How to become a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaner
Official title: Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Also called: Chambermaid, Cleaner, Cottage Attendant, Environmental Services Aide, Environmental Services Worker, Guest Room Attendant (GRA), Housekeeper, Housekeeping Laundry Worker, Room Cleaner
Perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner. Duties may include making beds, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, and vacuuming.
Main tasks
- Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.
- Carry linens, towels, toilet items, and cleaning supplies, using wheeled carts.
- Clean rooms, hallways, lobbies, lounges, restrooms, corridors, elevators, stairways, locker rooms, and other work areas so that health standards are met.
- Empty wastebaskets, empty and clean ashtrays, and transport other trash and waste to disposal areas.
- Sweep, scrub, wax, or polish floors, using brooms, mops, or powered scrubbing and waxing machines.
- Replenish supplies, such as drinking glasses, linens, writing supplies, and bathroom items.
- Clean rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, and draperies, using vacuum cleaners and shampooers.
- Wash windows, walls, ceilings, and woodwork, waxing and polishing as necessary.
How to become one
Typical education to start: No formal educational credential
Ways in
- Apprenticeship: Housekeeper, Com, Res, Ind.
- Licence: A licence is required in 6 states.
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $35,510 a year The middle half earn $30,350 to $39,590.
- About 1,332,100 people work in this job now, and about 1,339,500 are projected by 2035. (+0.6%)
- People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.
Related jobs
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
How do I become a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaner?
Ways in include: Housekeeper, Com, Res, Ind.
How much does a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaner earn in the US?
Median full-time pay is $35,510 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $30,350 to $39,590.
Is a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaner a growing career in the US?
Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 1,332,100 people now and 1,339,500 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Do you need a degree to become a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaner?
Usually not. Only 7% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Housekeeper, Com, Res, Ind.
Will AI change the work of a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaner?
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.
Sources
- Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.