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Beautiful flowers are engrained in our culture.
From holidays like Valentine’s Day to big events like weddings, floral design is in high demand.
Let’s not forget flowers is the first thing sent to someone in the hospital or to a funeral home when a loved one has passed on.
The obsession with flowers is one that has been around probably as long as humans have been around them.
As long as 4,500 years ago, the Egyptians were using flowers in the same ways we are today.
If you’re interested in keeping this ancient art form going, follow along!
Article Table of Contents
Steps to Become a Floral Designer in Georgia
Before jumping into floral design, the first thing you need to have is a love of flowers.
It’s also helpful if you don’t have allergies, which can make arranging flowers especially difficult.
Having a keen eye for design is another good place to start when it comes to moving forward as a floral designer.
Next, you will need to have at least completed high school or its equivalency.
Before even starting a program, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a part-time job in a flower shop.
This will expose you to the demands of the job without having to complete a course.
If you love it, the next part of the journey would be to become a certified floral designer.
Technically, you don’t need a formal floral education to work as a florist, but it can really help as you apply for jobs or if you open a shop of your own one day.
Floral Designer Programs/Classes
Halls Atlanta Floral Design School
When you’re ready to go straight to the source, you go to a school that only exists to teach students how to be one with floral design.
It only takes three weeks to complete the course and get certified, but you will have to work much of those three weeks around it.
The program is three days a week for those three weeks and about three hours for each session.
To ensure each student gets all the help and one-on-one time they need with the instructor, each class only has 10 students.
Conveniently, signing up for the course means you’ve covered all the bases.
There is no need to pay for any additional products or fees.
Everything created in the classroom gets to go home with the student and be part of a portfolio.
Halls also offer one-day classes that go hard on specific design topics, but those are not necessary to complete the program.
Penn Foster Career School
This online program is not quite as intense as the one at Halls.
Penn Foster’s program is great for someone who has other things going on in life and can’t dedicate three weeks to floral design right now.
Here, you can graduate in five months or longer, depending on your personal pace.
To make up for the lack of a physical presence with an instructor, the course makes up of it through a variety of techniques.
For example, classes aren’t spent reading boring materials or confusing handouts.
Video lectures give students a connection to the instructor as well as a detailed guide to the lesson.
This also grants the gift of replaying a segment.
That’s something traditional schools don’t have.
Even though the students aren’t in person, they will still have as much access to the instructor as they need throughout their time.
Albany Technical College
If you’re looking for an in-person touch but in a longer program, Albany Tech has you covered.
Here, students can graduate from the floral assistant certification program in less than a year.
This course teaches all the basics of floral design and plant identification.
Unlike the other options, this school counts as college credits.
Courses taken on a journey to obtain the certificate can be applied to a degree later on.
Also, unlike the other schools, you’ll have to take an entrance exam to get in.
This can be extremely beneficial in the long run when you want to advance your career.
Floral Designer Schools in Georgia – Summary Table
| School Name | Address |
|---|---|
| Halls Atlanta Floral Design School | 1200 Oakleigh Dr, East Point, GA 30344, USA |
| Penn Foster Career School | 925 Oak St, Scranton, PA 18515, United States |
| Albany Technical College | 1704 S Slappey Blvd, Albany, GA 31701, USA |
Salary
Starting out as a floral designer in Georgia, you can expect to make around $40,000 a year.
That number can get up to $65,000 at an average of $54,000.
Of course, it should be noted that the number can vary at either end.
Other than experience, factors that can decide a salary are things like location and store resources.
If freelancing is calling your name, that salary can be wildly different than at an established florist.
Annual Salary Range:| Location | Avg. Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Macon | $50,646 |
| Columbus | $49,587 |
| Augusta | $51,023 |
| Valdosta | $48,798 |
| Atlanta | $53,552 |
| Savannah | $51,233 |
| Roswell | $53,348 |
| Athens | $53,171 |
| Albany | $50,119 |
| Marietta | $53,400 |
Regional Salary in Georgia
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens-Clarke County, GA | 70 | $33,250 | $15.98 | $41,980 | $24,170 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 420 | $35,560 | $17.1 | $45,040 | $26,590 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 40 | $34,450 | $16.56 | $50,560 | $23,470 |
| Savannah, GA | 30 | $34,540 | $16.61 | $43,470 | $23,150 |
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do floral designers have to register with Georgia?
No.
There are no state requirements in order to work as a floral designer.
The only requirements are the ones the shop has before hiring you.
What are the job prospects for a floral designer?
The first job most think of is working in a flower shop.
That’s really just the start of the options, though.
The shop is where the flowers are held and taken care of, but not necessarily where the magic happens.
If flowers are in enough demand in the area, you can pick a niche.
A few examples are weddings, grief, interior design, and attractions.
Other directions include gardener, shop manager, and landscape designer.
Is the floral industry growing?
Overall, the industry is growing.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t setbacks.
One of the issues facing florists right now is online sites that make going to a shop superfluous.
These delivery sites can also eat into a local shop’s profits.
Use this as a reminder to shop local when you can and support these small businesses.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Floral Designer
Floral Design by State
The demand for floral arrangements in Georgia remains consistent, creating a stable job market for floral designers. You’ll have opportunities to work in flower shops, event planning, and even weddings.