Philip Wolny - Getting a Job in Building Maintenance

Published in 2014 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2014 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wolny, Philip.

Getting a job in building maintenance/Philip Wolny.

1st ed.New York: Rosen, 2014

p. cm.(Job basics: getting the job you need)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4488-9608-0

1. BuildingsMaintenanceVocational guidanceJuvenile literature.

2. Repairing tradesVocational guidanceJuvenile literature. 3. Building tradesVocational guidanceJuvenile literature. 3. BuildingVocational guidanceUnited States. I. Title.

HD8039.R469 .W65 2014 331.702'0835

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #S13YA: For further information, contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York, at 1-800-237-9932.

It is 8:50 on a Monday morning. A young man enters the lobby of an apartment building, anxious but excited for his first day of work. His boss, the building manager, starts him out with a tour of the building. It is a five-story building with about forty apartments, or units. There is much to learn and get acquainted with.

In the back office, the young man changes from his street clothes into a crisp, new uniform.The building manager shows him the trash compactor, boiler, alarm and safety systems, the laundry rooms washers and dryers, and other machinery and equipment that he will help run and maintain. In the process, they run into some of the buildings tenants, and the new worker politely introduces himself. A delivery person drops off a months supply of water, and the young man signs for it and helps load the large water cooler bottles into a storage space. His tour of the building continues as he is shown a list of outstanding work requests for various tenants. One apartment needs a new doorknob installed, for example, while another has a leaky kitchen faucet.

It might seem a bit overwhelming, but the new recruit is ready for it, recalling the various classes he took as part of his course work at a vocational training school. His skills in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) are particularly strong. But he may need some additional practice with painting and lawn care. With a valuable internship under his belt and some certifications, he is confident he can do well at this new job.

Building maintenance is an exciting, challenging, and productive career path. It is a great choice for those who are good at and enjoy working with their hands. Customer service, the ability to learn new things, and teamwork all go with the territory.

Getting a job in building maintenance is a great career choice, especially for young people who like to work with their hands.Working in this field can mean having many different job titles: building maintenance technician, superintendent, property manager, and many more. It is also a wise path because building maintenance workers will always be in demand. They are crucial to making sure that everyone else can live, work, and play (in the case of gyms, theaters, and stadiums) comfortably and safely.

Think about the everyday things that we all take for granted. These range from having the electricity necessary to power our homes and offices and computers, to having easy access to clean and properly working bathrooms, to staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It is really only when these things fail in some way that people truly appreciate the work of building maintenance staff.

This career requires technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and being good with people. Getting a start requires getting the proper education and certifications, patience, and hard work. It is a step-by-step process that someone can begin years before entering the job market. Being professional, making good contacts, doing well in course work, and being efficient and active in ones job search will eventually lead to a good job in building maintenance.

B uilding maintenance workers perform many different kinds of physical work.They work on and within various types of buildings. These can include apartment and office buildings, schools, retail stores, factories, hospitals, hotels, stadiums and arenas, and more. They receive training to handle a wide range of maintenance and repair jobs, rather than concentrating on just one specialized task.

Building maintenance workers are often skilled in many basic types of physical and technical labor. They might fix and replace plumbing, paint interior and exterior walls, handle electrical wiring, replace broken glass, fix doors, lay tiles, clean hallways, and collect and dispose of trash and waste. Sometimes this all occurs in a single day! Other duties often include fixing locks; maintaining and running boilers, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and other cooling systems; unclogging drains and fixing other plumbing; general carpentry; and much more.

Workers in this field not only handle the smooth operation of a buildings inner workings. They must also deal with issues like roof, exterior wall, and fence maintenance and repair. If a building has a yard, a lawn, hedges, or other greenery, building maintenance technicians may be in charge of taking care of these as well.

The building maintenance field offers employees the chance to work in many different kinds of facilities. Here, Rodney Pahneena vacuums Caccia Field, part of the Holt Arena, in Pocatello, Idaho. This is the home of the Idaho State University Bengals football team.

Another important duty is handling paperwork and other nonphysical duties that aid in building repair and maintenance. Someone needs to schedule and track appointments with outside contractors. These include carpenters, electricians, and other specialists who are often needed for more complex maintenance, repair, and installation jobs. Building maintenance workers may also order necessary items, like cleaning products, tools, replacement machine parts, and any other supplies necessary for the upkeep and smooth functioning of a building.

Workers will also arrange for important health and safety checkups, including inspections of elevators, boilers, and other important equipment. This may also entail maintaining and replacing safety equipment like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, sprinkler systems, and fire and safety alarms.

Building maintenance is a great career choice for someone who is handy. Unlike specialists in particular trades (like carpenters, electricians, or plumbers), building maintenance managers need to know a little bit of everything. Their training programs include classes in many different types of mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance. Later, they build and expand upon these skills with on-the-job training.