Home › All courses › Technical & Mobility › Hydroponic grower
Become a hydroponic grower: test the job before you switch careers
From nutrient solution to harvest: growing without soil, running a greenhouse, protecting crops and building a model that lasts.
- 13 five-minute lessons
- 3 levels
- 13-page PDF guide
- English & French
- Certificate of completion
Why a hydroponic grower stays essential in the age of AI
- Sensors and climate computers already run part of the greenhouse, but training and picking plants stay hands-on.
- A pest hotspot or browning roots are spotted by walking the rows, not on a screen.
- When a sensor is wrong, it is the grower who sees it on the plant and puts it right.
Is it for you? Five signs
- You like precision and measuring.
- You do not mind standing work.
- You can cope with greenhouse heat.
- You enjoy watching what you tend grow.
- You are comfortable with technical kit.
Not sure yet? That's what the €6.90 guide is for. Refund within 14 days if it isn't you.
Thinking about a career change? Read our complete career change guide →
A typical day
- 7:00 am: reading last night's graphs on the greenhouse climate computer.
- 7:20 am: EC and pH checks at input and drain, solution log filled in.
- 8:00 am: walking the tomato rows, checking sticky traps, opening a test slab.
- 9:00 am: deleafing and lowering plants with the team, on a trolley between rows.
- 1:30 pm: harvesting to the specification, labelling batches, moving crates to the cold room.
- 4:00 pm: releasing beneficial insects on a whitefly hotspot spotted that morning.
- 5:00 pm: adjusting a humidity setpoint and catching up with the head grower.
How to become a hydroponic grower
There is no dedicated hydroponics qualification: people come through general crop production training. In France, the most common adult route to setting up is the BPREA, a level 4 farming qualification. As adult training, it takes about a year, with around 1,000 hours in a training centre and ten weeks of work placement, and it includes the Certiphyto certificate. Many career changers start as greenhouse workers during a harvest season, then move into skilled or head grower roles. In English-speaking countries, horticulture apprenticeships and college courses offer similar routes. The G-Learn trial is a first step to check the job suits you: the G-Learn certificate is not a qualification.
Pay
According to the 2026 scale published by fiche-paie.fr (French farm production collective agreement, IDCC 7024), a beginner horticultural worker in France starts at around €1,867 gross per month, and an experienced head grower at around €2,400 gross. Pay varies by region, employer and seniority.
The hard parts
- Summer heat in greenhouses makes the work physically tiring, with repeated tasks on your feet all day.
- A wrong setting or a pump failure can damage a crop within hours: you need rigour and alarms.
- The business model is fragile for small LED farms: energy is expensive, and several start-ups have closed.
Sources: Brittany Chamber of Agriculture — Greenhouse crops factsheet (February 2026) · Réussir — Afaup urban farming observatory (December 2025) · EPLEFPA La Cazotte — BPREA in market gardening · Fiche-paie.fr — 2026 horticultural pay scale (IDCC 7024) · French National Assembly — Written question no. 36053 (answer of 4 May 2021)
What you'll be able to do
- Understand growing without soil
- Set EC and pH
- Manage a greenhouse climate
- Protect crops
- Harvest and trace a batch
- Cost a soilless project
The programme
Level 1 – Beginner
- D1Role, workplaces, entry routes
- D2Roots, water, light, nutrients
- D3Substrate, NFT, bath, aeroponics
- D4Heat, chemicals, electricity
Level 2 – Intermediate
- I1EC, pH and dosing
- I2Heat, humidity, light, CO₂
- I3Hygiene, beneficials, Certiphyto
- I4Crop work, harvest, traceability
Level 3 – Expert
- E1Combine sensors and eyes
- E2Drain, recycling, heating
- E3Costs, prices, lessons
- E4Organic, labels, channels
- E5Training, team, project
The full guide: 6 chapters
- The fundamentals of the job
- The morning check
- Facts & figures
- The toolkit
- Case study: Agricool
- Grower's glossary
Prices
The whole job in 13 pages, PDF, English or French.
13 five-minute lessons, quizzes and 3 certificates, English or French.
Path + full guide, English and French editions included.
1-hour interactive course with final exam and a certificate in your name.
14-day money-back guarantee · Instant download · Secure payment
Frequently asked questions
Can I become a hydroponic grower at 40?
Yes. Greenhouses hire seasonal staff with no experience, which lets you test the job. In France, the BPREA in adult training, about a year long, is open to career changers.
Do I need a qualification to work in hydroponics?
Not as a greenhouse worker. To take on more responsibility or set up with grants, a farming qualification such as the French BPREA is strongly advised, and the Certiphyto is required to use plant protection products in France.
Can hydroponic vegetables be organic?
Not in the EU. The EU organic regulation (EU) 2018/848 bans hydroponic production in organic farming, because organic crops must be grown in living soil.
Where do hydroponic growers work?
Mostly in large greenhouses growing tomatoes, strawberries and cucumbers: Brittany alone had 663 ha of greenhouses in 2024, 76% of them in tomatoes. There are also urban farms, with around 857 commercial sites recorded by Afaup in France at the end of 2025, and a few indoor LED vertical farms.
What is included in the hydroponic grower course?
A 13-page PDF guide that covers the whole job, and a 3-level path of 13 five-minute lessons (beginner, intermediate, expert), each with a quick quiz, plus a certificate of completion per level.
Is the course available in English and French?
Yes. You choose English or French at checkout; the Complete Pack includes both languages.
How do I receive the course?
Immediately after payment you receive a download link by email, with your invoice. The files are A4 PDFs you can read on any device or print.
Is the certificate an official qualification?
No. G-Learn certificates confirm you completed the course. They are not a state diploma or a licence to practise.
Can I get a refund?
Yes: if the course is not what you expected, ask within 14 days of purchase for a full refund. Prices start at €6.90.