Re: master gardeners

In a message dated 6/12/00 4:05:08 PM Central Daylight Time, Pavlacky@cs.com 
writes:

<< Is it worth it?   >>
Definitely, Yes!!
The people you meet are great and getting to know them is even better.
The training course is very intense but you will learn a lot.
You will learn even more with the hands-on experience you get by volunteering 
for the various projects.  And you will learn a lot just by manning the 
hotline once a week over the summer months.  And they have wonderful 
reference books to puruse when the phones are slow.

There are a few perks like volunteering for garden walks.  You will get to 
see some of the other homes before or after your assignment for the right 
price.  Sometimes they will let you preview the homes beforehand.

<< Career, great job, or other opportunities that they otherwise may not have 
had.  >>  Definitely gave me wonderful opportunities.  But so far not a great 
job/career.  I was hired at Garden Centers b/c of being a MG but then they 
treat me like I don't know anything.  i.e. --  I thud them they will ruin all 
those Spathes and Parlor Palms if they leave them out in the sun this spring. 
 When they started to get sun-burned, management called the grower in FL to 
ask what was wrong.  Grower said they should be OK b/c they grow them outside 
year-round in FL.  Sure they do but mostly winters and under shadecloth!!!  
Needless to say they lost a bundle of money by not listening to me do do you 
thing they would learn and pay more attention to me!!  I could go on and on 
with stories like this.  

And if you get a job working for a grower, they don't have to pay overtime!!  
Found that out when working for a hydroponic tomato grower. Also growers tend 
to work early morning hours to avoid the afternoon heat.

Needless to say my morale is very low.
I'm hoping someone else writes about their better luck caraeer-wise.
Unless you actually want min. wage and widely fluctuating hours depending on 
the season.

Good Luck and keep us posted on what you do and how it affects your life.
BTW, MG courses in the Midwest are held for 3 months (Jan, Feb, Mar) every 
year. Call your loca county extension agent for cost and details.  Generally 
the charge is relatively cheap especially if you plan to volunteer.

And most of the MG volunteers are not people who Need to work!

Good Luck and stay in touch
Barbara

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