There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a material handler/forklift operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.83 an hour? That's $28,757 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 32,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many material handler/forklift operators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed listening skills, mechanical skills and visual ability.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a material handler/forklift operator, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.7% of material handler/forklift operators included forklifts, while 9.1% of resumes included pallet jack, and 8.0% of resumes included unload trucks. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the material handler/forklift operator job title. But what industry to start with? Most material handler/forklift operators actually find jobs in the professional and transportation industries.
If you're interested in becoming a material handler/forklift operator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 5.9% of material handler/forklift operators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.5% of material handler/forklift operators have master's degrees. Even though some material handler/forklift operators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a material handler/forklift operator. When we researched the most common majors for a material handler/forklift operator, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on material handler/forklift operator resumes include associate degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a material handler/forklift operator. In fact, many material handler/forklift operator jobs require experience in a role such as forklift operator. Meanwhile, many material handler/forklift operators also have previous career experience in roles such as material handler or machine operator.
