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

What is a lift driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Lift drivers are an essential part of the transport department when it comes to a warehouse. You need them to move heavy loads across places, and the process of moving piles of goods can be jammed in their absence. They also play a vital role in loading and unloading of goods.

Talking about their responsibilities, they maintain and repair the machines so that they can continue to operate optimally and efficiently. In addition to loading and unloading products, they also run various warehouse machines. Keeping track of distribution trucks, shipment information, and order details is also a part of their job.

They typically earn around $13.62 an hour during their eight hour work shifts. They are well organized and possess top-notch time management and communication skills to follow strict production schedules and perform rough and challenging tasks. You will generally find them working in warehouses, industrial firms, or shipping companies.

ScoreLift DriverUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,457

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82%

Asian 2.46%

Black or African American 15.75%

Hispanic or Latino 17.43%

Unknown 4.38%

White 59.16%

Gender

female 11.98%

male 88.02%

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 lift driver

Explore lift driver education requirements

Most common lift driver degrees

High School Diploma

57.4 %

Diploma

14.0 %

Associate

13.3 %

Start to develop specific lift driver skills

Skills	Percentages
Fork-Lift	24.12%
Pallets	20.31%
Safety Standards	8.33%
Load Trucks	6.78%
Electric Pallet Jack	6.30%

Complete relevant lift driver training and internships

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

Research lift driver duties and responsibilities

Install and repair automobile hoists in the Michigan and Indiana area for various auto dealerships.
Demonstrate problem solving activities by handling problem pallets to final resolution.
Warehouse safety, operation/inspection of RR truck, replenishing/pulling/putting away pallets of merchandise, problem solving and cleaning
Utilize hi-lo truck and dollies to move and distribute product to designate warehouse areas or line side.

Prepare your lift driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lift driver 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 lift driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable lift driver resume templates

Build a professional lift driver 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 lift driver resume.