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Do you love flowers? Do you love how they look and smell?
If you love flowers and love making things beautiful, a career as a floral designer could be the perfect career for you.
Floral designers, also known as florists, arrange live, silk, and dried flowers and greenery to create impressive decorative displays.
Floral designers also help customers choose their flowers, containers (vases, boxes, etc.), and other accessories to create a gorgeous display.
If you’re interested in becoming a floral designer, you’ll need education and training to learn your craft and land a high-paying job you’ll love.
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Earning Your Certificate In Floral Artistry and Management
The first step to becoming a floral designer is to choose a school.
Missouri once had three schools that offered floral design courses, but St. Louis Academy of Floral Art recently closed permanently.
Fortunately, Missouri residents have more options.
The University of Missouri
This is a great school with an excellent floral design program.
The first step is to apply to the University of Missouri and sign up for your major and the Certificate in Floral Management course, which is an undergraduate certificate.
The course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to work in the floral industry, and you’ll learn through lectures and hands-on design.
You will learn basic floral arrangements at first and then more advanced and seasonal floral designs.
You’ll also learn a lot on the management side of floral design.
The certificate is comprised of 14 credit hours, and the classes you’ll take include the following:
- Introduction to Floral Design: This is the first course in the Floral Artistry and Management program. Some parts of this course are restricted to Plant Science majors. Also, you can take this course if you have 75 credit hours or less.
- This course teaches you the basics of floral design, emphasizing care and handling, flower processing, and design mechanics.
- You’ll earn two credit hours when you complete the course.
- Everyday Floral Design: You can only take this course once you’ve completed the Introduction to Floral Design course because you’ll be expanding the skills you learned in this course and will also learn about the elements and principles of design.
- You’ll earn three-course hours when you complete the course.
- Special Occasion Floral Design: To move on to this course, you must have passed the previous two courses with a grade of B or above. This course teaches you how to create sympathy and public ceremony designs and work with silk décor. This class is essential for creating arrangements for funerals and special functions.
- You’ll earn three credit hours when you complete the course.
- Wedding Floral Designs: This course is essential because everyone wants flowers at their weddings, and you must know how to create beautiful designs if you’re going to be a successful floral designer. This course emphasizes creating floral wedding designs to give clients exactly what they want. You also learn to create personal design pieces.
- Retail Floral Management: This course focuses on the management side of the business, and you’ll learn about finance, marketing, employee management, customer service, and products and services. Most employers look for candidates with management training, and this course will be beneficial if you open your own flower shop.
- Retail Floral Management-Writing Intensive: You can take this one if you don’t take the traditional Retail Floral Management course. Writing-intensive courses use writing as the primary learning method while evaluating your performance. You’ll be required to write regularly, and the quality and content of your written work judge your grade. You may enjoy this course more than the traditional course if you are a good writer and love writing.
Flower Classroom: This school provides floral designing training, and you have a few options.
- Floral design courses
- Workshops
- 12-day training course (limited to two students per class)
- One day, 8-hour classes
Penn Foster Career School
This school enables students to earn a Certificate of Completion in Floral Design.
The program is completed completely online, and you can earn your certificate in five months.
Floral Design Apprentice: You may be able to find a local florist willing to take you on as an apprentice.
You’ll get hands-on training from a skilled and experienced floral designer, allowing you to see what it’s like working as a floral designer.
Floral Designer Schools in Missouri – Summary Table
| School Name | Address |
|---|---|
| The University of Missouri | Columbia, MO 65211, USA |
| Penn Foster | 925 Oak St, Scranton, PA 18515, United States |
Floral Designer Salary
The national average salary for a floral designer is $31,806 per year, and your salary has much to do with where you live.
The average salary for a floral designer in Missouri is $26,741, depending on your education and skill.
You may also be paid by the hour, and the hourly rate ranges from $16 to $20 per hour, depending on your skill and experience.
Annual Salary Range:| Location | Avg. Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Florissant | $53,481 |
| St. Charles | $53,278 |
| Kansas City | $53,356 |
| St. Joseph | $52,841 |
| Columbia | $52,952 |
| Independence | $53,298 |
| St. Louis | $53,568 |
| Springfield | $50,859 |
| Lee's Summit | $53,153 |
| St. Peters | $53,162 |
Regional Salary in Missouri
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia, MO | 40 | $31,940 | $15.36 | $38,160 | $24,960 |
| Jefferson City, MO | 40 | $30,180 | $14.51 | $36,720 | $24,960 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 500 | $33,010 | $15.87 | $40,420 | $26,930 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 620 | $32,770 | $15.75 | $38,880 | $27,130 |
| Springfield, MO | 110 | $30,320 | $14.58 | $35,810 | $26,110 |
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of jobs can I get with a degree in floral design?
You have a few career options after earning your degree in floral design.
You can work in a flower shop, where you’ll always create different designs.
You can also work with wholesalers and distributors to select flowers and greenery to sell to florists and arrange displays for retailers.
You can also work as a grocery store florist, where you’ll create display designs and take orders to create designs based on the customer’s specifications.
Finally, you can open your own flower shop or online business if you have the money.
The management courses will significantly help you if you choose to be self-employed.
Are there downsides to working as a floral designer?
The only downside to this job is the stressful working conditions during peak holiday seasons, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Creating wedding designs can also be stressful because the bride can change her mind about the design, and the flowers must be ready for the wedding.
You may struggle in this career if you don’t work well under pressure.
Do I have to take floral design courses if I have natural talent?
Yes.
Natural talent is excellent, but you’ll need to take courses to develop your skills to be a successful floral designer in Missouri.
Although you aren’t required by law in Missouri to take floral design courses, you’ll be a better designer and have more job opportunities with a degree.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Floral Designer
Floral Design by State