How To Become A Longshoreman: What It Is and Career Path

What is a longshoreman 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 longshoreman. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.81 an hour? That's $28,718 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 358,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLongshoremanUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $28,718

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.12%

Asian 5.49%

Black or African American 14.96%

Hispanic or Latino 19.90%

Unknown 5.26%

White 53.26%

Gender

female 8.31%

male 91.69%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a longshoreman

Explore longshoreman education requirements

Most common longshoreman degrees

High School Diploma

44.6 %

Bachelor's

21.1 %

Associate

14.4 %

Start to develop specific longshoreman skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Guidelines	23.83%
Delivery Vehicle	12.19%
TWIC	8.74%
Manual Labor	4.91%
Rail Cars	4.90%

Complete relevant longshoreman training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New longshoremen 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 longshoreman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real longshoreman resumes.

Research longshoreman duties and responsibilities

Rig cargo for unloading/loading with cranes.
Attach slings and hooks on crane.
Carry and push around dollies and cranes as instructed.
Adjust controls to guide, position and move equipment such as cranes, booms and cameras.

Prepare your longshoreman resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable longshoreman resume templates

Build a professional longshoreman 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 longshoreman resume.