gardener

maintenance engineer

custodian

educator

assistant engineer

The-New-York-Botanical-Garden

Make no mistake, this is pretty much another retail job. If you're lucky you'll make about 12,000 a year here, but it's unlikely you'll go past 9,500. As an Attendant, you'll do more work than some of the other branches, but get paid the least of all. A lot of the people here are either down on their luck and are desperate or have never had another job, and don't know any better. 

Most of your duties here will include selling tickets, standing for long hours and talking to guests. If you happen not to like retail, this is not the place for you. If you happen to like yourself, this is not the place for you.  

No real benefits as an attendant; there's a 10% discount at the gift shop and cafe, which isn't much. You can work for a full hour and pretty much spend your whole hour's worth of pay on a sliced bread sandwich here. If you're looking to move out/get a car/make any kind of advancements, this is hardly the place for it. If you want your weekends and holidays, go somewhere else. 

Management could use improvement. Generally the management staff doesn't do much visible work. The Garden is very bureaucratic, so making things "happen" can take a lot of effort. 

Shifts are scheduled up to two weeks in advanced and switching a shift can be difficult, so any one with other priorities is bound to end up in a stressful situation.  

There are much better jobs than this. They will take advantage of you.

At work, I'd sign in once I got to the site and would get started by going to the Advanced Explainer (coworker) to receive my assignment. Sometimes I would have options of which stations I would want to work in. I appreciated that because it's a great privilege to choose what you'd work best in. Then I would do any required set up of the station and based on my training and biology knowledge, I would explain the stations to the children coming in with their families so they could learn something new. I would answer questions and interact with the kids with their desire to learn and explore. The experience is very rewarding because I like contributing to a child's intrinsic love for learning while entertaining them at the same time. The stations would sometimes get very creative. There was a lunch break where I'd interact with the other explainers working. It was a very pleasant experience to know the diverse array of my coworkers and was never really bored working there, even if it was a less busy shift. Sometimes the shifts would be hectic if there was a lot of people around and kids acting rowdy but I managed to keep up and attend to everyone without becoming too disorganized. Even in those moments I enjoyed myself. I would often sign up for double shifts, morning and afternoon, since I enjoyed being there so much. It gave me a lot to do. My favorite part of working there is the satisfaction to positively impact a child's knowledge.

Mediocre job, not terribly complex. The scenery in which you work is beautiful. Not many angry customers. In the time I was there I only had to diffuse two customer satisfaction issues. If you’re on time, work your shift and stay off your phone you’ll do fine. The staff you work with are very pleasant. Only had an issue with one manager that got frustrated when I asked how to do something, it seemed to annoy her that I was asking how to perform the new role she assigned me.

Visitor services is the only staff within the entire New York Botanical Garden that isn’t union, and is treated as such so keep that in mind.

Expect night events standing in  seventeen degree weather  and below for at least four hours straight. No other department does this except for Visitor Services. We were told by management essentially if you don’t dress warm for it, that that’s our problem.

Visitor Services also has posts that are designated to be a standing posts, even posts that have chairs available. Sitting isn’t allowed because it is viewed as “not aesthetically pleasing”. So keep in mind that aesthetics will take priority over your comfort. 

The New York Botanical Garden has a high turnover with good reason. So if you need a job for a couple of months until you find one you like, then apply here. 

Simply ask- you’ll get the same story from many. They were warned about the organization by a colleague, but decided to take the job anyway. Zero work/life balance here. My team survived in a meat grinder, striving to meet unrealistic goals set by woefully out of touch upper management. Failure is not an option, and success is only rewarded with more hard work. You’ll spend an absurd amount of time explaining basic concepts and processes to your boss so they can appear as if they know what is happening in meetings. I was once notified by a Associate Vice President that project packages and work schedules I’d prepared were being presented to the CEO by my boss as his own work. You’ll work hard to advance the careers of those above you with little to no reward and be micromanaged every step of the way. In my department, more than half of managers and directors walked in the past two years. And we left feeling demoralized, defeated, frustrated and damaged. Think hard before you commit here. I believe this organization is a great stepping stone- it looks great on a resume. But NYBG is a graveyard for passion and self-esteem if you choose to stay long-term. 

Tram Driver: Consist of giving 25 minute tours to 48 passengers around the 250-acre garden.
Attendant on Site: One provides great customer service, helps with directions, and questions. Accounts for money, performs and completes transactions via cash, check, debit or credit.
Hotline Attendant/ Receptionist: Consist of clerical work such as scanning, copying, answering emails, responding to phone calls and messages in addition to completing all tasks given by managers

This job gave me insight when it came to the clerical world and multitasking. I was responsible for responding to 7 managers therefore I learn different aspects of the job: business, clerical, tram and vehicle policies, customer services, and hand on experiences. It was a great experience to work there. Your managers do care about your advancement. The only con at the garden is that the company doesn't provide paid time off. So I constantly had to work to provide for myself.

This job was quiet enjoyable. Every morning started with a short meeting to discuss expectations, goals, and daily activities. After that, we would clean our work station. Then we would either sell tickets or  memberships or work at the location where the seasonal event was happening: greeting, opening doors, and checking tickets. I learned more socialization skills dealing with visitors and their issues and complaints; how to work with a cash register and keep track of money; and how to better work as a team with my fellow employees. The managers and other employees were all friendly and willing to help with any issues.The hardest part of the job was sometimes you would be on your feet the majority of the day. The most enjoyable part of the job was the people I worked with, and the actual job itself because I got to constantly meet new people everyday through selling them tickets and memberships.

The Members of the Garden are very disrespectful and entitled. 
There is not enough support staff. 
Executive level management is very out of touch leaving middle management and support staff to pick up the pieces. 
"Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth" is definitely applicable here.
The Gardens are very nice. 
The pay was just OK. 
Many staff leave because compensation is below average. 
NYBG is THE place to be for botany geeks! 
The Library is fantastic. 
PTO and benefits were sad and could have been better. 
The Director of Membership is incredible person to work for and HR is a dream team! 
The Garden should be focusing more on plants and conservation efforts instead of packing the Garden with visitors, taking their money and accommodating polluting vehicles!

I enjoyed my work as I was able to work with a wide-variety of artists, performers, and educators. My position consisted of setting up and breaking down events (generally for music performances). Having some basic knowledge of sound systems is useful but not necessary. I worked part-time on weekends. Yet, during certain seasons additional hours were available. Although the work was pretty straight-forward, I enjoyed the range of programs that took place each season. After you setup for an event, you primarily stand around to make sure all goes well and assist any visitors if needed. If you don't like standing for long periods or you feel the need to constantly be doing something, this might not be a position you would like. 

I worked in the Development office, which is faster-paced than most other areas at the Garden. There were times of high stress but I enjoyed the dynamism of my typical work day. The management at the Garden is undergoing changes this year, and I think that contributed to a sense of insecurity among many of my coworkers. Overall, the Garden offers good benefits and pay for a cultural institution in New York City. The workplace culture is fairly normal, and I got along with everyone on my team- we worked together very well. My work and my colleagues were my favorite thing about the job, along with the beautiful outdoor spaces. Least favorite things were upper level management and "vacation blackouts" during certain times of the year.

The management was supper understanding and kind when unexpected situations arose. And my coworker there were the best I ever had! Unfortunately, 4 of us were doing a job meant for 6 people so we were always rushing to finish our assigned tasks at the end of the day. Even so our direct supervisor was very understanding, and the 4 main people in management were always expressing how much they appreciated our hard work and positivity. I do wish though that management listened to our suggestions a bit more instead of assuming they automatically knew best. And everyone always respected our 1-hour lunch break even on tight days.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Gardener 3 salaries reported	$53,974 per year
Maintenance engineer 2 salaries reported	$53,435 per year
Custodian 2 salaries reported	$33,598 per year
Educator 3 salaries reported	$25.50 per hour
Assistant engineer 1 salary reported	$43,540 per year

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