The Arkansas State University janitorial staff work from dawn to dusk making sure the entire campus is clean and orderly.

“I spend most of my time in the HSS, and it’s mostly spotless, I never really put it much thought but I probably owe that to the janitor people,” said Sloan Sifford, a sophomore history major from Jonesboro. 

Sifford said students overlook the impact of the janitors at A-State due to how efficiently they work.

The 58 janitors and custodians work in every building across campus five days a week for eight hours. They are given comp time and shift changes for working overtime.

“I see them mostly in the early morning, but they’re kind of omnipresent,” Sifford said.

The janitorial staff works across the whole day at A-State. The group day shifts have set times they work. The staff works as a cohesive unit, working in set groups of two to four per building. Staff members are assigned to specific buildings and times that they work.

The times the janitors work are from 4 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. depending on the building and shift the janitor is working. 

“The janitorial and custodian staff at A-State are one of the biggest and diverse groups on campus,” said Mia Sheppard-Taylor, director of Custodial Services. “There’s not much pay in what we do, but many employees have been here for years and love it. Employees have made friends for life from working in the department.” 

The janitors at A-State average around $16,000 to $30,000 a year, making $15 to $16 an hour depending on the position.

“All things considered I feel pretty lucky to have found a full-time job that pays pretty decent and gives pretty good benefits,” said Joseph Shipman, a janitor at the Student Union.

For the past two years, Shipman has worked for the school as a janitor at the Student Union. Shipman works the second shift starting at 3:00 p.m. working until around midnight, getting an hour for lunch.

Shipman said the role of a janitor is to maintain a standard of cleanliness. This includes sweeping, mopping and helping with general maintenance of the building. Shipman said he enjoyed working for the school and interacting with co-workers. 

“I actually didn’t ever have too much of a bad time getting along with co-workers, which is funny because I’m on the autism spectrum, so social stuff has been difficult. I feel like I’ve been lucky to have pretty cool co-workers,” Shipman said

Shipman when he first started working, he was making $14 to $15 an hour, but now makes $15 to $16 an hour since working full time. Shipman said the school has a decent schedule of annual pay raises, but more pay is always a nice thing to get. 

“I can’t say it’s my dream aspiration, but as far as full-time jobs to earn a living I think it’s pretty good,” Shipman said. “I really do feel very lucky that I was able to find this a few years ago.”

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