Certified forklift driver vs lift operator

The differences between certified forklift drivers and lift 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 lift operator. Additionally, a certified forklift driver has an average salary of $32,915, which is higher than the $32,309 average annual salary of a lift operator.

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

Certified forklift driver vs lift operator overview

	Certified Forklift Driver	Lift Operator
Yearly salary	$32,915	$32,309
Hourly rate	$15.82	$15.53
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	115,640	72,445
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

Certified forklift driver vs lift operator salary

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

	Certified Forklift Driver	Lift Operator
Average salary	$32,915	$32,309
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $40,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	-	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	BD
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between certified forklift driver and lift operator education

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

	Certified Forklift Driver	Lift Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Certified forklift driver vs lift operator demographics

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

	Certified Forklift Driver	Lift Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%	Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9%
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, 15.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 2.6% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between certified forklift driver and lift 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

Lift operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Use AS400 to take yarn out of inventory.
Load and unload ship cargo using wenches or other hoisting devices.
Check forklift for problems such as fluid levels, tires and forks.
Load and unload trucks with as sit down with slip sheet and double forks attachment practicing a safe environment.
Record inventory and reroute misplaced pallets at rack locations to the correct location

Certified forklift driver vs lift 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 lift operator skills

Pallets, 17%
Fork-Lift, 14%
Electric Pallet Jack, 10%
Safety Rules, 9%
Power Saws, 4%
Load Trucks, 4%

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Certified Forklift Driver
Certified Forklift Driver vs Lift Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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