Why We Love It
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$30,200Potential Avg. Salary
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4.7%Job Growth Rate
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Growing DemandJob Outlook
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Don't Take Work HomeCareer Attribute
As a worker in the building cleaning and maintenance services, on a weekly, daily or ad hoc basis, you would undertake tasks that include janitorial service, office cleaning, window or glass cleaning and floor waxing.
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What is a Building Cleaning & Maintenance?
Duties
Here are the duties you can expect to perform in the Building Cleaning and Maintenance profession:
- Clean and maintain the indoors or outdoors of residential and commercial buildings, homes and apartments to keep them in good condition.
- Assess and polish furniture and building fixtures to preserve their good working order and operating efficiently.
- Organize and arrange heavy furniture like ladders, tables, chairs, remove decorations as part of preparations for an event setup.
- Ensure security and safety procedures are maintained by locking doors after working hours, checking any electrical appliances so they are switched off, etc.
- Drive vehicles wen required to travel for cleaning on-site such as vans or industrial trucks.
Day In The Life
During the day, workers in this field take on different tasks in a number of outdoor or indoor locations. Expect your day to start early at around 6 am, to attend a staff meeting where the day’s schedule is handed out – this takes into account staff holiday absences or sick leaves. Checking on supplies and following up with external vendors is an occasional responsibility in the early part of the day.
Building cleaning and maintenance services are tailored to the particular client and includes tasks to keep the home or office looking spotless. All carpet is vacuumed, floors are scrubbed or mopped, furniture is dusted and polished, all fixtures are cleaned and sanitized. Further, air vents or ceiling fans are also taken care of and dusted carefully.
Work Schedule And Typical Hours
There are a variety of job options available when working in the building cleaning and maintenance profession. Some small businesses cannot afford full-time cleaning services so they hire on a contract basis.
If you are working with a commercial cleaning company, you will provide multiple services to businesses and start cleaning after normal working hours. Therefore, flexible hours are the norm in this sector. One can expect to work late nights, weekends and sometimes over the holidays to keep a premises looking brand new.
Growth Of The Job
Jobs in this industry are projected to grow at the rate of 6% from 2014 to 2024, approximately the same rate as other occupations. With a boom in the real estate market, employment opportunities will be widespread in the near future.
Re-modelling homes for better sales will require efficient maintenance staff to address all specialised cleaning requirements. Building cleaning and maintenance workers will also be in demand as older homes will require renovation and continuous maintenance work. Openings will increase as the aging workforce will look to retire in the coming years. In addition, the millennials generation is expected to enter the real estate market in a big way by the next decade, leading to an increase in number of households.
Typical Employers
You can typically expect to work in varied environments such as warehouses, laboratories, hospitals, retailers, restaurants, schools, and factories.
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How To Become a Building Cleaning & Maintenance
You can easily find a good job in this field with a high school diploma or GED equivalent. Completing basic coursework and practical training at vocational schools, technical or community colleges will give you a competitive edge over other candidates. Coursework that will be useful are mechanical drawing, blueprint reading, computers and electricity. A sound working knowledge of repair and maintenance tasks involving heating, plumbing, electrical circuits and air conditioning is useful in the day-to-day job.
Many professionals in this field start their careers learning from experienced workers. Most start by learning to master preliminary tasks such as fixing faulty plumbing, replacing defective lightbulbs or changing the water pipes. Soon enough, you can move on to more complex problems such as building a wall.
In order to fully succeed in this type of profession, you should have great customer skills since you will be interacting with them frequently, whether it is answering their questions or suggesting repairs that they require. Dexterity and attention to detail is also a given as much of the cleaning and maintenance tasks involve reaching nooks and crannies, fixing small devices or components.
Building Cleaning & Maintenance Salary Data
We’ve provided you the following to learn more about this career. The salary and growth data on this page comes from recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics data while the recommendations and editorial content are based on our research.
National Anual Salary
Low Range
$23,030Average
$30,200High Range
$42,240National Hourly Wage
Low Range
$11/hrAverage
$15/hrHigh Range
$20/hrHow do Building Cleaning & Maintenance salaries stack up to other jobs across the country? Based on the latest jobs data nationwide, Building Cleaning & Maintenance's can make an average annual salary of $30,200, or $15 per hour. This makes it an Above Average Salary. On the lower end, they can make $23,030 or $11 per hour, perhaps when just starting out or based on the state you live in.
Salary Rankings And Facts
#697 Nationally for All Careers
Highest Education Among Building Cleaning & Maintenances
- 0.2% Doctorate
- 0.7% Masters
- 4.6% Bachelors
- 5.4% Associates
- 18.7% College
- 44.2% High School
- 26.2% Less than High School
Job Growth Projections and Forecast
2014 Total Jobs
16,9002024 Est. Jobs
17,700Job Growth Rate
4.7%Est. New Jobs
800How does Building Cleaning & Maintenance job growth stack up to other jobs across the country? By 2024, there will be a change of 800 jobs for a total of 17,700 people employed in the career nationwide. This is a 4.7% change in growth over the next ten years, giving the career a growth rate nationwide of Below Average.
Growth Rankings And Facts
#447 Nationally for All Careers
What Companies Employ The Most Building Cleaning & Maintenances
| Industry | Current Jobs | New Jobs Needed | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed workers | 800 | 100 | --- |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | 600 | --- | --- |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; private | 500 | 100 | 0% |
