What is a Loader?

As a forklift operator, the majority of your time will be spent riding around on a forklift. You'll use it to move objects around so, unfortunately, there will be no time for any funny business. In fact, you'll probably need to follow some safety rules to ensure no one gets hurt.

There really aren't any formal education requirements, but you will probably need to be trained on how to operate the machine. Since products and materials are shipped at all times, you may need to stay late or even work an overnight shift from time to time.

And you better believe you'll get some overtime hours from being a forklift operator, which will be a nice little surprise when it's payday. Plus, did we mention you get to drive a forklift around. Sure, you have to be careful moving objects and trying to avoid running over your co-workers but, hey, at least you get to drive a forklift.

Material handlers, well, they handle materials. But you probably already knew that. Generally, the handling portion extends to moving, shelving, loading and unloading said materials. The materials can vary depending on what industry you're working in.

Materials aren't just shipped on a 9-5 schedule. The materials will arrive at any time of the day or night. So you may need to be prepared to work some overnight shifts. As a material handler, the only requirement to the job is being able to physically perform your job duties. So as long as you can do that, you won't have any problems handling material.

If you love organizing items or putting away merchandise, a career as an unloader might be an excellent option to consider. An Unloader is a position that comes with decent starting pay rates and access to many valuable benefits. It's an ideal position for many job seekers. As an unloader, your core duty is to ensure the distribution of merchandise throughout the store in a timely fashion. Facilitating the distribution of goods in the store, typically, you may unload materials within a plant, yard, or warehouse.

Working in a warehouse setting, you may take charge of unloading merchandise that arrives at the warehouse. You may perform other tasks, such as checking work orders and incoming shipments, moving or lifting merchandise from delivery trucks, picking orders from storage areas, and ensuring all the items are unloaded safely. Aside from offloading and unpacking, your job description also entails properly arranging or storing unloaded items in the store.

There are no minimum education requirements to become a warehouse unloader. Previous experience in a similar role is preferred, but it's purely optional. To be successful as an unloader, you must have effective communication and management skills, physical strength, and endurance to lift heavy products.

Typically, you may work full-time. However, you may work part-time, overnight, or early morning hours during peak business periods. Generally, you may earn an average annual wage of $50,000 along with additional benefits of health insurance and paid time off.