How To Become A Fork Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a fork operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a fork operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.8 an hour? That's $34,938 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFork OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,938

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82%

Asian 3.03%

Black or African American 16.54%

Hispanic or Latino 19.26%

Unknown 4.24%

White 56.11%

Gender

female 7.79%

male 92.21%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a fork operator

Explore fork operator education requirements

Most common fork operator degrees

High School Diploma

52.0 %

Diploma

17.9 %

Associate

17.1 %

Start to develop specific fork operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Load Trucks	26.02%
Pallets	22.10%
Production Lines	14.73%
RF	8.46%
Safety Rules	7.99%

Complete relevant fork operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fork operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a fork operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fork operator resumes.

Research fork operator duties and responsibilities

Perform specialized production line and quality control duties in a professional production environment specializing in plastic extrusion.
Perform specialized production line and quality control duties in a professional production environment specializing in plastic extrusion.

Apply for fork operator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a fork operator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do fork operators rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Fork operator reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2022

Pros

It saves time and makes work easier and enhance greater output

Cons

To be surcharge when there's a damage on goods through accident