Career change as a cleaner

Career change paths

• Lead hand in building cleaning

  Also: Site manager in building cleaning, Executive housekeeper in a hotel

  With on-the-job trainingPromotion

  As a lead hand or site manager, you assign colleagues, check the results and order supplies.

  What you bring:

  You know cleaning methods, products, machines and customers' expectations from your own work.

  How to get there:

  You move up at the company after some years of experience, often with in-house training or a lead hand course of a few days to weeks. For site management, the journeyman certificate (Gesellenbrief) as a building cleaner (Gebäudereiniger) helps.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Shift work

  €4,062gross per monthMedian salary

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• Glass cleaner

  Also: Window cleaner

  With on-the-job training

  In glass cleaning, windows, glass facades and work on ladders or aerial work platforms come on top.

  What you bring:

  You work thoroughly, know cleaning agents and equipment and are used to physical work.

  How to get there:

  You get on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) at a building cleaning company with glass cleaning, usually lasting a few weeks, with instruction on ladders, aerial work platforms and fall protection.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically demanding
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• Sterile supply worker

  Also: Sterile processing assistant

  With on-the-job training

  The reprocessing of surgical instruments requires the same care.

  What you bring:

  You work exactly according to hygiene and cleaning plans and know why cleanliness in the hospital is so important.

  How to get there:

  You get on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) in the reprocessing department of a hospital. You usually also take a Fachkunde course for sterile processing assistance (Fachkundelehrgang für Sterilgutassistenz), with a few weeks of instruction plus practice, which is often eligible for funding with an education voucher (Bildungsgutschein).*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Shift workLittle customer contact

  €3,342gross per monthMedian salary

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• Nursing assistant

  Also: Qualified nursing assistant (Pflegefachassistent)

  With on-the-job training

  In nursing assistance, you support people directly with personal hygiene, eating and moving.

  What you bring:

  You are used to hygiene rules, physical work and fixed routines and often already work in clinics or care homes.

  How to get there:

  You can start as a nursing assistant after a basic nursing course (Pflegebasiskurs) of a few weeks. For a qualification, you can do vocational training (Ausbildung) as a nursing assistant (Pflegefachassistentin/Pflegefachassistent). From 2027 this training is uniform nationwide and takes 18 months full-time, with training pay. With work experience in nursing, it can be shortened.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €3,296gross per monthMedian salary

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• Caretaker

  Also: Property care worker

  With on-the-job training

  In caretaker work, small repairs, inspection rounds, winter maintenance and outdoor areas come on top.

  What you bring:

  You know buildings, house rules and cleaning plans and quickly notice when something is broken or missing.

  How to get there:

  You get on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) at a caretaker service, property management or facility company. Manual skill is important, and courses in building services of a few weeks make entry easier.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically demanding

  €3,260gross per monthMedian salary

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• Care support worker

  Also: Everyday companion

  With on-the-job training

  As a care support worker, you accompany residents in daily life, read aloud, play, go for walks and organize group activities.

  What you bring:

  If you clean in care homes or clinics, you know the routines and hygiene rules and are friendly with older people.

  How to get there:

  The qualification follows the care support worker guidelines for § 53b SGB XI: about 160 hours of instruction plus internships, which together usually take 2 to 4 months. It is often eligible for funding with an education voucher (Bildungsgutschein). After that you need a short further training every year. You are deployed mainly in nursing homes.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workLots of contact with people

  €3,296gross per monthMedian salary

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• Building cleaner

  Also: Facade cleaner

  With retrainingPromotion

  With the journeyman certificate, you also take on glass, facade and special cleaning and have a recognized qualification.

  What you bring:

  You know cleaning agents, machines, surfaces and occupational safety from practice.

  How to get there:

  You can take the journeyman exam (Gesellenprüfung) as an external candidate. If you have worked one and a half times the training period, that is 4.5 years, in building cleaning, you can be admitted to the exam without training, and preparation courses help. Otherwise there is retraining (Umschulung), usually 2 years.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically demanding

  €2,934gross per monthMedian salary

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• Security guard

  Also: Property security worker

  With further training

  In property security, inspection rounds, reception and the right behavior in case of incidents come on top.

  What you bring:

  You often work alone in buildings, also early in the morning or in the evening, and handle keys and access rules reliably.

  How to get there:

  Briefing under § 34a GewO (Unterrichtung) at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) takes 40 teaching hours, plus a reliability check by the authority. For inspection rounds in publicly accessible areas, protection against shoplifters or admission to discos, you need the expertise exam (Sachkundeprüfung) at the IHK instead.*Regulated by law (Trade Regulation Code (GewO) § 34a, Security Services Ordinance (BewachV)).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workLots of contact with people

  €3,200gross per monthMedian salary

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• Warehouse specialist

  With retrainingPromotion

  In the warehouse, exactly this order and care in goods receipt, storage and picking are in demand.

  What you bring:

  You work reliably to plan, keep things in order and keep track of consumables and stock.

  How to get there:

  Retraining (Umschulung) as a warehouse specialist (Fachlagerist/in) usually takes about 16 months and is often eligible for funding with an education voucher (Bildungsgutschein). The forklift license is usually included.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Shift workPhysically demandingLittle customer contact

  €3,235gross per monthMedian salary

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• Home economics worker

  With retrainingPromotion

  As a home economics worker (Hauswirtschafter), you look after people in senior care facilities, clinics, group homes or private households, plan meals, cleaning and laundry and guide assistants.

  What you bring:

  You clean, wash and care for homes independently and know cleaning agents, materials and the wishes of different households.

  How to get there:

  Vocational training (Ausbildung) as a home economics worker (Hauswirtschafter/in) takes 3 years, and retraining (Umschulung) usually 2 years. After 4.5 years of practice in home economics, the responsible body can also admit you to the final exam without training (§ 45 para. 2 BBiG). Training providers offer preparation courses part-time alongside work, and the responsible body decides whether your work counts.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically demandingLots of contact with people

  €2,811gross per monthMedian salary

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• Registered nurse

  With vocational trainingPromotion

  As a registered nurse, you care for sick people and people in need of care at home, in a care home or in the clinic, plan their care and work together with doctors.

  What you bring:

  You work independently, carefully and in a trustworthy way in other people's homes and are used to hygiene and physical work.

  How to get there:

  Vocational training (Ausbildung) as a registered nurse (Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann) takes 3 years full-time or up to 5 years part-time, with training pay. You need an intermediate school-leaving certificate (mittlerer Schulabschluss), or a lower secondary certificate (Hauptschulabschluss) plus at least two years of vocational training, or at least one year of training in nursing assistance (Pflegehilfe or Pflegeassistenz). With a lower secondary certificate alone, the path therefore usually leads first through nursing assistance.*Regulated by law (Nursing Professions Act (PflBG) §§ 1, 11).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €4,421gross per monthMedian salary

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• Social assistant

  With further trainingPromotion

  As a social assistant, you support specialists in daycare centers, in disability support or in family care with supervision, care and organizing daily life, and, depending on the state, the qualification is a way into training as an early childhood educator (Erzieher).

  What you bring:

  You know running a household, hygiene and dealing with families in a trustworthy way from your work.

  How to get there:

  Vocational school (Berufsfachschule) for social assistance (Sozialassistenz), usually 2 years full-time with internships and in some states also part-time. You are usually admitted with a lower secondary certificate (Hauptschulabschluss) or intermediate school-leaving certificate (mittlerer Schulabschluss), and each federal state sets the exact rules and the title. Whether you receive funding during school depends on your situation. The Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit), Jobcenter or BAföG office can advise you.*Regulated by law (State law: state exam under the vocational school regulations of the federal states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically demandingLots of contact with people

  €3,892gross per monthMedian salary

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• Child day care provider

  With further training

  In child day care, you look after up to five small children in your home or in rented rooms, accompany them in play, meals and sleep and keep in contact with the parents.

  What you bring:

  You work independently, reliably and in a trustworthy way in families and run a household confidently.

  How to get there:

  To look after other people's children for more than 15 hours a week for pay, you need a care permit from the youth welfare office (Jugendamt), limited to 5 years. For this, the youth welfare offices require a qualification course, whose length differs by state, for example about 300 teaching units, partly before and partly during the work, plus suitable rooms and an extended certificate of good conduct. How well you can live on it depends strongly on the municipality and the number of children.*Regulated by law (Social Code Book VIII (SGB VIII) § 43).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €3,340gross per monthMedian salary

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Salary: median of all full-time employees in the job, gross per month excluding special payments, as of April 2025. Half earn more, half earn less. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), table 62361-0030, license dl-de/by-2-0. Assigned to the jobs by quereinsteiger.de. No guarantee of accuracy.