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Senior custodian vs sanitation worker

The differences between senior custodians and sanitation workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sanitation worker has an average salary of $33,159, which is higher than the $32,547 average annual salary of a senior custodian.

The top three skills for a senior custodian include ladders, windows and floor care. The most important skills for a sanitation worker are cleanliness, pallet jack, and food safety.

Senior custodian vs sanitation worker overview

Senior CustodianSanitation Worker
Yearly salary$32,547$33,159
Hourly rate$15.65$15.94
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs8,35727,943
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 50%High School Diploma, 61%
Average age4949
Years of experience--

What does a senior custodian do?

A senior custodian's main responsibility is to lead a team and assign team members various tasks related to the daily custodial activities. They regulate a variety of custodial tasks to provide a safe and clean working environment. They have to make sure that restrooms, meeting rooms, and other rooms are duly cleaned. They also ensure routine maintenance activities are performed.

What does a sanitation worker do?

A sanitation worker is employed to carry out valuable community tasks like garbage collection, hauling, and disposal. Sanitation workers take responsibility for the cleanliness and maintenance of the community. They ride or drive garbage trucks to collect trash from businesses and residents every day. They may work within companies as well following their respective corporate policies. One can become a sanitation worker if they have a college degree, high school degree, or any relevant job experience.

Senior custodian vs sanitation worker salary

Senior custodians and sanitation workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior CustodianSanitation Worker
Average salary$32,547$33,159
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $44,000Between $26,000 And $41,000
Highest paying CitySanta Cruz, CASanta Rosa, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonAlaska
Best paying companyCity of Los AngelesMichigan State University
Best paying industryGovernmentGovernment

Differences between senior custodian and sanitation worker education

There are a few differences between a senior custodian and a sanitation worker in terms of educational background:

Senior CustodianSanitation Worker
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 50%High School Diploma, 61%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Senior custodian vs sanitation worker demographics

Here are the differences between senior custodians' and sanitation workers' demographics:

Senior CustodianSanitation Worker
Average age4949
Gender ratioMale, 75.9% Female, 24.1%Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 32.1% Asian, 4.7% White, 45.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between senior custodian and sanitation worker duties and responsibilities

Senior custodian example responsibilities.

  • Maintain cleanliness ofschools, monitor seventeen man work crew
  • Operate power equipment such as carpet extractors, pressure washer, hand, and power tools.
  • Maintain cleanliness throughout college campus which includes bathroom, hallways, laboratories lodges, offices, and lecture hall
  • Maintain exteriors by sweeping and/or blowing down sidewalks, stairs, or cleaning with high-pressure washers and riding sidewalk scrubbers.
  • Operate vacuum cleaners, floor scrubber, buffers, high pressure washer, carpet cleaning machines, wet/dry vacuums, extractors.
  • Operate cleaning machinery including floor buffers and scrubbers.
  • Show more

Sanitation worker example responsibilities.

  • Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
  • Use power equipment such as floor sweepers, vacuums, scrubbers, mops, power washers.
  • Maintain cleanliness of entire facility according to OSHA and FDA regulations
  • Drive heavy equipment with CDL'S.
  • Train on (loto) lockout tag out
  • Landscape work including edging, mulching and mowing.
  • Show more

Senior custodian vs sanitation worker skills

Common senior custodian skills
  • Ladders, 9%
  • Windows, 7%
  • Floor Care, 6%
  • Floor Machines, 5%
  • General Maintenance, 5%
  • Extractors, 4%
Common sanitation worker skills
  • Cleanliness, 14%
  • Pallet Jack, 13%
  • Food Safety, 11%
  • Safety Standards, 9%
  • Production Equipment, 5%
  • Safety Procedures, 4%

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