A housekeeper, also known as a maid, can be employed either by an establishment or company (i.e. a hotel) or by private citizens. Their job is to oversee the general upkeep of the building, which normally includes cleaning, making the beds (if applicable), taking out the trash, and arranging any disorganized items. Housekeepers may be hired for a specific task, such as working on the laundry, or helping out in the kitchen, which is especially common in larger establishments that require a large number of housekeepers.
The job is a very low-skilled one and holds almost no requirements. Even the lack of a high school diploma may be acceptable in some cases, and in general the important skills related to the job of a housekeeper are the ability to clean, maintain rooms in good condition, and do the job without interfering with the life and activities of the building’s occupants to a great extent. A housekeeper may sometimes be tasked with more specific jobs, which may require particular knowledge.
Since the job of a housekeeper is mostly related to manual labor, it doesn’t traditionally have a high salary attached to it – the most common salaries are in the range of $17,000 – $25,000, and the median for 2009 was $19,000. The job does, however, have some very flexible working hours in most cases, and also comes with overall good bonuses and benefits – making it a good choice for an auxiliary job to supplement one’s income.