sees fragments of a new life--one that will include solitude, outdoor work, hiking, gardening and lots of artistic expression.
Madrigal has liked teaching his second- and third-grade classes for the last 16 years. “But the ineffectual bureaucracies arising from the state propositions are overwhelming,” Madrigal said. “They dictate what can be taught and how, with little regard for student achievement. I’m completely disillusioned. That’s why I realize it’s time for a change.”
For assistance in setting new career goals, Madrigal consulted Minneapolis-based career counselor Richard Leider. Madrigal told Leider that he’s been seriously considering horticulture-related careers.
“But I don’t know exactly where I would go in this field,” Madrigal said. “People say I’m good at it. I’ve done two projects of my own--the gardens of my houses. I did most of the work alone--hauling plants and materials, doing research at nurseries, bookstores and libraries. I enjoyed every aspect of it.”
Before the two discussed specific vocations that Madrigal might consider, Leider asked him to think about the recurrent “themes” of his life. These are the experiences and talents that Madrigal brings to virtually every task he undertakes. Based on extensive writings that Madrigal submitted and on the teacher’s responses to career questions, Leider surmised that Madrigal’s career themes were “composing, designing and growing things.”
“Everybody has a calling card,” Leider said. “It expresses their interests and passions. I’d say yours would read: ‘Composing and shaping environments.’ ” Leider added that when Madrigal considers future occupations, he should make sure they would enable him to pursue these roles.
This strategy helped Madrigal rule out one job he was closely considering: running a nursery.
“That’s management- and retail-oriented, with very little environment composing to it,” Leider said. He asked Madrigal to instead consider “interiorscaping”--the arrangement of plants and trees indoors--and small-scale outdoor landscape design.
He encouraged Madrigal to visit companies in those fields and see if he could do some apprentice work with them. Both agreed that Madrigal would conduct this research while he’s still in Los Angeles. Madrigal said his goal is to move to a pastoral setting within three years.
“This has been comforting, consoling,” Madrigal told Leider later. “You’ve pointed out a lot of good ideas, which have made me feel more confident in my decisions. You’ve been like a fortune teller, reading my palm.”
If Madrigal trains in interiorscaping or landscape design, he’ll be able to unleash his creativity by putting rooms in bloom and transforming barren sites into English gardens, Asian meditation spaces and wildflower meadows.
Should he demonstrate a flair for these pursuits, he may find his services in demand. For the last five years, according to Architectural Record, landscape design has been a growth industry--and not just botanically speaking.
“It’s a career that a lot of people are taking up at midlife, after working at stressful jobs,” said Linda Engstrom, a Portland, Ore.-based landscape designer. “Working with plants, designing beautiful things is extremely satisfying.”
Community colleges, universities and private companies offer courses in horticulture, interiorscaping and landscape design. Because these professions are still unregulated, some individuals choose to learn the trades exclusively through apprenticeships.
Madrigal may want to join the Assn. of Professional Landscape Designers (https://www.apld.com), Engstrom said. Once he has completed and installed a garden design or interiorscape, he can apply for certification with the association.
Madrigal also can visit https://www.hortnet.com/associations.html for a detailed list of other amateur and professional organizations specializing in gardening, plant research and general horticulture activities that he may wish to contact.
Interiorscaping and landscape design aren’t simply “fun with flowers” jobs. Madrigal would consult with clients, draft plans, obtain zoning permits when necessary, supervise planting installations and arrange garden maintenance for his clients.
On big residential jobs, he might team up with architects, contractors, lawyers and business managers. Although many interiorscape designers are not employed full-time, hourly pay is good in this line of work, ranging from about $40 to $100 an hour.
Madrigal eventually will need to decide whether in the long run he’ll be satisfied as a landscape designer whose scope of practice is limited. Because of licensing laws and liability concerns in most states, complex commercial landscape jobs--and many elaborate residential installations--tend to be awarded to landscape architects.
Becoming a landscape architect would allow Madrigal to take on larger, more lucrative commercial projects and permit him more design versatility. It would also increase his chance to earn a good, steady wage. In 1998, the average income for landscape architects was $52,886, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Finding a school that offers landscape architecture shouldn’t be hard: Nearly 60 U.S. colleges and universities offer undergraduate and master’s programs in the discipline.
As Madrigal prepares for his departure from the urban wilds, he might take to heart the encouraging “career advice” of Thoreau, the Walden Pond sage:
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
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Time for a Change
* Name: Francisco Madrigal
* Occupation: Elementary school teacher
* Desired occupation: Horticulture-related job
* Quote: “I am a teacher with 16 years’ experience who has had enough. I am seeking a change to less stressful and more rewarding work.”
Counselor’s Recommendations
* Find vocations that allow him to compose and shape environments.
* Research landscaping and “interiorscaping” companies.
* Apprentice or take courses in these fields.
Meet the Coach
Richard Leider is a nationally certified career counselor and founding partner of Inventure Group in Minneapolis. He is the author of four books, including “Repacking Your Bags” and “The Power of Purpose” (both published by Berrett-Koehler). For the last 15 years, Leider has led annual life-career renewal safaris to Tanzania.
