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

What is a high lift operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a high lift operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.58 an hour? That's $34,481 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreHigh Lift OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,481

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 2.25%

Black or African American 13.86%

Hispanic or Latino 15.04%

Unknown 4.27%

White 63.79%

Gender

female 7.69%

male 92.31%

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 high lift operator

Explore high lift operator education requirements

Most common high lift operator degrees

High School Diploma

52.9 %

Associate

19.4 %

Diploma

12.9 %

Start to develop specific high lift operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Pallets	26.17%
OSHA	15.65%
Load Trucks	15.25%
Pallet Jack	14.98%
Safety Standards	5.66%

Complete relevant high lift operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New high lift 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 high lift operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real high lift operator resumes.

Research high lift operator duties and responsibilities

Inventory control and making sure wrapped fill pallets are accurately account and labele before exiting the building.
Maintain proper housekeeping and guidelines set forth by OSHA and management.
Operate fork-lift to transport finish product to shipping warehouse for distribution.
Maintain safe and clean work environment by keeping shelves, pallet area, and workstations.

Prepare your high lift operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your high lift operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a high lift operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable high lift operator resume templates

Build a professional high lift operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your high lift operator resume.