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What is a cleaning and maintenance worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
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There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a cleaning and maintenance worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.8 an hour? That's $26,619 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 85,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
ScoreCleaning And Maintenance WorkerUS Average
Salary
2.1

Avg. Salary $26,619

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.7

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.2
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.31%

Asian 4.69%

Black or African American 10.67%

Hispanic or Latino 19.97%

Unknown 4.11%

White 59.25%

Gender

female 40.24%

male 59.76%

Age - 51
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 51
Stress level
5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
9.1

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Cleaning and maintenance worker career paths

Key steps to become a cleaning and maintenance worker

  1. Explore cleaning and maintenance worker education requirements

    Most common cleaning and maintenance worker degrees

    High School Diploma

    54.7 %

    Diploma

    13.2 %

    Associate

    13.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific cleaning and maintenance worker skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Building Floors21.68%
    Plumbing13.72%
    Clean Windows7.90%
    Bathroom Fixtures7.33%
    Customer Service5.69%
  3. Complete relevant cleaning and maintenance worker training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cleaning and maintenance workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cleaning and maintenance worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cleaning and maintenance worker resumes.
  4. Research cleaning and maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

    • Assist with light building repairs, maintain building cleanliness, strip and wax floors, order and manage supplies.
    • Perform emergencies work requests, schedule and unschedule maintenance program, emergencies and coordinate special projects as directed.
    • Operate buffers and burnishers to strip, wax and buff floors and corridors in various facilities.
  5. Prepare your cleaning and maintenance worker resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cleaning and maintenance worker resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cleaning and maintenance worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable cleaning and maintenance worker resume templates

    Build a professional cleaning and maintenance worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your cleaning and maintenance worker resume.
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    Cleaning And Maintenance Worker Resume
    Cleaning And Maintenance Worker Resume
  6. Apply for cleaning and maintenance worker jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a cleaning and maintenance worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first cleaning and maintenance worker job

Zippi

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Average cleaning and maintenance worker salary

The average cleaning and maintenance worker salary in the United States is $26,619 per year or $13 per hour. Cleaning and maintenance worker salaries range between $21,000 and $33,000 per year.

Average cleaning and maintenance worker salary
$26,619 Yearly
$12.80 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do cleaning and maintenance workers rate their job?

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Cleaning and maintenance worker reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2023
Cons

Cleaning really sucks also not very good pay

Pros

You get a job which gets you money


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2023
Pros

Positive feeling

Cons

Emconsideration in the positive environment in which I've tried to creat.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2023
Pros

The finishing product

Cons

Was not much that I didn’t like .Working on my own didn’t bother me,was always interested in cleaning


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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