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The differences between forklift drivers and cherry picker 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 forklift driver and a cherry picker operator. Additionally, a cherry picker operator has an average salary of $33,956, which is higher than the $33,476 average annual salary of a forklift driver.
The top three skills for a forklift driver include pallets, electric pallet jack and safety procedures. The most important skills for a cherry picker operator are cherry-picker, pallets, and rf scanner.
| Forklift Driver | Cherry Picker Operator | |
| Yearly salary | $33,476 | $33,956 |
| Hourly rate | $16.09 | $16.32 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 116,516 | 105,023 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 61% | High School Diploma, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A forklift operator is responsible for managing and operating industrial trucks and machines to ensure its performance safety and stability. Forklift operators' duties include safely handling of deliveries, securely moving items to storage areas, monitoring inventories and supplies, running diagnostic tests, reporting inspected malfunctions and deficiencies, performing basic troubleshooting, and adhering to safety procedures. It is a requirement that a forklift operator must have excellent time-management skills, as well as the ability to multi-task for daily operations.
Cherry pickers perform a safe and efficient operation of motorized lift vehicles in pulling customer order-based products. The cherry pickers manage different warehouse operating systems and associates to support processing and internal order logistics. They perform preventive maintenance on pallet packs, machines, cherry pickers, and forklifts. It is part of their job to count, verify, and check documents for completeness and accuracy. The skills to develop for this job include warehouse environment, clamp, and pallet jack operations.
Forklift drivers and cherry picker operators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Forklift Driver | Cherry Picker Operator | |
| Average salary | $33,476 | $33,956 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $41,000 | Between $27,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Shakopee, MN | Eagan, MN |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | BD | United Natural Foods |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a forklift driver and a cherry picker operator in terms of educational background:
| Forklift Driver | Cherry Picker Operator | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 61% | High School Diploma, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between forklift drivers' and cherry picker operators' demographics:
| Forklift Driver | Cherry Picker Operator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% | Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 15.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 2.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 16.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 2.4% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |