Certified forklift driver vs forklift operator

The differences between certified forklift drivers and forklift operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a certified forklift driver and a forklift operator. Additionally, a forklift operator has an average salary of $34,213, which is higher than the $32,915 average annual salary of a certified forklift driver.

The top three skills for a certified forklift driver include pallets, safety procedures and pallet jack. The most important skills for a forklift operator are pallets, basic math, and electric pallet jack.

Certified forklift driver vs forklift operator overview

	Certified Forklift Driver	Forklift Operator
Yearly salary	$32,915	$34,213
Hourly rate	$15.82	$16.45
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	115,640	213,020
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 59%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

Certified forklift driver vs forklift operator salary

Certified forklift drivers and forklift operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Forklift Driver	Forklift Operator
Average salary	$32,915	$34,213
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $40,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	North Dakota
Best paying company	-	DeWitt LLP Law Firm
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between certified forklift driver and forklift operator education

There are a few differences between a certified forklift driver and a forklift operator in terms of educational background:

	Certified Forklift Driver	Forklift Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 59%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Certified forklift driver vs forklift operator demographics

Here are the differences between certified forklift drivers' and forklift operators' demographics:

	Certified Forklift Driver	Forklift Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%	Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 16.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 2.4% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 16.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 2.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between certified forklift driver and forklift operator duties and responsibilities

Certified forklift driver example responsibilities.

Maintain a clean and safe work environment daily by removing empty pallets, wood, plastic and other unuse raw materials.
Unload trucks and repair damaged pallets repacked damage products
Handle emergency hazmat situations requiring quick decision making skills.
Move palletize inbound/outbound freight to assign locations using WMS system

Forklift operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Position forks under, over, or around load pallets, boxes, products, and transports load to designate area.
Transport raw materials to storage or point of production base on FIFO.
Remove press parts from line and place into WIP locations by FIFO.
Perform safety checks on machines; and troubleshoot problems during machine operation.
Start working as an order selector picking orders and wrapping for shipment.

Certified forklift driver vs forklift operator skills

Common certified forklift driver skills

Pallets, 16%
Safety Procedures, 15%
Pallet Jack, 13%
Production Lines, 12%
RF Scanner, 6%
Load Trucks, 6%

Common forklift operator skills

Pallets, 18%
Basic Math, 6%
Electric Pallet Jack, 5%
OSHA, 5%
Safety Procedures, 5%
Load Trucks, 4%

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Transportation Industry
Certified Forklift Driver
Certified Forklift Driver vs Forklift Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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