For some, working in park maintenance can be a dream job. Spending time outdoors and not being bound to a cubicle. Using your energy and abilities to give positive experiences to visitors and participants. Seeing your work make a powerful impact on the community.
Every day, you’re working on improving the conditions of natural spaces, parks, recreation centers, pools, and other offerings. And no day is exactly the same.
But can you make a long-lasting career out of park maintenance? One where you can fuel your passions while sustaining your family and lifestyle?
The good news: Many park operations jobs in the public and private sectors have favorable or very favorable employment growth potential.
With hard work, dedication, leveling up your skills, and maybe a little bit of being in the right place at the right time, your career pathway in park maintenance can be a fulfilling vocation that brings you and the community you serve great joy.
In this article, we explore potential career pathways in park maintenance and how you can improve your chances of moving up the ladder and finding a sustainable career you love in the public sector.
Entry Level Positions: Start Your Journey
Your career starts with getting your hands dirty, earning sweat equity, and creating the foundational skills that will propel you on your career pathway. It won’t always be glamorous, but if you’re passionate about what you do, it can pay off in the long run.
Seasonal Maintenance
Many individuals start with a seasonal maintenance position. This could include students looking to earn summer income or adults seeking a summer job outdoors. In a seasonal park maintenance job, you will be doing a lot of the grunt work to help keep parks and facilities looking and operating at their best.
Typically, these are summer jobs where you will be performing duties like:
- Mowing
- Clearing brush
- Landscaping work
- Maintaining ballfields
- Inspecting vehicles and equipment
- Basic maintenance and repair tasks
- Cleaning and custodial work
- Addressing graffiti and vandalism
- Helping with special events
- Other manual labor tasks
You will be required to efficiently and effectively perform maintenance tasks with varying degrees of supervision. It’s an opportunity to make a name for yourself with your ability to communicate, interact with the public, and follow through with orders.
Groundskeeper/Maintenance Worker I
Your performance as a seasonal worker may land you a full-time role where you’ll take on additional duties and responsibilities. Given the need for entry-level park maintenance staff, starting out as a seasonal worker may not be required.
As a full-time park maintenance worker you may be asked to complete inspections, take on more complex tasks, and even help lead seasonal maintenance staff in their duties.
You will have opportunities to enhance your skills in operating landscaping and other equipment. Since it is a full-time role, you will also be exposed to year-round maintenance tasks like snow removal and seasonal projects. You may also be required to obtain additional training for certifications such as a CDL or herbicide applicator license.
Skills to Develop in Entry-Level Positions
While these positions may not seem very glamorous, they offer an opportunity to develop essential skills that can propel your career.
These skills include:
- Effective communication and teamwork
- Time management
- Problem-solving
- Equipment operation
- Working safely
- Understanding processes and standard operating procedures
- Professional development
During this time, be sure to make yourself indispensable to your team. Ask for more responsibilities. Express interest in advancement and building new skills. Develop relationships with coworkers outside your department.
Mid-Level Park Maintenance Positions
As you establish yourself as a seasonal or entry-level full-time park maintenance worker, you’ll inevitably come across opportunities to do more. New roles will give you more responsibilities, new skills to master, and the opportunity to supervise and lead. Depending on the agency, mid-level park maintenance opportunities may come your way after 2 to 5 years in your career.
This is an exciting time as you discover whether you prefer managing others and administrative tasks or exploring a more specialized skill track that leverages your experience and talents.
Maintenance Worker II/Senior Groundskeeper
As you move up the ranks, you’ll be given more responsibilities. You may also start developing skills in specialized areas like equipment repair, irrigation, and landscaping. You will be exposed to more challenging and complex tasks where you build on the skills you cultivated in entry-level positions.
You may also be invited to more departmental activities and meetings where you help develop standard operating procedures and address safety issues. You may be the go-to when emergency repairs and work are needed.
Crew Leader
As your skills develop, you will eventually have to start training new hires and seasonal staff. You will start by managing small crews or specific assets at your agency. Eventually, you will lead projects such as special events and renovations.
You will be given supervisory responsibilities and begin developing leadership skills. As you become more confident working with others, your communication, time management, and conflict resolution skills will be put to the test and refined.
Specialized Technician Roles
Your next-level career steps can also involve specialized roles. You may need more training and practice in skilled trades like plumbing, carpentry, or electrical work.
Some specialized park technician roles include:
- Certified Playground Inspector/Technician
- Athletic Field Specialist
- Equipment Mechanic
- Irrigation Technician
- Aquatics Specialist
- Facility Maintenance Specialist
Skills to Develop in Mid-Level Positions
At this point, you may start making giant leaps in your personal and professional development through experience and training. Skills to develop include:
- Soft skills for managing others, like communication and conflict resolution
- The ability to effectively train others
- Expanding your professional network and mentors
- Obtaining relevant certifications
- Attending conferences and workshops
- Finding new ways to address challenges
Management Positions: Continuing Leadership
At this point, you’ve probably mastered several entry-level and supervisory skills. You are ready to effectively manage others. Typically, this could come anywhere between 5 and 10 years into your career, but you may find an opportunity sooner.
You may find yourself less in the field and more in meetings and behind a desk, but your agency will value your experience.
Let’s explore some park management roles:
Park Maintenance Supervisor
A park maintenance supervisor is responsible for establishing work programs and supervising the work activities of maintenance staff. Some tasks include:
- Assigning tasks to individuals and crews
- Overseeing large projects like renovations
- Collaborating with different departments
- Staff hiring, training, and evaluation
- Participating in budget preparation and expenditure monitoring
- Overseeing facility and landscaping operations
- Conducting technical tasks and skilled maintenance
- Contributing to the overall performance of the agency
- Working with policies, programs, and regulations of the city and other government agencies
- Developing relationships with vendors and contractors
Area/District Maintenance Managers
Area/district maintenance managers have roles similar to those of maintenance supervisors, but they may be responsible for managing larger geographic areas or facility types. Advanced technical and leadership skills are essential for success in this position.
Assistant Superintendent of Park Maintenance
The assistant superintendent of parks helps to coordinate the improvements, maintenance, and repairs of an agency’s assets. You may also be asked to contribute to budgets, policy development, and long-range planning.
You will provide daily supervision, training, and coaching of full-time and seasonal park maintenance staff. You prioritize and coordinate the scheduling of projects, repairs, and preventative maintenance. You also work with the superintendent to recommend actions and updates to projects, personnel, work scheduling, and equipment needs.
The role requires you to utilize the skill set you have developed throughout your career while honing new skills to become a more effective leader, mentor, and collaborator.
Skills to Develop in Management Positions
To excel in these positions, you will need to further develop your management skills and get a better understanding of the big picture of your agency’s goals, mission and vision.
Skills to develop include:
- Personnel management and HR knowledge
- Budget and financial planning
- Developing and Refining Maintenance Plans
- Project management
- Communicating with all levels of staff, including boards and elected officials
- Change management and adopting new technology
Senior Leadership: Executive Levels
Working your way to the executive level can be exhilarating and a little bit scary. At this level, you’re making important decisions that will have a ripple effect throughout your agency and community. If you worked your way up the career ladder, however, you developed the necessary skills to be successful. The operational knowledge you have cultivated over 10 to 15 years can provide invaluable insights into running a department or agency effectively.
Superintendent/Director of Maintenance
A superintendent or director role has full management responsibility for the effective operations of the maintenance department. You will need a thorough understanding of the procedures and techniques involved in organizing, prioritizing, planning, implementing, and evaluating park operations.
You will be asked to solve problems, oversee capital projects, present to the board or elected officials, and develop the department's strategic direction. Success depends on skilled leadership, collaborating with other departments, and ensuring that maintenance plans are implemented effectively.
Parks and Recreation Director
Individuals with a background in park maintenance can become excellent agency directors. In this position, you are leading the entire agency and making full use of the skills and wisdom you’ve honed over your years of experience.
You will be trading your mower for meeting rooms, your playground inspections for strategic planning, and your crew leading for hiring and mentoring staff and supervisors. You have the opportunity to take your agency to the next level while cultivating the next generation of successful park and recreation professionals with your leadership.
Skills to Develop in Park Executive Roles
The skills you’ve developed thus far will be put to the test. You will often be involved in problem-solving, leading staff, time management, and communicating with various departments and stakeholders.
In addition, you will continue to develop as you become better at:
- Strategic thinking and vision
- Political acumen
- Financial stewardship
- Leadership mindset
- Public speaking and presentations
- Innovation and change leadership
To further develop these skills, continue to refine your management philosophy and expand your professional network. Get involved in state and national organizations. Attend conferences and continuing education opportunities to stay current and relevant. And don’t forget to stay connected to field operations and park maintenance teams.
Alternative Career Trajectories
Leading a parks and recreation agency or park maintenance department is not for everyone. Some may prefer the “doing” rather than the “leading.” Fortunately, there are still numerous opportunities to explore. Here are a couple of examples:
Specialist/Technical Expert
Maybe one aspect of park maintenance operations really excites you. You learn more about this area and obtain extra training and certifications. Soon, you are the go-to expert on an area of park maintenance. You can use these skills to propel your career without having to manage a team.
Some examples of park maintenance technical/specialist roles include:
- Certified Playground Safety Inspection (CPSI)
- Athletic Fields & Turf
- Irrigation & Water
- Aquatics Maintenance
- Arborist/Urban Forestry
- Equipment & Fleet
- Horticultural Specialist/Master Gardener
- Sustainability & Environmental Compliance Specialist
- Facility Management
Adjacent Career Moves
The skills you’ve developed in park maintenance can also help you find other types of career opportunities. For example, you can become a sustainability coordinator or safety officer for risk management. You can also utilize your experience for park planning and design, or to serve as a training and development specialist. Private Sector Opportunities
The private sector also offers opportunities to advance your career. For example, if you are feeling burned out doing typical park maintenance, you can use your skills for equipment sales. Facility management companies and landscaping companies are another option. You can also explore a career that involves consulting with multiple agencies.
You can even utilize your maintenance expertise in the tech world by working in sales, training, or implementing computerized maintenance management software for parks and recreation agencies.
The Takeaway
A career in park maintenance may not be for everyone, but those interested in this type of work can find a long, fulfilling career with numerous opportunities to learn and grow. Just like a typical park maintenance staff member’s day is never the same, their career pathway can be varied, exciting, and a chance for both personal and professional development.