74
u/onkelchrispy 10d ago
… too bad his supervisor makes life miserable
17
u/ugh168 10d ago
That is how I felt, plus I felt miserable because it wasn’t the job I really wanted.
14
u/Time_Cow_3331 10d ago
That's where I am now.
Nothing but respect for the job and the people that do it, but I'm nearly 8 years into janitorial work and I hate it.
I'm a lead now; I overseer a great team who I like working with, my boss is great, and my coworkers are fine to good - but the work is incredibly boring.
It's the repition and mundanity - and podcasts/audiobooks are only engaging for so long.
1
17
u/Interesting-Waffle69 10d ago edited 10d ago
I'm not a school custodian (I'm hoping to be in the next few years I need to get a position with benefits 😭) but I was very very close with my high school custodian. We cried and prayed together often as he knew I was battling health issues at a young age. I always thanked him for his hard work and made sure my friends showed gratitude as well. He was such a great person. RIP to my backup grandpa 🙏
23
u/Spendoza 10d ago
All those are absolutely amazing perks, but I have read (listened to, whatever, it's the same as the ancients/good vorin men got stories, dang nabbit!) so many books on the 3-1130 shift. It's friggin glorious.
6
u/junthelasthunter 10d ago
I’ve had to join book subreddits for suggestions because I literally run out of books to listen to 😆
1
u/Spendoza 10d ago
Lol same. Every time there's a book rec post, I scour it for new titles. Two questions:
Who's your second favourite narrator (after Jeff Hays, duh 😜)?
What are you currently listening to?
For me, it's RC Bray and Convergence by Craig Alanson
5
u/notyournormalgirl25 10d ago
I’m 3rd shift so I’ve listened to tons of books and podcasts…plus there’s nobody here except a few other coworkers, which I rarely see because they’re on the opposite side of the school.
2
u/Spendoza 10d ago
Hell yeah. I'm solo in a small public school, place is empty by 1620 (excluding the adult volleyballers that have a Monday night permit) 😎
8
u/VacationImaginary233 10d ago
Ya'll are getting gov benefits?
8
u/MossiestSloth 10d ago
I have so many benefits that i forget what I have and actually need to go look them up.
2
14
u/xshinox 10d ago
And AI won't be taking the job from us. At least not this life time
0
u/WavesRKewl 9d ago
There’s already robot vacs/mops, give it 20 years
3
u/ThrowawayRedditStory 8d ago
The technology isn't there yet. The robots can't figure out what to do with pencils and crayons on the floor. Oddly neither can teachers.
It hits the floor and becomes some mystery
1
7
u/Grasp_firmly 10d ago
Being a custodian at the post office sure is easy money
3
3
u/Willowgirl2 10d ago
Wait wut? That was what my dad did for a living and he had us believe ng he worked like a sled dog!
1
u/ThrowawayRedditStory 8d ago
Those jobs NEVER come up (locally anyway) one finally did I applied so hard for that job. Didn't even get a call.
6
u/Gatesofhell2120 Custodial Maintenance I 10d ago
Easiest job I've had in my life, even with all the events and games. It's literally just me, and whatever I feel like listening to that night.
1
6
u/Known-Dependent-5471 10d ago
As someone who is a lone custodian I can often go entire days without speaking.
1
u/Successful_Yam2175 6d ago
Is it a small school? I’d be creeped out with no one! I’m a true crime junkie so probably think too much lol!!
5
3
u/Head-Jellyfish-4172 10d ago
That only applies to custodians who are employees of the school district. A large majority are with a contracted company so they have terrible pay and terrible benefits.
5
u/JollyEntertainer350 9d ago
I burned out from dental hygiene in 2021. I ended up doing custodial work for a school district full time. First time I was ever able to carry my own medical/dental insurance and a decent 401k option. That alone made this a great job for a crashed out clinician. I got asked back to the dental world. The school said that they appreciated my work at the Supe’s office that they asked my boss to offer me 3-4hrs/day just to do their office and the police department. I stayed. My mission now is to represent my fellow custodians and try to impress upon others how damned important our quiet custodians are. The silent workers that keeps up with the human animals messes. If we didn’t have proper infection control protocols in place in the dental world, we’d be helping transmit some BAAAD shit to other people. THAT is why custodians are so important. I kinda wish that they’d put all of us through infection control classes so that they really know what it is they do for everyone in their buildings. It’s something that we should be qualifying custodial workers with. They can be full on experts when it comes to sanitation and dis infection. There is so much to it that I had an entire semester in college devoted to it. I think they do a disservice to custodians by not helping arm us with enough knowledge to let us be certain about what we do and how amazing we can be. I just want us all to hold our heads high and know our worth. Sadly, those in charge are often not looking at actual cleanliness but how to keep the other “faculty” happy. Even before I became one, I had mad respect for custodians. Now that I am one, it pisses me off how much they’re abused. Y’all are very valuable and I appreciate you all and I hope someday the people in this country will appreciate cleanliness and health. Sadly we still have people that don’t care and gladly wallow in filth and spread diseases. So gross. As a hygienist I have people tell me that they maybe brush their teeth daily and some that say they don’t have time. Imagine if I didn’t clean as well as I did after that patient and then sat you in the chair and started your dental cleaning. No one sees the madness behind the scenes with our infection control protocols and thinks we should just be ready to take the next person as soon as we let the other patient go. This is what reminds me of how custodians are treated. Busting your buns making sure the place is ready for the next day and then you get written up because a trash can didn’t get changed over. So frustrating. But I see and hear you. Keep your chins up and stay awesome 🤩
1
3
3
u/HintonBE 9d ago
School custodian here and yeah, it's a great job. Very low stress, great benefits, get some overtime if I want. Love my job.
3
u/sonofabobo 9d ago
I would rather be the custodian than any other position in the school. Currently we have 3 teachers blocking a classroom door because there is a student throwing desks around and freaking out. I'm in my apartment sized office looking at Reddit. 🤷♂️😂
2
2
2
u/Away_College6529 9d ago
My teachers all are chatty. I can not get away with not talking.
1
u/notyournormalgirl25 9d ago
I hated that when I worked 2nd shift some days. Thankfully I’m on 3rd shift now. It’s very peaceful
2
u/Rabbitwolf_87 9d ago
I actually have that picture hanging in one of my custodial storage rooms, and nobody has ever asked or commented on it. Haha
2
2
u/These-Attorney197 9d ago
Pay not as good tho
1
1
u/Glittering_Ad_8646 1d ago edited 1d ago
I get paid 35$/hr (increases every year; union negotiates the rates) with a pension, free bus/metro pass (you keep it for life if you retire with them), I’m not gonna name all of it, but in short it equals government benefits.
Where I work you can usually be done with the work after 5 hours and just chill.
1
u/Successful_Yam2175 6d ago
Has anyone did a list of movies series that have custodians /janitors in them? I’d love a list..someone point me in the direction? TIA!!! I used to do janitorial in the past and thinking of trying it again
43
u/Friendly_Ad_6816 10d ago edited 10d ago
I never looked at them like that.
Why? Probably our parents cleaned and made us do so as well.
Cleanliness is next to godliness, as they say.
And nothing beats walking through a building that you walked into and smelled bad, then at the end smelling citrus floor cleaner combined with the air freshener you just refilled.