Galapagos Islands are the place to go to experience the sheer force and beauty of nature. It is here that you can see evolution take place just as Charles Darwin did more than a century ago! The slow ambling Giant Tortoise, the squawking Blue-footed Booby, the grunting sea lions, and the swift marine iguanas, all call the Galapagos Islands their home.
The Galapagos Islands are so remote that the animals have evolved without the fear of humans. They have evolved without invasive species disrupting their evolution, and it is the perfect place to witness it. Galapagos Islands animals are an attraction for the wildlife enthusiasts, who get an excellent introduction to the wonderful and weird wildlife here!
Here is a guide for travelers seeking a journey to one of the most remote places on earth – the Galapagos Islands.
You Should Visit The Galapagos Islands
Here are some Galapagos Islands facts that will really raise your curiosity to explore this place:
The Galapagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site which have been tagged by them as a ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’.
The islands in Galapagos is where Charles Darwin wrote his famous book ‘Origin of Species’ which kickstarted the theory of evolution.
The Galapagos Islands map feature the tiny volcanic archipelago of 19 islands and over 107 rocky islets which are teeming with wildlife.
The islands have the highest percentage of endemic animal species which you cannot see anywhere else in the world!
The remote islands are a part of Ecuador and you can combine your visit with a trip to the mainland to sample its authentic South American culture and heritage.
The islands are at a confluence of three tectonic plates creating a unique geographical location.
Best Time To Visit The Galapagos Islands
The best time to visit Galapagos depends on what you want to see and experience. The specialty of the islands is that you can sight wildlife all year round at various stages of their life cycle.
There are two main seasons on the islands:
Cold and dry season (June to November):
The colder season brings the plankton up to the surface of the ocean attracting seabirds like Albatross and Penguins. The seas are also much rougher, but you can sight the humpback whales and the birth of baby sea lions in August.
Warm and wet season (December to May):
In December, you can spot the hatching of giant tortoises, while February to March is the primary breeding season on the island. The seas are also much calmer at this time and great for underwater activities. Showers are not too much, and there are short drizzles daily.
How To Reach The Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador and most airlines will have a connection via Ecuador’s capital city Quito. Tame, Avianca, and LAN are the local airlines that have flights to Galapagos Islands from Quito via Guayaquil. There are five inhabited islands in the Galapagos Islands – Baltra, Floreana, Isabela, San Cristobal, and Santa Cruz. However, Santa Cruz is the most popular as a base for tours and activities and hence it’s a good idea to travel to Galapagos Islands by first flying into Santa Cruz.
Top Places To Visit In Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Islands is somewhere you can get closer to the nature and wildlife. Here are some of the most interesting places to visit for the nature lovers. Make sure you do not miss out any of these places on your visit.
1. Charles Darwin Research Station
Galapagos Islands & Darwin go hand in hand and most people first learn of the Galapagos Islands as a part of their science classes. The research station is a great place to understand the local ecology and watch the animals. Over 200 researchers and scientists work out of the station in a bid to conserve the island wildlife.
2. El Chato Tortoise Reserve
Most Galapagos Islands tours make a pitstop at the El Chato Tortoise Reserve where you can sight the giant Galapagos Tortoise in their natural habitat. It is a great place to observe the prehistoric-looking creatures going about their business. It is best to go with a guide as the area is expansive and one can easily get lost in the thick vegetation.
3. Los Tuneles
One of the main Galapagos Islands points of interest is the area of Los Tuneles on the island of Isla Isabela. The area has several lava formations that appear like tunnels and have become a sanctuary for the local wildlife. You can access the area only through a boat ride and ideally you can snorkel and swim here and will have the opportunity to see manta rays, turtles, sea horses, and even white-tipped sharks.
Top Things To Do In Galapagos Islands
Your trip to Galapagos Islands brings to you countless activities to look forward too. These include tours and other water and land adventure activities. Be a sport and experience all of them.
1. Wildlife tours
The Galapagos Islands animals are mostly endemic, that is, they are not found anywhere else in the world. The unique animals that are on the wishlist of most travelers are the Giant Tortoise and Marine Iguanas. The area is also famous for its birdlife, and some of the unique species are Blue-Footed Booby, Galapagos Penguin, Waved Albatross, and Darwin’s Finches.
2. Snorkeling and diving
The Ocean is as rich in wildlife as the land on the islands of Galapagos and water activities like snorkeling and diving are the best ways to explore the region. You can sight interesting sea animals like fur seals, sea lions, whales, dolphins, and Green Sea Turtles.
3. Hiking on the islands
Few of these islands are small without much infrastructure, and hence access to some of the best places is on foot. You can hike in the world’s second largest crater of Sierra Negra on Isabela Island or explore the Lava Tunnels on Santa Cruz Islands. Every island has unique hiking spots and walking trails.
Humans visualize things based on their imagination.
When explaining a landscape design to your client, you have to go beyond words to describe the ideas in your head. Your clients need to see clearly how their garden will look after implementing your design.
Many landscape architects and designers use landscape design software to transform drawings into 3D views, helping their clients get a real-world picture of design suggestions. This kind of software also promotes customer engagement. Start with the free version or free trials to test your specific needs and discover how it can support your business’ growth.
Whether you are a do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowner who wants to renovate your backyard or a professional landscape architect, landscape design solutions predict costs, digitize plans, and integrate with other computer-aided design (CAD) software.
Additionally, free landscape design tools offer similar though much more limited functionality as professional landscape design software. An outstanding feature in both free and paid versions is access to a library or database of materials, hardscapes, and plants. A few of the free landscape design solutions featured in the list below even provide access to materials, producers, and a network of landscapers and contractors.
Best free landscape design software
Landscape design software streamlines workflows for landscape architects and designers. It reduces time spent surveying sites, drafting architectural design, and collaborating with relevant parties. This software offers a range of techniques that cater to lawn care, gardening, or tree management for residential, public, and commercial spaces.
Advanced landscape design software integrates with tools that facilitate CAD, simulations, and drone mapping. They also support integrations with third-party accounting software or customer relationship management (CRM) software.
The list below contains real user reviews from the best landscape design software category. It’s important to note that in the context of this list, vendors that offer a free trial are also considered to be free.
To qualify for inclusion in the landscape design software list, a product must:
Allow users to edit and share visualizations and design templates
Generate quotes and estimates for designs and services
Offer a database of pre-existing or uploaded images with drag and drop functionality
Keep track of time, material, and expense for each job or work order
Provide mobile applications or mobile-friendly versions of the software for field employees
Integrate with software for CRM, accounting, and building design and building information modeling (BIM)
Note: This information gathered via online search / Internet search data.
1. Land F/X
Land F/X is an addition to AutoCAD that helps landscape architects and designers draft irrigation plans with a rich plant library while supporting document management and customization options. Its detail management system maintains consistent and organized data within CAD, making it easier to customize, save, call out, and edit designs.
What users like:
“Land F/X is a valuable addition to AutoCAD for landscape designers and architects. I use irrigation tools to create irrigation designs and verify that the water coverage is sufficient on a particular plan. The integration between Land F/X and CAD is seamless, and there have been significant improvements made in this regard over the past few years.
In addition, the plant library is extensive, and the program makes it easy to track quantities of plant types, even on very large-scale projects. Most of my peers seem to use the program primarily for this purpose – and it does this job exceedingly well. I also enjoy the quick tutorials publicly available on the Land F/X website. Their support and education are excellent and much appreciated.”
2. Plan-a-Garden
Plan-a-Garden creates design plans to visualize and structure your garden. Its drag and drop functionality allows you to pick plants and add them to your design so you see how their shapes and colors work together. The application supports your experimentation with multiple trees, shrubs, and perennials for landscape. You can also filter according to plant type, size, and sunlight needs.
What users like:
“What I like best about Plan-a-Garden is the texture tool. If you want to test out the look and feel of redoing a garden or outdoor space, you can’t overlook where bricks, pathways, and other ground textures.”
3. LMN
LMN increases efficiency and profits with effective job planning, time management, and job costing functionalities. Designers can automate the entire landscape business with complete processes and procedures covered in their training material.
LMN’s free version offers features such as budgeting, customer relationship management, estimating, and time tracking.
What users like:
“LMN can be very detailed in your estimating, progress, and time tracking or scheduling needs. The more data you feed it, the more detail you can achieve.”
4. RealTime Landscaping
RealTime Landscaping by Idea Spectrum offers 2D and 3D designing features that help landscape designers visualize their ideas. Users create compelling presentations and videos with powerful yet easy-to-use design tools. Idea Spectrum offers a free trial version of RealTime Landscaping.
What users like:
“The software makes designing home possible according to own taste at home. There is no need to pay the designers to have a model that is possibly not similar to the one in my mind. The most important part is the ease of use because if profession is not a designer. However, you can design home and garden located in the village by using this software. ”
5. PRO Landscape
PRO Landscape design software provides architects with photo imaging, CAD, 3D rendering, and customer proposal drafting tools that fulfill the requirements for landscape design projects.
Its free version, PRO Landscape Home, offers similar features to the paid version, except the ability to edit hardscapes or create 3D files and customer proposals.
What users like:
“Easy to use program that works on PC and mobile application both. It’s easy for quick design changes with the client on the spot.”
6. VizTerra
VizTerra by Structure Studios offers a streamlined interface and intuitive tools to design landscapes in 2D and transform ideas into 3D. The software simplifies workflows and makes it easy to design anything with just a few clicks. Use its smart library to add plants, trees, materials, and furniture with a simple drag and drop feature.
This software comes in a free trial version for users to try out for their landscape design needs.
7. gCADPlus
gCADPlus is a CAD tool for professional landscape designers and architects. The software increases productivity with features like custom landscape templates, site-specific plant databases, and one-on-one online training. A free trial version is available for this software.
8. Lawn Pro
Lawn Pro offers several features to support lawn care and landscaping businesses. The free version equips designers and architects with invoicing, estimating, time tracking, and expense management capabilities. You can also add your logo to invoices and estimates with Lawn Pro.
What users like:
“Used it to send quotes by email, and when clients accepted them, we were notified. It was an easy way to keep track of a lead from start to finish. We used it to export client info to send Christmas cards, etc. It lets you know who has paid and who is late.”
9. Yardbook
Yardbook supports a landscaping business’ growth. It offers a range of features such as customer data management, billing, estimating, and scheduling. The software is easy to use, yet it’s strong enough to handle diverse details in a running landscaping business.
What users like:
“It has simple ways to track every aspect of the small business landscaping company from start to finish from the office to the field. Employees can download the app to phones and keep them connected in real-time to the office. Love the scheduling of jobs on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.”
Bird of Paradise is a family Paradisaeidae and only found in eastern Indonesia, the islands of the Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The attraction of a bird of paradise are very beautiful colors feathers, beautiful colors of the feathers used by males to attract females. In addition, to attract females during the mating season thy also perform movements such as dance.
Give yourself at least a few days around northern Papua and southern Maluku. Once you have learned about birds of paradise. Over 40 different species of Cendrawasih (bird of paradise) are found in small areas of northern Papua and southern Maluku, as well as PNG.
Cendrawasih were first taken to Europe following colonial exploration around the Dutch East Indies. Their feathers fetched remarkable prices as fashionable accessories, so the birds soon faced extinction. Because traders often removed the birds’ legs and wings to highlight their beautiful plumage, Europeans originally thought that the birds had no feet and spent their entire lives in flight.
The male bird is usually more brightly coloured than the female and displays its magnificent plumage during mating, often hanging upside down from branches to show off its colours. Cenderawasih usually nest in open parts of a tree, feed on fruit and insects, have remarkable thin, curled ‘tail-wires’ up to 30cm long with colorful tips, and make loud screeching noises.
Birds-of-paradise numbers were already dwindling in Papua as they are poached, killed and used for decoration. Authorities have since banned the sale of the species but there is still a thriving illegal trade because international demand is high. Authorities have banned the sale of birds-of-paradise, but this has not done much to dent the illegal trade, because demand is high.
Indonesia’s rainforests are home to 41 birds-of-paradise species, according to Roring, 37 of which can be found in the jungles of Papua. They range from the lesser bird-of-paradise, known for its yellow and white flank plumes, to the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise, recognizable by the filaments that extend from its tail. Admired for their striking colors and elaborate courtship rituals, the birds have a long history of being trapped and traded as ornaments.
These birds are scarce and elusive, but with lots of patience, time and a knowledgeable guide, it may be possible to spot some. Finding them will require chartering boats, organizing guides and carrying camping equipment, as their territories are remote: Waigeo, Misool, Batanta and Salawati islands (off the coast of Sorong); along sections of the aptly named Cendrawasih Bay; around the north coast of Pulau Yapen; and in the Aru Islands (southeast Maluku).
What is landscape design? Landscaping is more than trimming and mowing, and it certainly involves more than just plant selection for a project. As a matter of fact, it is the coming together of the spaces and elements to elevate the outdoor living space.
To know about landscape design, you must understand the principles and objectives vital for a robust solution that you will need for yourself or a paying client. Further, a successful landscape designer must possess practical expertise in master plan drawing, hardscape construction, and plant morphology, among other things.
In addition, functional and attractive lawns and landscapes are quintessential for groundskeepers, businesses, and homeowners globally.
Further, if you aspire to start a design company, you must be thorough with the latest design and garden ideas to take your company to new heights. For this, you need to enroll in one of the best online landscape design courses.
On the internet, you can find several online landscape design classes. To help you make a wise selection, our team researched and has shortlisted a few of the best landscape design training programs for you.
1. Fundamentals of Garden Design – [Udemy]
On top of our list is Udemy’s one of the top-selling online landscape design courses. The course is full of resources, making it comprehensive. There are 54 downloadable resources and 74 lectures having a lifetime guarantee. You can go back to review and revise as and when you want.
However, please remember that it does not discuss the planting design. Of course, the instructor will take you through using plants in the landscape, but there will be no detailing on any individual plant species, their use, or placement. So, if that is what you wish to learn, give this a skip.
Further, it is not a computer-aided design course. You learn via pen, ink, and paper. Lastly, it is a hands-on, conceptual course wherein the instructor takes you through everything from starting a design project to refining a plan before preparing construction design, beginning a discussion, and more.
Learning Outcomes
As part of this course, you will bag access to the contracts examples and the bid sheets to help with estimation. In addition these are the best online landscape design classes to learn:
To prepare a conceptual landscape plan
To use different design approaches and give more continuity and interest to the designs
To perform a site survey of a property and present it on paper
Understand how Planes of Enclosure can make the designs better
To color the plan for display and presentation
Ideas to grow your design company
Selecting a design approach
Interviewing the client
Drafting to scale
Conducting site surveys
Prerequisites
For this best landscape design training, you need basic math skills.
Who should take this course?
It is one of the best online landscape design courses for beginner/intermediate level students interested in Design and Architecture. Further, this course will help:
Designers
Landscape contractors
Gardeners
Students who aspire to better their design capabilities
Anyone interested in elementary differential elevation surveys and site surveys
2. Landscape Design – [Ashworth College]
It is a diploma in landscape design training. Further, these are affordable best online landscape design classes. It is 100% online. So, you can learn and study at your pace.
Learning Outcomes
In this one of the best courses to learn:
Design fundamentals
Hands-on, professional design techniques
Business concepts and practices to start and progress your landscape design operation
What do you get?
When you enroll in this course, you get access to:
Textbook: Professional Landscapers Handbook
Textbook: Plan Graphics for the Landscape Designer
Textbook: The Essential Garden Design Book
Binder™ mobile app to have your learning resources handy on, on-the-go
ProQuest® digital access to an array of resources
Learning Resource Center online labs and libraries
Student Portal dashboard for instant access to support and lessons
An active online community to clear your doubts
3. A Business Approach to Sustainable Landscape Restoration – Offered by Erasmus University Rotterdam – [Coursera]
This landscape design certificate online course is presented to you by Coursera. To meet the Sustainable Development Goal on Land Degradation Neutrality, the integration of large-scale landscape restoration and landscape management should be a part of every company’s business objective.
Naturally, all business professionals must possess the right vision, knowledge, and skills. It is the purpose of these best online landscape design classes. The instructors have designed the course to train the business professionals and developers to acknowledge business’ interdependency with healthy landscapes. It also aids in understanding the value of the ecosystem resources.
Further, the course also tries to enlighten you about landscape degradation – a wicked, global problem resulting in the depletion of the finite resources on the earth.
In addition, the instructors will also give you a solution to the problem – business-driven landscape restoration. So, via the lessons learned in the course, you will be in a position to apply the beneficial skills in your professional life to combat the issue of land degradation and restoration. So, enroll in this landscape design certificate online, and learn the necessary skills.
4. Landscape Architecture – [UCLA Extension]
Do you wish to design a water-efficient backyard or a national park? If yes, this course is an excellent choice. Knowledge of landscape architecture provides you with the skill and abilities to elevate the places you live, play, or work.
It is a multidisciplinary field that is a combination of sustainability, construction knowledge, and environmental systems. In addition, it also takes into account water and land conservation to ensure placemaking and build well-designed outdoor living spaces. This one of the top-rated online landscape design courses covers all of this.
Further, you can finish the program sequence in three years. There are weekend and night landscape design training available. Your instructors for the course are working professionals. So, you will learn from the best.
Lastly, it is an approved university extension certificate program by the California Architects Board Landscape Architects Technical Committee. So, it caters to all the requirements by the State of California to sit for the state licensing exam.
Learning Outcomes
In this best landscape design certificate online, you will learn the following:
Fundamental principles of design via drawing and modeling
Artfully combining natural processes and science in the landscape design
Analyzing the problems in terms of physical form and design
Designing methods and drawing techniques to build landscapes
History and practice of landscape design and garden
Different dimensions of professional practice, such as professional ethics and management
Prerequisites
For these online landscape design classes, you need:
Bachelor’s degree
Time
Patience
Desire to learn something new
Who should take this course?
This landscape design certificate online course is suitable for:
Anyone who aspires to be a licensed landscape architect
Individuals passionate about designing for the natural environment
Anyone who dreams of creating theme parks, trails, parks, or urban landscapes
Individuals seeking career working communities through facilitation and engagement
5. Landscaping Technology – [Penn Foster]
Next, we have one of the best online landscape design courses. It is a diploma course of six to ten months, designed with job readiness in mind. This comprehensive program comprises eight course and 41.3 continuing education units (CEUs).
Further, you will have to submit two projects and appear for twenty-two exams to assess your learning in the course. Following this, you will bag a certification.
Learning Outcomes
In this landscape design certificate online, you will learn the following:
Skills required to start your landscape design business or a career in landscaping
Selecting the correct materials utilized in designs for sustainable landscaping
Basic marketing skills to boost clientele and promote the business
Prepare site specifications, plans, and cost estimates
Practically work in this field
Details about gardening, horticulture, and plants
Coordination of the arrangement of proposed and existing land structures and features
Communicating with building architects, clients, and engineers
Inspection techniques to comply with original plans
6. Landscape Design Course Online – [New York Institute of Art and Design]
It is a detailed landscape design training that covers all the design fundamentals. Further, it takes you through professional hands-on techniques. Also, it is one of the top-demanded online landscape design courses.
It brings you 24/7 access to expertly prepared course materials, lessons, and videos. Further, you will receive one-to-one feedback from a professional mentor to help you get better. You can contact the team of advisors via email and phone to get a response to your queries.
It is an online, self-paced course. So, you can finish it in eighteen months. It comes with a 14-day refund policy. So, if you do not like the content, you can request a refund. You also access the online student forum, a community to clear your doubts and share your work. After you finish the course, you will bag a certification.
Learning Outcomes
This landscape design certificate online will teach you the following:
Interpretation of the visual design elements used in the landscape design process
Knowledge of the graphic and drawing tools used in landscape design
With these best online landscape design courses you learn visualizing the landscape site
Applying the learned knowledge to personal projects or client’s work
Designing the space as outdoor rooms
Applying standard design principles to boost the appearance of commercial or residential outdoor space
Knowledge of the business-related functions and concepts of the landscaping design process, such as safety and OSHA compliance, generation and interpretation of contracts and specifications, customer service, and human resource management
Describing the different aspects of winterizing, irritation, or general maintenance for established landscapes
Identifying different flowers, plants, surface materials, and enclosures to create and boost the exterior design spaces
OSU has a variety of short courses that educate you on gardening fundamentals. You can browse the available programs and pick the best landscape design training that meets your needs.
Courses include:
You can pick from the below-listed gardening course:
Basic Botany Online Course
Soils and Compost Online Course
Vegetable Gardening Online Course
Introduction to Entomology Online Course
Plant Pathology Online Course
Pesticide Safety Online Course
Herbaceous Ornamental Plants Online Course
Sustainable Landscape Design Online Course
Sustainable Landscape Management Online Course
Integrated Pest Management Online Course
Woody Landscape Plants Online Course
8. Core Foundations of Becoming a Landscape Architect – [Udemy]
Lastly, we have a Udemy course. It is a hands-on class where you learn by doing. In addition, there is a quiz at the end that helps assess your learning across the course.
Learning Outcomes
In this landscape design certificate online, you will learn the core foundations to become a landscape architect.
Prerequisites
It is one of the top landscape design courses, but there are no prerequisites for this course.
Who should take this course?
These are the best online landscape design classes for students who aspire to be landscape architects.
Conclusion
So, these are the top eight best online landscape design courses.
Professional development is more than just a job perk—it’s a job requirement. In order to learn the newest technologies and best practices, you need to keep up with the latest developments in your field. Online professional development courses offer an opportunity to hone your existing skills and pick up new ones as you grow in your career.
One of the best ways to teach yourself digital marketing is to follow an online digital marketing training course. A good course will help you build the skills needed to become a successful digital marketer fast and boost your career.
Who should follow a digital marketing course?
Digital marketing skills are critical not only for digital marketing professionals but for anyone working in a business with an online presence. This includes entrepreneurs, marketing managers, marketing specialists, and small business owners.
Why are these the best online courses in digital marketing?
If you search Google for ‘Digital Marketing Courses’ you’ll find a lot of courses covering different digital marketing disciplines. For example, there are courses that focus only on SEO or social media marketing but they don’t give you a complete picture of all digital marketing channels.
The purpose of this guide is to showcase complete digital marketing courses that cover a wide range of digital marketing concepts and not just one area. The list includes different types and levels of courses suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced users.
Most of them are free and you can get started right away and boost your digital marketing career.
Top 10 Digital Marketing Courses
These are the best digital marketing courses you can take online and get certified in digital marketing.
Google Digital Marketing Courses (Free with Certification)
Reliablesoft Academy (Paid with Certification)
Semrush Academy (Free with Certification)
ClickMinded Digital Marketing Course (Paid with Certification)
HubSpot Online Marketing Courses (Free with Certification)
Udemy Digital Marketing Course (Paid with Certification)
Simplilearn Digital Marketing Specialist (Paid with Certification)
Udacity Digital Marketing Course (Paid with Certification)
Coursera Digital Marketing Courses (Paid with Certification)
Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce Courses (Paid with Certification)
1. Google Digital Marketing Courses
Google has an online course platform (Digital Garage) offering free courses on a number of subjects related to career or business development.
One topic that is covered in detail is Digital Marketing training. In particular, Google offers the following online marketing training courses:
Fundamentals of Digital Marketing (includes a digital marketing certification)
How to start an online business
How to make sure customers find you online
How to promote a business with online advertising (Google Ads)
How to expand a business to other countries
Mobile Marketing
Promote a business with content marketing
Social Media Advertising
YouTube Course (Includes certification)
All courses include both video and text materials and some can be completed in 3 hours while others can take up to 40 hours.
The digital marketing fundamentals certification is accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University.
Why enroll in this course?
If you are new to digital marketing and want to get a good idea of what digital marketing is and how the different components work together, then this is a good course to follow.
The certification is also globally recognized which is a great way to boost your career.
2. Reliablesoft Academy (Paid with Certification)
The Digital Marketing Full Course is offered by Reliablesoft (that’s us). Reliablesoft is a full-service digital marketing agency providing SEO and digital marketing services since 2002.
The digital marketing course bundle has ten courses covering all major aspects of digital marketing. In particular, it includes the following courses:
Digital marketing basics
Facebook / Instagram Ads
Google Ads
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Keyword research
Content marketing
Email marketing
Google Analytics (including Google Analytics 4)
Social media marketing
eCommerce SEO
Upon completion of the course and required exams, you get a digital marketing certification to showcase on your CV and open up new career opportunities.
Why enroll in this course?
This digital marketing course based on our experience working with clients in various industries and on the feedback we received from our students. What differentiates this course from the rest is that it will not only teach you the theory, but it will show you step-by-step how to use digital marketing to boost your online presence.
As an active digital marketing agency, we continually optimize our processes by testing different theories and techniques, and our findings are transferred to our online courses. For you, this means that you can focus on digital marketing practices and procedures that are proven to work and are not only useful in theory.
Each course covers a digital marketing channel in detail with checklists and actionable tips you can apply to your digital marketing campaigns. It is suitable for beginners and anyone that wants to learn digital marketing in the fastest possible way.
The course content is updated regularly to take into account the latest digital marketing techniques and practices.
3. Semrush Academy (Free with Certification)
Semrush is the company behind one of the most successful digital marketing tools. To serve their users and audience better, they have created an academy with a number of free digital marketing courses.
Their courses cover all digital marketing disciplines including:
SEO
Content Marketing
PPC
Affiliate Marketing
Social Media Marketing
The course’s main language is English but many of the courses are also available in Spanish.
Registration is free and upon completion of the course and the exams, you get a certification.
The course material includes both Video and text and all courses are taught by reputable digital marketing professionals.
They cover both basic and advanced concepts and while some courses are specific on how to use Semrush, there are courses that cover general concepts like SEO fundamentals, PPC fundamentals, technical SEO, and social media marketing.
Why enroll in this course?
The nice thing about these courses is that they are taught by industry experts and besides explaining the different concepts, they also teach you how these can be applied in practice.
In addition, you’ll get to learn how to use Semrush correctly and this can increase your chances of running successful digital marketing campaigns.
4. ClickMinded Digital Marketing Course (Paid with Certification)
ClickMinded is a company co-founded by Tommy Griffith. Tommy is an experienced SEO expert and SEO trainer. He has done SEO work for companies like Paypal and Airbnb.
They offer a number of online marketing courses covering various marketing channels and a digital marketing course bundle that includes everything you need to know to become a digital marketing specialist.
In particular, their digital marketing training covers 7 topics:
Social Media Marketing
Content Marketing
Email Marketing
Paid Advertising
Sales Funnels
Google Analytics
Search Engine Optimization
The nice thing about the Click Minded bundle is that each course is taught by professionals who are actively working in the industry in big organizations.
You can register for free for their Digital marketing framework masterclass but to gain full access to the bundle, you have to pay $1997 (a once-off fee). All courses come with a certificate and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Here is a tip for you: While the courses are offered at a discount (the normal price is listed as $6,979), you can get a further discount by registering for their masterclass course. After you register for the free course, you will get emails with better discounts on the paid courses.
Why enroll in this course?
Obviously, this is not a course for all individuals. The price is high for a freelancer or a solo professional but not a problem if you work for a big company.
If you are willing to spend the amount, there is definitely value to be gained from this course. If you already know the basics and worked through Google Garage and Semrush courses, you can use this course to go deeper and explore all bits and pieces of digital marketing.
5. Udemy Digital Marketing Course (Paid with Certification)
Udemy is one of the biggest online learning platforms. They offer courses on a number of subjects covering all areas of marketing from SEO to Google Ads and Sales.
One of the courses that cover Digital Marketing in detail is the Complete Digital Marketing Course Bundle which includes 12 courses. Topics include:
Market Research
WordPress Setup
SEO
SEO Writing
YouTube Marketing
Google Ads
LinkedIn Marketing
App Marketing
Email Marketing
Google Analytics
Social Media Marketing
Facebook Ads
The course comes with a digital marketing certification but it’s not free. The price is $99 but you can get it at a lower price if you are patient enough. Sign up with Udemy, add the course to your wish list and wait for the discount period.
Why enroll in this course?
I’m not a big fan of Udemy courses, I have tried a number of courses in the past and they seem to me that the courses are made for the masses without giving attention to detail.
Also, sometimes the course description promises more than what is actually delivered in the course.
Nevertheless, if you can get this course for a reasonable price and not $99, it’s worth the money. If you are a beginner you can get a very good idea of how the different marketing components work since it covers everything from website marketing to social media promotion.
6. HubSpot Online Marketing Courses (Free with Certification)
Another option to learn digital marketing online and get certified by a renowned company is Hubspot Digital Academy.
Hubspot is one of the leading companies in the digital marketing industry with a range of tools including CRM, SEO tools, content marketing, and sales.
Hubspot’s Online Digital Marketing Courses cover the following topics:
Inbound Marketing
Content Marketing
Email Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Contextual Marketing
Registration is Free and you get a recognized certification upon completion of the course.
Besides the above courses, they also offer a number of courses (without a certification) that cover Search engine optimization, blogging, Facebook ads, and other online marketing channels.
Why enroll in this course?
Even if you don’t plan to use HubSpot’s tools in your marketing campaigns, they did a very good job with their online courses. You can allocate some time and go through the ones that interest you.
All courses are taught by experts like Sujan Patel and Matthew Barby, who are recognized digital marketing professionals with years of experience in the industry. The learning environment is easy to use and the courses are free.
I suggest you also go through this course, which explains how HubSpot is using blogging to get thousands of visitors per day from Google organic search.
7. Simplilearn Digital Marketing Specialist (Paid with Certification)
This Digital marketing course is offered by SimpliLearn and covers a number of Digital Marketing disciplines and tools.
It’s a course for beginners and includes:
SEO
Social Media
Pay-Per-Click (Facebook and Google Ads)
Conversion Optimization
Web Analytics
Content Marketing
Email Marketing and Mobile Marketing
The Digital Marketing Specialist course is a premium course and comes with a premium price of $1,499.
Why enroll in this course?
The nice thing about this course is that it includes walkthroughs of more than 40 digital marketing tools so by the time you complete this course, you’ll have a very good idea of what tools to use in your digital marketing campaigns.
Also, besides getting certified for this course, it prepares you to pass and get certified for Google Ads, Facebook, Google Analytics, and YouTube.
If you are working for a company and want to convince your boss to invest in a Digital Marketing Course, then this is a very good option from a trusted company.
8. Udacity Digital Marketing Course (Paid with Certification)
Another premium digital marketing training course is Udacity’s Digital Marketing Nanodegree program.
It covers everything you need to know to become a digital marketer including:
Online Marketing Fundamentals
Content Strategy
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Advertising with Facebook Blueprint
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Marketing with Google Ads
Display Advertising
Email Marketing
Measure and Optimize with Google Analytics
Why enroll in this course?
What is different about this course compared to other online courses is that besides getting access to the course material, you also get access to a technical mentor and a personal career coach, and career services.
This is particularly useful if you are a beginner in digital marketing and want to have someone to talk to about technical issues and need advice on how to build your digital marketing career.
Of course, you don’t get the above services for Free. To maintain your access to the course material and services, you have to pay a premium price of $399 per month. It is estimated that you will need at least 3 months to go through the material.
This is definitely a good course for beginners but it’s not for everyone. Paying $399 per month for a course subscription is a lot for freelancers or self-employed so this is more suited to marketers working with big companies that can afford it.
9. Coursera Digital Marketing Courses (Paid with Certification)
Another digital marketing training academy worth considering is Coursera. They offer a number of digital marketing courses covering all digital marketing channels from SEO to social media marketing and paid advertising.
One popular option is the Digital Marketing Specialization offered by the University of Illinois.
The digital marketing specialization includes six courses with each course taking around 20 hours to complete and the total cost to finish all courses is $592. The courses cover the following areas:
Differences between analog and digital marketing
Introduction to Digital tools and digital media
Digital marketing analytics theory
Digital marketing analytics practice
Online marketing strategies
Video marketing
Social and email marketing
When you finish all courses and pass all graded assignments, you can get the Coursera Digital Marketing Specialization certification and use the credits towards obtaining the MBA degree awarded by the University of Illinois.
Why enroll in this course?
This is a good course for people who have experience with analog marketing and want to make the transition to digital marketing. It’s not the best course if you’re looking for actionable digital marketing techniques to increase your traffic and sales. You can read our comprehensive review of this course here.
10. Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce Courses (Paid with Certification)Besides Digital Garage, Google is offering a number of digital marketing courses through Grow with Google and third-party providers. One such case is the Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce courses offered through Coursera
.
The courses are prepared by Google marketing professionals and they can be accessed through a subsidized Coursera plus subscription which costs $39 per month.
In total, Google offers seven online courses with each course taking on average 24 hours to complete. The courses cover the following topics:
Introduction to Digital Marketing and e-commerce
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Social Media Marketing (including strategy, planning, and analytics)
Email Marketing
Marketing Analytics
eCommerce (including building an online store)
eCommerce Marketing
Retargeting
When you finish all courses, you get the Google Digital Marketing and e-commerce certification which is accredited by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the American Advertising Federation.
Why enroll in this course?
The courses are intended for people who want to build job-ready skills and enter the digital marketing industry as junior digital marketing professionals. The lessons are easy to follow and are suited for beginners with no prior experience in online marketing. Coursera offers a 7-day free trial to review the content before committing to a paid plan.
Additional Training Options
In addition to the above options, these free courses are worth considering.
Optinmonster Digital Marketing Training (Free)
Optinmonster is one of the most successful tools for increasing website conversions. To educate their users, they created a number of free courses covering topics related to email marketing and conversion optimization.
Why enroll in this course?
Although the optinmonster digital academy does not include courses on all digital marketing topics, it is worth taking a look because once you manage to get traffic to a website, you will need conversions and this is exactly what you’ll learn in these courses.
Registration is free and the courses are easy to follow, suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
Copyblogger Online Marketing Course (Free)
One of the most successful websites on Internet Marketing, especially when it comes to content writing is Copyblogger.
Brian Clark is the author behind copyblogger and the creator of the most successful WordPress framework, Genesis.
Although copyblogger, studiopress, and Genesis are now part of WPEngine, Brian’s free Internet Marketing course is still a great resource to learn how to write great content.
This course is delivered through email and downloaded ebooks and it’s free. All you have to do is register using your email address.
Why enroll in this course?
Writing great content is essential for the success of any digital marketing campaign. Whether it’s ad copy, articles, or landing page copy, you need to learn how to write engaging content and this course is a great place to start.
It is suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
Which Course to Follow?
If you are confused as to which digital marketing course to follow, our recommendation is the following:
If you want a good free course to get started with digital marketing, follow the Google Digital Garage course.
If you want to learn actionable advice on how digital marketing can help you get more traffic and make more sales register with the Digital Marketing Full Course.
If you want to become Google Digital Marketing Certified, go with the Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce Course.
Key Learnings
You need to acquire a range of skills to become a successful digital marketing professional.
Digital marketing is not a single discipline but it includes a number of principles that cover all online marketing channels.
At the end of the day, when you apply for a digital marketing job, you need to prove that you have knowledge of at least the following:
Search Engine Optimization
Paid Search Advertising (Google Ads and Facebook)
Email Marketing
Web Analytics
Content Marketing
Conversion Optimization
Following a digital marketing course, is one of the best ways to acquire those skills fast. You can then concentrate on building your real-world experience by either working on your own websites, or getting a job in the field as a digital marketing freelancer, or in an established digital marketing agency.
Most of the courses listed in this guide are free and perfect for beginners. You can check out the courses in the order listed above and enroll in the ones that best fit your needs.
An angry customer is one of the most difficult things to deal with in customer service. It’s hard to help someone who’s complaining, venting, or even cursing at you. It’s even harder to want to help them. What’s more, these exchanges are difficult to shake, making it tough to help the next person, who may be perfectly nice.
So, how do you deal with irate customers in a way that lets you give them the help they need without feeling wounded in the process?
How to deal with angry customers: 10 steps
Your instinct might be to yell back, be sarcastic, disengage, hang up, or close the ticket. But, in most cases, you can’t really do that without consequence. Here’s what you should do to grow stronger customer relationships instead.
Give them the floor (at first)
Acknowledge your customer’s emotions
Restate what they told you
Move to an appropriate channel
Think critically
Set clear next steps
Stay consistent
Explore solutions
Ask for help
Hang up as a last resort
1. Give them the floor (at first)
They’re angry. They have something to say. So the first thing you should always do, no matter if you already know about the situation, is give them the floor. Take opportunities to verbalize that you’re listening (using words like “I see” or “okay,” for example) but don’t interrupt. It’s your customer’s time to express what they’re feeling and experiencing. It’s your job to listen.
That is unless you’re the second or third touchpoint for this customer. While this tactic is great for initial interactions, it can actually make a customer angrier to rehash their experience over and over again. Even worse, the more your customer repeats their story, the more it sinks into their head and becomes their source of truth. When a story becomes true, it’s more difficult to reframe and reach a solution when it’s time to problem solve.
2. Acknowledge your customer’s emotions
Instead of jumping straight into problem-solving, spend a moment validating what your customer feels. Try something as simple as stating that you understand the pain they’re experiencing. You can also apologize or say, “You’re right” if your company dropped the ball.
Use this opportunity to play to your customer’s human side. If your team made a mistake, give them context. Let them know the cause—whether that’s unanticipated sick leave or pandemic pressures—that contributed to their pain. That context helps your customer understand that everyone, even the customer service rep they’re yelling at, is just trying to do their best.
Whatever you say, make sure it’s a genuine and specific acknowledgment of where the failure occurred. Most customers can tell when you’re faking, and doing so only makes them angrier.
3. Restate what they told you
Restating what they said shows that you’re listening and taking them seriously. You can also use this tactic to make sure you understand their situation and what they want from you.
Choose your words carefully when you restate the situation back to your customer. You can use the customer’s words to signal that you’re not minimizing their pain. However, also look for opportunities to tweak the language to something less loaded, more tangible, and more along the lines of a problem you can solve.
After restating what your customer said, ask them to confirm that you got it right. A simple agreement there goes a long way to deescalating the tension and putting you both into more of an “ally” space.
4. Move to an appropriate channel
It might make sense to move a social media or text conversation to phone if it’s particularly heated. Likewise, you may need to switch to a video call so you can screenshare as you troubleshoot their issue. Don’t be afraid to embrace omnichannel and move the conversation to a different medium so you can better help your angry customer.
We prefer to bring upset customers into a video call as it makes it easier to connect, analyze body language, empathize, and have a more human conversation. “Jumping on a Zoom call signals that I’m taking this seriously. But it also works in my favor.
We use Slack to quickly follow up with customers—particularly our B2B customers. WhatsApp is our go-to for global customers.
5. Think critically about what your customer really wants
Do they want a refund, or are they just looking for someone to validate their experience? Remember, the reason your customer is angry can change throughout their interaction with you and your team. Before addressing your customer’s request, you need to understand what’s behind it.
You may need to go above and beyond your usual problem solving to help your customer out, and that’s okay. “It’s not a bad thing to give your customer homework because most problems aren’t solely on us,” said Ana. “They can execute and see better results. And maybe they’ll remember when you recommended they do that and think of you fondly.”
6. Set clear next steps (and follow through on them)
Often enough, you won’t be able to solve your angry customer’s problem right away. When that happens, it becomes even more critical to communicate exactly how your team will fix their issue and what to expect.
We walk our customers through a roadmap of how we plan to resolve their problem. This roadmap includes what we’ll do for them right away, what comes after that, and when the customer can expect a resolution. For example, if we can’t troubleshoot a product issue with a customer immediately, we’ll schedule a next-day appointment with a product manager on that call. Then we’ll tell the customer to expect a follow-up email from the customer support team 24 hours after the appointment to make sure all is well.
Set customer expectations by telling them specific next steps. If your customer knows when you’ll follow up or when their problem will be resolved, they won’t need to call every hour for an update. Communicating clear next steps prevents the situation from becoming more heated and putting more pressure on your team. By following through as promised, you can de-escalate your customer’s anger.
7. Stay consistent
Inconsistent customer service interactions can confuse and escalate angry customers. It’s critical for everyone on your team to be on the same page about what’s happening and what the solution is.
Share customer data, history, and context to stay consistent. Everyone who interacts with a customer needs to know what the customer wants, what their history is, their plan, their pain, what’s been done so far to resolve it, and the recommended solution. Consistency keeps the customer from rehashing the details too many times, often causing them to become more irritated. Zendesk, for example, helps service reps and managers keep track of everything they need to know about a customer in one place.
Consistency also deters agent shopping. When a customer hears different things from different people, they may insist on speaking to someone else until they get what they want. Agent shopping wastes your team’s time and encourages your customer to return to this bad behavior in future customer service interactions. You can discourage this by making sure everyone on your team offers the same solutions.
8. Explore solutions even if you know they’re not available
Say your customer comes to you demanding a refund, and you know a refund isn’t an option. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to your manager and ask for it anyway. Doing so demonstrates to your customer that you’re putting in the effort to do everything in your power to help them. “Showing that you’re willing to work for them, not take the easy way out, goes a long way even if it results in the same outcome,” .
Showing that you’re willing to work for them, not take the easy way out, goes a long way even if it results in the same outcome.
9. Ask for help from your team
Don’t be afraid to ask for help in uncomfortable situations, like when a customer is using abusive, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate language. If you’re unsure whether you need to terminate a customer interaction, ask a manager to come in and do a subjective review. They can analyze the situation and determine the best next steps for you and the customer.
Teammates and managers can also provide solutions for customer issues you’re unsure of how to solve. Reach out to your product or engineering team for more technical questions or ask fellow customer service reps how they approached a similar issue. A manager can also do more investigating and open closed doors for your customer in some cases.
10. Hang up as a last resort
Yes, it’s an option. But if you go this route, be sure to involve a manager beforehand. Involving a manager gives them a chance to help you think through creative solutions and exhaust all options. It also provides them with the visibility they need to know that you did everything you could in that situation.
Ready to hang up on an upset customer? Revenue might stay your hand. You and your manager are more likely to fight harder for a repeat, loyal customer on a pricier plan than someone who just purchased your product for the first time with a 70 percent off code.
However, customer revenue is only part of the picture. You might consider firing a customer who repeatedly contacts your team to the point of harassment. Long-term customer issues can take up hundreds of hours and cost teams more than the customer’s worth.
What makes an angry customer angry?
So what drives a customer to get angry in the first place? Knowing what contributes to customer anger and frustration can often help you solve their problem and help get them (and keep you) in a better mood.
1. Product problems
Customers are usually pretty up-front with their feelings in these situations. There’s a gap between their expectations of your product, and the reality they’re encountering. Your customer might feel shame for not being able to get things to work—no one likes feeling incompetent, and asking for help can be challenging and stressful to people who are used to being self-sufficient.
Why?
Your product is more challenging to set up and/or use than they anticipated
Your product doesn’t do what they thought it would
Your product isn’t making life as easy as they think it should
Your product has stopped working, partially or completely
They’ve tried to figure it out already, without success
Alternately, they might feel lied to or betrayed by your company, or even the product itself. If they have reasonable expectations that aren’t being met, you can apologize and work to find a solution. If their expectations are incorrect, whether because they assumed, missed, or misinterpreted some information, or if they were given inaccurate information, it’s important to reset their expectations and to see if there’s a way to prevent others from having the same experience.
2. Support woes
It happens. Customers get frustrated with customer support. They may be upset over an escalation, or simply because they don’t trust that you’ll be willing or able to help them. It may be that they’ve had bad customer service experiences with your organization before, but they may have just been burned often enough in the past that they no longer trust that any company cares about their needs.
Why?
They’ve been waiting longer than anticipated for a response
They think they won’t like your answer
They’ve been passed around from agent to agent without concrete results
They have other unresolved issues with you
They had one or more bad previous support experiences—with your team or other companies
They have an incorrect expectation of the level of support they are entitled to
And what’s even more challenging? The customer may have had a phenomenal service experience with a different company, perhaps not even in your industry, and they now expect that same level of support from you.
Similar to product-related issues, there may be an expectations gap that needs to be bridged. A customer might be feeling abandoned, powerless, or victimized. There’s often a great opportunity in these situations to show that you really do care. The commitment you bring to solving their issue not only can help rebuild trust in your organization, but in their faith in customer service. And who knows, you might set the gold standard for expectation transfer.
If you love plants, you’ll want to pursue a career that allows you to interact with them on a day-to-day basis. But looking at the high rate of urbanization and technological advancements, you may wonder whether you’d have a chance to build a successful career around your passion for plants or nature. The reality is that there are plenty of such opportunities out there. Below we explore some of the best career opportunities that people who are fascinated by plants should consider:
Career in plants
1. horticultural product management
If you decide to pursue a career in horticultural product management, you’ll be involved in working with internal partners in a horticulture company and providing customer service to people who love plants as much as you do. As a matter of fact, product managers in horticulture companies focus on providing customers with positive experiences right from the pre-sale stage to the post-sale stage when they set up their product portfolios.
The nature of this career requires managers to have a good understanding of the product cultivation process as well as post-harvest handling processes. This knowledge enables horticultural product managers to engage customers knowledgeably. To pursue a career in horticultural product management, you need to complete a Bachelor’s degree and have good communication, sales, and marketing skills.
2. conservation science
Another ideal career for anyone who gets fascinated by plants is conservation science. When you pursue this career, you become a conservation scientist. This means you’ll be involved in taking care of natural resources like land, water, and the environment. In this job, you’ll be helping landowners and governments make the best decisions on how to use and conserve lands including managing forests, parks, and any other natural lands that are under their ownership.
Conservation science is very similar to environmental science in the sense that they involve helping people make better decisions that protect the environment. However, a career in environmental science is largely involved in conserving solid, water, air, and land in order to protect the earth from being destroyed by man-made activities like urbanization, fracking, and pollution.
One of the jobs that you’ll find under conservation science is being a conservation biologist—which involves studying the climate and its effects on our natural resources. To work in this career, you need to have a Bachelor’s degree and an advanced degree to qualify for a senior position.
3. botanical science
Plants have long been used as food and medicine. This is precisely what attracts people to gardening and botany. In very simple terms, botany involves studying and caring for plants. Botanists are scientists who specialize in the biology of plants. They are experts in different vegetations including cacti, grass, shrubs, algae, and edibles like fruits, herbs, and vegetables. Botanists differ from gardeners and landscapers in the sense that botanists conduct research on plants while the latter only grow, arrange, and care for them.
As a career, botanical science is a broad field that creates space for numerous kinds of jobs that would involve working with many kinds of plants. If you decide to pursue a career in botanical science, you’ll need to pick an area or several areas of focus. For instance, you can choose field botany where you’ll be involved in the search for new plant species, or opt for medicinal botany where you can participate in the search for new plants that can treat diseases.
To pursue a career in botanical science, you need to hold a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree. A career in senior research positions also requires a Masters and Doctorate degree.
4. organic farming
With more people becoming conscious of healthy eating, organic food has become increasingly popular. While farming may seem like an old and non-glamorous career, organic farming is becoming the new frontier as farmers seek to play an active role in improving food production in different parts of the world. If you live in the city and want to engage in organic farming, consider joining sustainable farming clubs or urban gardening groups that grow plants in designated parks and rooftops. This is a great way to bring nature to the city and build an organic farming career.
5. plant biologist
A career in plant biology involves becoming an expert in different vegetation including flowers, grass, algae, shrubs, moss, cacti, and edibles like vegetables, fruits, and herbs. As a plant biologist, you’ll be involved in researching the biology of different plants and their impact on the ecosystem.
However, unlike botanists, biologists usually don’t participate in researching new plant species or looking for new plant-based medicines. Instead, their work revolves around laboratories, collect specimens, and making reports for various agencies. To work as a plant biologist, you need to acquire a Bachelor’s degree or higher.
6. plant pathology
Just like animals, plants also get attacked by diseases. To understand plant diseases and determine their characteristics, plant pathologists run tests and conduct laboratory experiments.
If you’re fascinated by plants, you’d surely love this job as it could provide you the opportunity to travel around the world. You’ll go to locations where specific plant diseases are prevalent. You’ll likely be running tests on soil compositions and collecting samples when you’re traveling.
The best thing about being a plant pathologist is that you may have the chance to develop new plant types that are disease-resistant. It will allow you to contribute something meaningful to society. Disease-resistant plants are beneficial, particularly in the field of food production.
7. plant geneticist
Another plant-related career that allows you to create new types of plants is plant genetics. As a plant geneticist, you’ll study genetics in botany. Your work will revolve around isolating different genes. The end goal is to develop specific and favorable plant traits.
Plant geneticists’ work is vital because they create different strains of crops and make them more sustainable and easy-growing. They do it by improving the plant’s natural traits so it can withstand harsh weather conditions and provide more nutritional value.
8. horticultural therapy
Anyone who is fascinated by plants and loves helping people should consider becoming a horticultural therapist. This career combines social service with gardening to help support and heal people who have mental and physical health problems. As a horticultural therapist, you’ll be engaging patients in plant-based activities such as gardening as part of their therapy treatment plan.
Horticultural therapists work in different settings including hospitals, community gardens, rehabilitation centers, correctional facilities, and even retirement homes. If you decide to pursue this career, you’ll work closely with mental health experts and health care workers to support patient recovery through therapy.
You’ll need to complete academic coursework to become a horticultural therapist. The study of horticultural therapy combines plant and human science. It also involves studying horticultural therapy techniques and concepts. You can take human and plant science courses online and offline in universities or colleges. You will also need a bachelor’s degree for this career path.
9. floriculturist
If you like choosing and arranging flowers for special events such as weddings and debuts, then you might want to consider becoming a floriculturist. A floriculturist cultivates flowers and ornamental plants and design bouquets or supplies such flowers for commercial use. Floriculturists with advanced degrees are also found in universities and in the horticulture industry to conduct research where they develop and breed new varieties of flowers.
The minimum education requirement for becoming a floriculturist is a high school diploma. However, research and higher-level positions typically require a Bachelor’s degree. Those with advanced degrees can also teach courses in floriculture and conduct research studies.
10. plant videographer
A plant videographer creates films or documentaries that are centered on natural resources, which would usually include plants. These films would also focus on environmental issues and problems that involve plants. Think about the shows that you see on National Geographic or Discovery Channel. If you would like to work for such shows behind the scenes, then being a plant videographer would be a great career path for you.
Specifically, videography refers to the process of recording and capturing moving images on camera. The work generally includes video production and post-production work like video editing. Generally, one does not need a formal education to become a plant videographer. However, some training, skill, and experience in videography are required.
11. horticulture writer
Do you enjoy writing and gardening at the same time? If that’s the case, then you’ll find this career very interesting. As a specialist horticulture writer, you’ll write for television and radio shows, gardening websites, and farming magazines. It’s definitely a great career choice if you love crops or plants and want to share your knowledge with the world.
If you’re able to meet tight deadlines and possess a good command of the English language, then it won’t be hard for you to look for opportunities in this field. Note that if you have plans to write for the web, it will be beneficial to understand basic HTML as well.
12. ethnobotanist
An ethnobotanist studies a region’s plants and their practical uses through traditional and passed on knowledge by the local culture and their people. The minimum education required is a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree.
13. plant morphologist
A plant morphologist studies the physical form and external structure of plants. Plant morphology is useful in the visual identification of plants. The minimum education requirement is a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
14. ecologists
Ecology is a branch of biology, but this branch focuses on the relationships of different kinds of organisms within an environment. Ecology covers a broad range of studies, and if you are interested to focus on plants, then you may just specialize in terrestrial ecology. Other specializations in this field would include aquatic and evolutionary ecology. The minimum education requirement is a Bachelor’s degree.
15. landscape maintenance specialist
If you like to decorate and maintain lawns using plants, being a landscape maintenance specialist is a great career option for you. A landscape maintenance specialist typically works for a landscaping company and maintains lawns and landscapes for commercial or residential customers. The minimum requirement is to obtain a certification and pesticide license from your state.
16. permaculture designer
If you like to create nature-inspired pieces or create mini-ecosystems, then becoming a permaculture designer is a great career to consider. The term permaculture originally meant “permanent agriculture”, but was expanded to also mean “permanent culture”. There are several branches in this field, and that includes ecological design, ecological engineering, environmental design, and construction.
As a permaculture designer, you can work with architects and engineers to create regenerative and self-maintaining habitats that can be incorporated into homes and buildings. Generally, you can work at the forefront of sustainable and eco-friendly architecture.
17. plant scientist
A plant researcher is a scientist who carries out academic or scientific research on plants. If you like to assist botanists, biologists, and ecologists with plant studies, this is a great career option. The minimum education requirement is a Master’s or Doctorate degree.
18. pomologist
A pomologist studies and cultivates different types of fruits. Aside from that, they often research, develop, and even breed new varieties of fruits and nuts that are more beneficial for human consumption. To be a pomologist, one needs to have a Bachelor’s degree. However, research and higher-level positions typically require a Master’s degree or a Ph.D.
19. forestry
Foresters work to supply an adequate amount of wood products to the market. As a forester, you should follow policies and regulations for the country’s forested areas as well as protect the environment.
Forestry jobs require working outdoors. Some focus on scientific or technical knowledge, while others require business knowledge. When it comes to inspecting inventory and monitoring reforestation efforts, foresters can consult major decision-makers on forest land.
20. soil scientist
As a soil scientist, you’ll study the soil’s mineralogical, biological, physical, and chemical composition. You will also participate in researches for the management, yield, and production of crops and agriculture overall. Soil scientists use their knowledge to help improve plant growth and crop production. To study different forms of crop growth and agriculture, soil scientists also classify soils.
final thoughts
Working with plants or crops can be both creative and scientific. Green thumbs can focus their efforts on environmental problems by specializing in conservation and research. Others prefer careers that require design and planning finesse, such as those who focus on creating landscapes or arranging floral collections to promote and maintain beauty and functionality.
If you’re fascinated by plants and you want to pursue a career that revolves around them, the best thing to do is to identify your particular interests and strengths. That way, you can choose the appropriate specialty or focus area for you.
The mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is a small migratory thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast, grey crown, throat and back.
In fresh fall plumage, the female’s throat and breast are tinged with red-orange, brownish near the flank contrasting with white tail underparts. Their call is a thin ‘few’; while their song is warbled high ‘chur chur’. It is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada. It is an omnivore and it can live 6 to 10 years in the wild. It eats spiders, grasshoppers, flies and other insects, and small fruits. The mountain bluebird is a relative of the eastern and western bluebirds.
BASIC DESCRIPTION
Male Mountain Bluebirds lend a bit of cerulean sparkle to open habitats across much of western North America. You may spot these cavity-nesters flitting between perches in mountain meadows, in burned or cut-over areas, or where prairie meets forest—especially in places where people have provided nest boxes. Unlike many thrushes, Mountain Bluebirds hunt insects from perches or while on the wing, at times resembling a tiny American Kestrel with their long wings, hovering flight, and quick dives.
Find This Bird
In the right places it can be a snap to find Mountain Bluebirds, as they are not shy of humans and live in fairly open country. They sit in the open on perches such as treetops, fence posts, and power lines. In summer in rural areas and ranches, particularly at higher elevations, you can often find them simply by driving rural roads and eyeballing such potential perches. In forested areas, look for them in large openings, particularly if there are aspen in the vicinity (aspen is a key cavity-providing tree in western montane forests). In winter, search for areas with berry-laden junipers and watch for flocks of birds feeding on those berries. Mountain Bluebirds often mix with Western Bluebirds, American Robins, and Cedar Waxwings when taking advantage of such fruity abundance.
Facts
Historically, the Mountain Bluebird depended for nest sites on forest tree cavities excavated by woodpeckers. Today, many Mountain Bluebirds breed in artificial nest boxes, which tend to be situated in more open areas and have smaller openings to keep out marauders and bad weather. Most of what we know about Mountain Bluebirds comes from studies of these human-made nesting sites.
A female Mountain Bluebird pays more attention to good nest sites than to attractive males. She chooses her mate solely on the basis of the location and quality of the nesting cavity he offers her—disregarding his attributes as a singer, a flier, or a looker.
A male Mountain Bluebird frequently feeds his mate while she is incubating and brooding. As the male approaches with food, the female may beg fledgling-style—with open beak, quivering wings, and begging calls. More often, she waits until her mate perches nearby, then silently flicks the wing farthest from him—a signal that usually sends him off to find her a snack.
Mountain Bluebirds compete fiercely with other cavity-nesters over nest sites. Early spring arrival at nesting grounds, for example, helps them take possession of choice cavities before Tree Swallows can appropriate them. Northern Flickers sometimes enlarge the entrance holes of nest boxes before discovering the box is too small for their own use—rendering the boxes permeable to weather and competitors such as European Starlings.
The ostrich (common ostrich) is a flightless bird and mostly found in Africa. Ostriches can run at a speed of over 70 kilometers/hour making it the fastest bird on land. Ostrich is the largest of all birds and lays the largest eggs. This bird is famous for its feathers used for decorative purposes.
There are four living subspecies of ostrich, these are:
North African ostrich
South African ostrich
Masai ostrich
Somali ostrich
There was another species called the Arabian ostrich. It became extinct around 1966. The Arabian ostrich was found mostly in Western Asia.
South African Ostrich
Our wildlife guide to the ostrich presents all the details of these species. Let’s dive into the world of ostriches.
Ostrich: the largest and heaviest living bird.
Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Aves
Somali ostrich
Order: | Struthioniformes
Family: | Struthiondae
Genus: | Struthio
Size and Weight:
The ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird. Males are typically larger than females, weighing 220 to 287 pounds and measuring 6.9 to 9 feet in height. Meanwhile, females weigh 198 to 242 pounds and range in height from 5.7 to 6.2 feet.
Appearance:
Ostriches are the largest and heaviest birds in the world. Given their weight, they are flightless and cannot fly into the sky. Instead, ostriches are great runners and are able to reach speeds of up to 43 miles per hour. One stride can be 10 to 16 feet long. They have long, strong legs with two clawed toes, allowing them to reach these high speeds.
An ostrich has a long neck, prominent eyes and sweeping eyelashes. Ostriches have the largest eye of any land animal. An ostrich’s eye is nearly 2 inches across. Their long neck and excellent vision help them see great distances, allowing them to keep an eye out for predators.
Ostriches have unique feathers that are loose, soft, and smooth, giving them a “shaggy” look. Adult male ostriches are black with white wings and tail feathers, while immature birds and adult females have brownish-gray feathers.
Diet:
Ostriches are omnivores. Their diet varies depending on the food available in their habitat. They primarily eat plants, but also eat insects, snakes, lizards and rodents. They are able to consume things that other animals can’t digest because they have tough intestines to absorb as many nutrients as possible. Ostriches also swallow sand, pebbles, and small stones that help grind up food in the gizzard. Since they eat a lot of plants, ostriches do not need to drink water. However, they may drink water at a water hole.
Habitat:
Ostrich habitats include savannas and desert regions.
Geography:
Ostriches are native to Africa.
Breeding:
Ostrich courtship is ritualized and synchronized. A male used his black-and-white coloring to attract a female. He will sink to the ground like a bow and then wave and shake the feathers of first one wing and then the other while moving his tail up and down. After this movement, he gets up and moves toward the female, holding his wings out and stamping as he goes to impress her. If she approves, she mates with him.
The dominant hen mates with the territorial male, and they share the tasks of incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks. The territorial male is polygamous and may mate with other females. The other females may also mate with wandering males. The other females then lay their eggs in the same nest as the dominant hen’s eggs. The nest is a shallow depression scratched in the dirt by the male. The dominant hen makes sure her eggs are closest to the center, and therefore most likely to hatch successfully. A communal nest allows more eggs to successfully hatch overall for the flock. A female ostrich lays 7 to 10 eggs at a time. Ostrich eggs are the largest eggs, weighing about 3 pounds, measuring 6 inches in length and measuring 5 inches across. Only dinosaurs produced larger eggs.
The incubation period is about 42 to 46 days. When they hatch, the chicks are about the size of barnyard chickens, but they grow at a rate of 1 foot per month. Chicks will start to leave the nest with their parents a few days after hatching. By four months, they start to show their adult plumage and by six months, they are about the size of their parents. Ostriches reach sexual maturity around three or four years old, which is when males grow their black-and-white feathers.
Social Structure:
Ostriches live in groups, which helps with defense. They are typically found in flocks of about 10 birds or just a male and female pair but sometimes gather in large flocks of 100 or more. These groups have a pecking order with a dominant male, a dominant female called the “main hen” and several other females. The dominant male establishes and defends their territory. Lone males may also come and go during the breeding season.
Fun ostrich facts
Here is a list of “Top 10 Fun Ostrich Facts”. The facts about the fastest bird on the planet will definitely amaze you!
An ostrich has just two toes on each foot, unlike other birds. Most birds have four toes.
Ostriches have a special kind of pubic bones that are joined to hold their gut.
They can only kick forward. That’s why while confronting a predator they turn around only when they can kick them in the face!
They don’t hide their head in the sand. It’s a myth! They lay flat and from a distance, their heads seem like buried in the sand. But it’s not true. They just lay their head flat.
They can hold 1,300 grams of the food. In this amount, 45% is only sand and pebbles. It means they store 585 grams of just sands and pebbles inside their gizzards!
Females mature about six months earlier than male ostriches.
Ostriches maintain privacy while mating just like us!
Both male and female ostriches perform a series of rituals before finally mating. (Alas! Not like us)
Ostriches can survive losing up to 25% of their body weight through dehydration.
If humans raise an ostrich, at maturity the ostrich will try to impress humans for mating!
Lifespan:
In the wild, ostriches live 30 to 40 years. But in captivity, ostriches have been known to live until their 70.
Threats:
Ostriches have several natural predators, including cheetahs, lions, leopards, hunting dogs and spotted hyenas. Other predators, like Egyptian vultures and jackals, may take ostrich eggs. When an ostrich senses danger and cannot run away from the threat, it will flop to the ground and remain still with its head and neck flat on the ground, so it blends in with the ground. When an adult ostrich is threatened, it attacks with a clawed foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion.
Humans pose other major threats to ostrich populations and their habitats. As human populations grow and expand, ostriches are losing their habitat. Ostrich feathers have long been popular in fashion. In the 18th century, ostrich feathers were so popular in fashion, particularly in the hat industry, ostrich populations declined. Ostrich farming helped the population recover and still continues on a smaller scale. Ostriches are farmed and hunted for feathers, skin, meat, eggs, and fat.
Conservation Status:
The common ostrich is listed as “Least Concern” according to the IUCN’s Red List. Meanwhile, the Somali ostrich is listed as “Vulnerable.”
Investing in continuing education by taking advanced training courses and gaining new certifications is more important now than ever before. The challenges posed by today’s tough economic landscape have made for an even more competitive job market in recent years. Continuously improving your skills is one surefire way to stay ahead of the competition and advance your career.
Grow Your Income with Continuing Education
What’s one of the biggest motivating factors behind people seeking out new certifications or training?
Money, of course.
And you’re smart to think that continuing education can secure you a higher income. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, educational attainment correlates with earning potential. So the more education you get, the more likely you are to earn good money.
Having more valuable skills makes you more valuable to employers. They’re not interested in hiring three people to do different tasks if they could really all be done by one person. Become that valuable employee, so it’s possible to negotiate a better salary.
Gaining new skills and certifications can equally help you grow your income if you’re self-employed. Learning how to do something new (e.g. graphic design) means you don’t have to outsource these tasks to others.
Continuing Education Leads to Better Networking
There are lots of continuing education opportunities out there that give you the chance to meet new people. Even if it’s an online course, there are often forums or groups you can join to network and work together on projects. There’s also study groups, membership societies, special conferences, and other opportunities to learn and network at the same time. You might find that a certification you got in search engine marketing helped you connect with a new partner who can help your business grow. Keeping connections is essential for careers and business today.
Professional Development for Better Job Opportunities
Degreed professionals are not a rare thing in the world today. When you apply for a job, you’re competing with numerous other people with the same qualifications. How are you going to stand out from the crowd?
Having a few extra relevant certifications or training experiences can be just the thing you need to beat the competition. Even if it’s just a 4-week program that you completed online, it goes on your resume to show potential employers that you have something extra that others don’t. This can make all the difference in helping you land new job opportunities since you stand out from the crowd.
Climb the Career Ladder through Continuing Education
Getting advanced certifications isn’t just about adding credentials to your resume. You are also learning valuable skills that you can apply to your day-to-day job. This can help you become better at regular tasks that might otherwise be time-consuming. You can also take on new responsibilities that you once weren’t qualified for.
This is a really valuable way to get promotions and advance your career. Continuing education can help you improve job performance. You’ll also have special skills your colleagues don’t, helping you stand out from the crowd when it’s time for the boss to give out a promotion.
Hard work is only one important part of climbing the career ladder. Learning new skills can make it easier to get more work done and do a better job overall.
Stay Sharp and Healthy Inside and Outside the Office
What many people don’t realize is there’s a strong link between education and health. Continuing to learn new tricks even when you’re older helps keep your brain active and healthy. Learning new things can also help improve memory. Research has shown there’s a strong link between reading and overall health. Learning is a form of mental exercise that can keep you healthy.
Numerous research studies show that having more education correlates with having a longer lifespan. People who prioritize educating themselves are more likely to develop healthy behaviors and less likely to suffer from illness. So believe it or not, continuing to learn throughout your life has benefits for both mental and physical health.
Develop New Professional Interests
Society likes to make people think they need to choose a single career “path” to succeed in life. So everyone invests in getting a very narrow education without broadening their horizons to other interesting subjects. But if you give yourself the opportunity to learn about topics outside your chosen field, you will likely develop some new interests. You might even discover you have an innate talent for a field you never explored before.
When you take the time to dabble in different fields and get a holistic education, there’s just more opportunity to follow paths that truly interest you. You might be able to incorporate these new skills into your current job. Or you could end up changing careers completely to pursue a new dream.
Professional Development Helps You Innovate More
Learning about subjects outside of your normal discipline introduces you to new concepts and new ways of thinking. Different disciplines often discuss some of the same subjects using very different approaches from each other. Getting a broader understanding of a topic can help you brainstorm more creative ways to handle related tasks and challenges. Very rarely does innovation come from someone who’s always thinking inside the box.
Having a broader education can help you become more creative and innovative. In turn, this can help you stand out from your peers, climb the business ladder, or maybe even branch out on your own to create something novel. The best entrepreneurs today have a well-rounded education, and they’re always looking for new opportunities to learn.
Don’t Put Off Gaining New Skills
Hopefully, these seven points have helped illustrate the value of continuing education. In reality, continuing to gain new certifications and training experiences is mandatory if you want to stay competitive in today’s job market.
But instead of just keeping up with the competition, you can also prioritize continuing education to get ahead and increase your income even more. Since it’s a necessary part of success today, keep continuing education at the forefront to get the most benefit from it.
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Autumn 