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Career Advice on How to Become A Janitor or Cleaner

General Career Information

Janitors and cleaners, by their very definition, are those who are working to clean up the mess of others.  This category of workers includes a great many specific jobs, including people such as rug shampooers and window washers just to name two.  Janitors and other cleaners often find that they are charged with cleaning just about everything that one can imagine and doing so in just about everywhere that one can imagine.  Janitors and cleaners may find that they are working to clean everything from bathrooms to offices and everywhere in between.  Cleaning carpets, mowing laws, moping and even the occasional vomit cleanup are all on the list of potential duties with these careers.
 

Career Facts:

What do you need to know for career planning? Janitor and cleaner jobs rarely have any sort of educational requirements. However, some positions may look for candidates who have worked in a similar type of facility in the past.  It is no surprise that there are many people employed in this field and estimates are that there are nearly two and a half million people working as janitors or cleaners just in the United States alone.

 

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook- Good:

The expected rate of growth for janitors and cleaners is expected to be about fourteen percent between now and 2016 which is good news for the job search.  This overall rate of growth is higher than the national average for job rate growth.  By 2016, it is expected that well over a half a million new janitor and cleaner jobs will be created.  Openings in the field are also made available due to the fact that, due to the low pay, many janitors and cleaners are prone to quit when they find a higher paying job.
 
Job Outlook is Good
 

A Day in The Life:

Since janitors and cleaners find that they are employed just about everywhere, the work environment can vary.  In general, however, janitors and cleaners are expected to keep the facilities in which they work well cleaned.  This can range from mopping, vacuuming and sweeping to cleaning bathrooms and tackling other jobs, such as dealing with rodent and pest problems.  Often, janitors and cleaners are looked at as being the “go to person” if something goes wrong with a wide-variety of the physical aspects of a facility.  The work can be physically demanding, and at times the hours can be long.  Due to all the lifting and bending, it is not uncommon for janitors and cleaners to experience back pain and other related injuries.
 

Average Salary:

The average salary for janitors and cleaners is roughly $20,000, which considering the nature of the work is low pay.  The top ten percent of janitors and cleaners can earn as much as $33,000 per year.

$20k

 

Career Training and Qualifications:

There are little or no educational requirements for the position.  Many janitors and cleaners learn the job while on the job.  On occasion, janitors and cleaners will learn additional skills such as basic plumbing, carpentry and even some simple electrical work as well.
 

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