Pick up driver vs fork truck operator

The differences between pick up drivers and fork truck operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a pick up driver and a fork truck operator. Additionally, a pick up driver has an average salary of $49,813, which is higher than the $32,272 average annual salary of a fork truck operator.

The top three skills for a pick up driver include pallet jack, DOT and rf scanner. The most important skills for a fork truck operator are pallets, safety procedures, and load trucks.

Pick up driver vs fork truck operator overview

	Pick Up Driver	Fork Truck Operator
Yearly salary	$49,813	$32,272
Hourly rate	$23.95	$15.52
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	44,609	117,624
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

Pick up driver vs fork truck operator salary

Pick up drivers and fork truck operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pick Up Driver	Fork Truck Operator
Average salary	$49,813	$32,272
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $68,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Denver, CO	Grand Forks, ND
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Alaska
Best paying company	Wayfair	Seneca Foods
Best paying industry	Transportation	Finance

Differences between pick up driver and fork truck operator education

There are a few differences between a pick up driver and a fork truck operator in terms of educational background:

	Pick Up Driver	Fork Truck Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Pick up driver vs fork truck operator demographics

Here are the differences between pick up drivers' and fork truck operators' demographics:

	Pick Up Driver	Fork Truck Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 84.6% Female, 15.4%	Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 2.6% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 1.9% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between pick up driver and fork truck operator duties and responsibilities

Pick up driver example responsibilities.

Conduct deliveries of medical equipment throughout Florida, collect payments, and ensure proper cleanliness of medical equipment
Employ wide variety of hand and power tools including hoists, drills, precision measuring instruments and electronic testing devices.

Fork truck operator example responsibilities.

Create and cataloge files for GMP library.
Perform specialized production line and quality control duties in a professional production environment specializing in plastic extrusion.
Perform specialized production line and quality control duties in a professional production environment specializing in plastic extrusion.

Pick up driver vs fork truck operator skills

Common pick up driver skills

Pallet Jack, 27%
DOT, 19%
RF Scanner, 12%
Hand Trucks, 9%
Customer Orders, 8%
Computer System, 6%

Common fork truck operator skills

Pallets, 19%
Safety Procedures, 10%
Load Trucks, 7%
Load Trailers, 6%
Pallet Jack, 6%
Assembly Line, 5%

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Pick Up Driver
Pick Up Driver vs Fork Truck Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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