How To Become A Material Handler Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is a material handler lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A material handler lead is an individual who handles packages and shipments and often works in a warehouse or shipping facility. These individuals may operate heavy machinery such as forklifts to move products and merchandise and help manage inventory, stock, and other materials. A material handler lead is an experienced individual who acts as a mentor for other handlers and works under the direct supervision of a material manager. These individuals manage inventory and stock, fill customer orders, manage production orders, and supervise the loading of delivery vehicles while ensuring that safety protocols and guidelines are followed.

Most employers require a material handler lead to have a high school diploma or equivalent and have experience in the management and handling of materials in a warehouse or shipping setting. These individuals should possess strong leadership, communication, organizational, and multi-tasking skills. They should also be adept at mentoring staff and working with vendors, contractors, and transport drivers.

If you enjoy handling materials, and mentoring staff, a position as a material handler lead can be a good fit. Depending on the industry, a material handler lead can make up to $33,000 per year, and the career field is expected to grow 4% by 2028.

ScoreMaterial Handler LeadUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,147

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.23%

Asian 5.45%

Black or African American 13.54%

Hispanic or Latino 19.90%

Unknown 5.47%

White 54.41%

Gender

female 17.81%

male 82.19%

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 material handler lead

Explore material handler lead education requirements

Most common material handler lead degrees

High School Diploma

44.6 %

Associate

20.7 %

Bachelor's

18.2 %

Start to develop specific material handler lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Logistics	9.33%
Safety Procedures	8.79%
Material Handlers	8.71%
Shipping Receiving	6.62%
Pallets	4.99%

Complete relevant material handler lead training and internships

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

Research material handler lead duties and responsibilities

Experience in managing JIT material handling, shipping, rail dock, truck dock and metal assembly areas.
Lead and execute projects relate to different commodities such as copper and silver, expect savings of $435K.
Utilize RF inventory management system, maintain records in accordance with guidelines to ensure integrity of ISO standards.
Help the site meet OSHA VPP status.

Get material handler lead experience

Prepare your material handler lead resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable material handler lead resume templates

Build a professional material handler lead 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 material handler lead resume.