“My dad was a janitor for U.S. Radium Corporation, and he stayed there for 37 years. So he didn’t read.”

Walter Dean Myers, Writer

Pros and Cons of Working as a Janitor

advantages and disadvantages of being a janitor

You want to become a facility manager but are not sure whether this is the right career path for you or not?

Good news! I show you all the pros and cons of being a facility teacher you need to know for making a profound decision regarding this important topic.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it!

Janitor Job Profile

Job DescriptionJanitors are responsible to keep buildings clean. They also do minor repairs and are there for people in case something breaks down.
Salary$38,000 per year on average, most facility managers make between $28,000 and $68,000 per year. Please note that the salary of facility managers greatly depends on their experience and their level of responsibility.
Job SecurityRather poor since many people can do the job and you are replaceable.
Job SatisfactionRather low since you will have to collect garbage and clean unpleasant things on a regular basis.
Work-Life BalanceNot great since you will often have to work on weekends.
Physically / Mentally Demanding?Can be physically demanding.
Future OutlookPoor since many tasks will be carried out by machines in the near future.
RequirementsYou don’t need a college degree for becoming a janitor, finishing high school will often be enough.

Advantages of Being a Facility Manager

  1. Janitors don’t have that much stress
  2. Facility managers can make decent money
  3. You don’t need a fancy degree for becoming a janitor
  4. You can avoid going into student loan debt
  5. Caretakers are crucial to keep our system running
  6. You can work in a rather independent manner
  7. Janitors don’t have to go to the gym
  8. You can avoid classical office work
  9. Janitors learn many valuable skills along the way
  10. You can start your own janitor service
  11. You can use your knowledge to solve problems for your loved ones

Janitors don’t have that much stress

One advantage of being a janitor is that you will not have that much stress during work.

Sure, you will have times where many people want you fix things for them at the same time.

Yet, most of your workday, you will just wait for problems to solve or will be busy fixing minor issues that don’t require that much work and are also not time-critical.

Hence, compared to many other jobs out there that will be stressful on a regular basis, a janitor career will be rather relaxed and can be great for you in case you search for such a relaxed work environment.

Facility managers can make decent money

You should also not underestimate the amounts of money facility managers can make.

Of course, not all facility managers make good money.

Yet, some of them can make a decent living from what they are doing, especially if they have expert knowledge in a certain field that is in high demand right now.

Consequently, you may be able to earn more money from your job as a facility manager compared to secretaries and many similar jobs out there that often only pay minimum wage.

You don’t need a fancy degree for becoming a janitor

Another benefit of becoming a janitor is that you will also not need a fancy degree.

While many of your friends will have to go to college to fulfill their dreams in the corporate world and will have to spend lots of money on tuition and other expenses related to college, you don’t have to invest that much money in your education.

Moreover, you can also start earning money right after college while many other people have to study for many years to get their degree.

In turn, you will also be able to become independent of your parents much sooner and especially if the relationship between you and your parents is not great at all, this can be a great plus of a facility manager career.

You can avoid going into student loan debt

Since you will not have to get a college degree for becoming a janitor, you can also avoid student loan debt and the adverse consequences that come along with it.

Sure, student loans will make your time in college more enjoyable since you will not have to worry about money that much.

However, at one point in time, you will have to pay back your student loans and this can lead to serious financial problems, especially if you don’t make that much money from what you are doing after college.

By becoming a facility manager, you will not have those kinds of problems since you don’t need any fancy education since you will learn many skills on the job and don’t need that much theoretical knowledge.

Caretakers are crucial to keep our system running

You will also play an important role in keeping our system running as a caretaker.

While many people may not appreciate your work as they should since they will not see how important you really are, you will still be crucial to assure a high quality of life of many people.

For instance, if you work for a community association and something breaks down inside the building complex, it will be your job to fix it.

If those things didn’t get fixed, there would be serious problems sooner or later and the residents of those buildings would greatly suffer since things would just no longer work sooner or later.

Consequently, our daily life as we know it right now would cease to exist and most of us would be pretty helpless since we would have to fix things on our own.

Hence, good janitors are really important for the quality of life of many people and are crucial to maintaining our high living standards.

In turn, you can feel quite important as a facility manager and will also stay motivated since you know that people need your support.

You can work in a rather independent manner

Another upside of being a janitor is that you will also be able to work in a rather independent manner.

Sure, you will often have a boss who will give you instructions regarding where you should work and what you have to do.

However, you will still be rather free to manage your day on your own and this gives you a great level of flexibility.

Moreover, you will also often have nobody who could look you over the shoulder and criticize you for what you are doing. In turn, your workday will often be rather relaxed since you will also be able to take some breaks.

Janitors don’t have to go to the gym

Since you will work in a physical manner in facility management, there will also be no need to go to the gym after work.

You will often have to fix things and will also have to carry heavy stuff which will keep you fit in a natural manner.

However, this is not true for many other jobs out there.

Especially people who work in classical office jobs will sit in their offices all day long and will have to answer emails or prepare presentations for client meetings.

In turn, they often suffer from overweight since they will just not exercise enough and have to spend plenty of time in the gym to lose weight.

In contrast, you as a janitor will likely not have this problem and can rather spend your time after work with things you like more than going to the gym.

You can avoid classical office work

By becoming a facility manager, you can also avoid classical office work as we know it today.

In our current state of the world, many people just hang out in offices and stare at computer screens all day long.

This can be considered rather unnatural since our ancestors simply haven’t evolved like that.

They had been doing plenty of physical work instead of just hanging out in rather artificial office environments with plenty of electrosmog and noise.

In turn, many people who work in those office jobs suffer from mental problems in the long run while you as a janitor can avoid those issues to a certain extent.

Janitors learn many valuable skills along the way

You will also learn many skills during your janitor career.

While you may be a beginner in fixing things when you first start out, you will soon become better since you will have to fix many things along the way. In turn, you will also learn quite a lot and will also become a master in improvising.

This can not only be quite helpful for your janitor career, but can also greatly help you in your private life since you will be able to fix many things that break down in your home yourself and don’t need someone else to fix it.

In turn, you can save plenty of money in this regard and can use this money for other nice things instead.

You can start your own janitor service

If you are the type of person who rather wants to work in a completely independent manner and a job as an employee will not be suitable for you at all, becoming a facility manager can also be great for you in this regard since you can simply start your own janitor business sooner or later.

For instance, you can just work for a few years as an employee, make some money and gain some experience and then quit your job and start your own business.

In fact, many janitor businesses have started like that and this can be a great career path since you will see both worlds and can decide if you rather want to work on your own or for someone else in the long run.

You can use your knowledge to solve problems for your loved ones

Since you will acquire plenty of knowledge regarding how to fix things, you can also be a great help for your family and friends.

For instance, if something breaks down in the place of one of your loved ones, you can offer your help and your friends will often be quite thankful for your support since they often don’t know how to fix things and will also not be willing to spend lots of money on repair services.

In turn, chances are that your loved ones will be really grateful for what you are doing for them and will also do good for you sooner or later in the future.

Now that you know all the advantages of a janitor career, it is time to also talk about the issues related to this career path so that you get a profound picture of what working as a facility manager really looks like.

Disadvantages of Being a Janitor

  1. Teleworking is not possible for janitors
  2. You will not get rich as a janitor
  3. Facility managers often have to work on weekends
  4. You may have to work during evenings or nighttime
  5. Rather poor work-life balance for janitors
  6. Janitors have to work outdoors
  7. Caretakers have to work in a physical manner
  8. Health issues related to working as a janitor
  9. You will be replaceable
  10. Many janitors only work part-time
  11. Short-term contracts are quite common
  12. Rather low social status of janitors
  13. Janitors may have problems in the dating market
  14. You may never be able to get out of this industry

Teleworking is not possible for janitors

One problem with being a janitor is that you will not be able to work from home.

While digital marketers and many other people who work in classical office jobs will be able to work remotely on a regular basis, you will have to be present at your workplace in person.

This means that it will be harder for you to manage your private as well as your professional life since you will just be less flexible regarding when to do what and how to organize your day in general.

You will not get rich as a janitor

While some facility managers make decent money, others barely make a living from what they are doing.

Hence, depending on the company you work for and the level of expertise you have, you may really struggle to pay your bills as a janitor, especially if you live in expensive neighborhoods where rents are quite high.

Some janitors even need a second job to survive and you should really make sure that money is not that important to you before becoming a janitor since you will just not be able to afford that much luxury.

Facility managers often have to work on weekends

Another disadvantage of becoming a facility manager is that you will often also have to work on weekends.

In fact, people also have problems on weekends that need to be fixed and in urgent cases, you may have to fix those issues during Saturdays or Sundays, no matter what.

Consequently, you will not be able to relax as a facility manager on weekends since you may always expect calls in this regard and you may also not be able to go on short vacations due to that.

You may have to work during evenings or nighttime

Depending on the company you work for and the facility you have to manage, you may even have to work at nighttime as a janitor.

Sure, you will not always have night shifts.

Yet, in some cases, you may have to do emergency service and this can include working long hours in the evening.

Hence, also make sure that you are willing to work in the early morning or late at night as a janitor before you decide to go this career path.

Rather poor work-life balance for janitors

Since you will always have to be available so that you can help people in case of emergency, you will also have a rather poor work-life balance since you can never fully relax and unplug from work.

Consequently, many janitors complain about their work-life balance and also about their overall working conditions.

Janitors have to work outdoors

In some cases, you also have to fix things outdoors as a facility manager.

While working outdoors can be great during good weather when the sun is shining, it can also be quite annoying during times of snow and rain.

Thus, while many other people work in rather cozy office environments, you may have to work in rather work environments.

Caretakers have to work in a physical manner

You should also not underestimate the physical component of the work that comes along for caretakers.

You will often have to lift heavy stuff and will also have to get to your knees on a regular basis to fix things.

In turn, your workday can be quite exhausting and most janitors have barely any physical power left once they finish work and get back home.

Health issues related to working as a janitor

Due to the physical nature of this job, many janitors also complain about physical health problems once they get older.

Sure, if you are still young, you will be fit and will be able to lift heavy things on a regular basis.

However, once you get older, your body will just not work that well anymore and you will no longer have the same level of power as in your younger years.

Some janitors even have to quit their jobs due to serious health problems and will suffer from serious old-age poverty since they still have to pay their bills but no longer make any money from working.

You will be replaceable

You should also not assume that your job as a facility manager will be safe.

In fact, many janitors are replaceable pretty easily, especially if they haven’t got any special knowledge or qualifications.

Hence, if you are not good at what you are doing, you may be replaced by somebody else pretty soon and may suffer from long-term unemployment in case you don’t find a new job anymore.

Many janitors only work part-time

While many janitors would love to work full-time, many of them only get part-time contracts.

This means that janitors often have to work in a second job to make a full-time income from what they are doing and this can be really annoying, especially if you lose on of those jobs since you will have to search for a new job while still having to work in the other job.

Short-term contracts are quite common

Many facility managers also don’t have permanent contracts.

In fact, many of them only have short-term contracts and don’t really know what will happen after their contracts will expire.

While those contracts may get renewed, people may also just get fired and may suffer from serious financial trouble due to that.

Hence, make sure that you are also willing to deal with a great level of uncertainty in this regard before becoming a janitor.

Rather low social status of janitors

Janitors are also not that appreciated in society.

Sure, you will do important things to keep our system running.

Yet, many people in society will still belittle your work and what you are doing for them.

In fact, janitors don’t have a high social standing at all and even your own family may make fun of you due to your career choice.

Hence, make sure that you are able to deal with snarky comments in this regard in a proper manner before you decide for a janitor career.

Janitors may have problems in the dating market

Since most janitors don’t make good money and also don’t have a high social standing, they also have problems finding a partner.

While doctors and lawyers often have almost freedom of choice regarding whom they want to date, facility managers often have a hard time finding a partner since they can simply not offer the same lifestyle and social standing to potential mates.

You may never be able to get out of this industry

It can also be quite hard to get out of the janitor industry if you want to switch fields sooner or later in your life.

Our preferences change once we get older and more experienced and you may just not work as a janitor for the rest of your life.

However, it can be pretty hard to switch fields since you will often not have the skills that are necessary for working in a different industry.

Top 10 Being a Janitor Pros & Cons – Summary List

Being a Janitor ProsBeing a Janitor Cons
Janitors don’t have that much stressMost janitors don’t make good money
You are crucial to keep the system runningYou may have to work on weekends
Some facility managers make good moneyRather poor work-life balance in general
You can benefit for your private lifeSome janitors need a second job
You can help your family and friendsShort-term contracts are rather common
You can start your own janitor businessYou may have to work outdoors
Janitors learn how to improviseCaretakers have rather low social standing
You can avoid working in an officeProblems in the dating market
Janitors don’t need a degreePeople may make fun of you
You can avoid student loan debtYou will be replaceable

Should You Become A Caretaker?

Now that you know all the advantages and disadvantages of being a janitor, you have to decide for yourself whether a facility manager career is suitable for you or if you want to go for other job options instead.

You should definitely take your time for making this important decision since it can greatly influence how your life will look like in the future.

If you still want to become a janitor, you should also get detailed information on the salary, future outlook, duties, working hours, work-life balance, job satisfaction and educational requirements of facility managers.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a carpenter

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a marriage counselor

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a cashier

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facility_management

https://spaceiq.com/blog/facility-management-salary/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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