Production worker vs production forklift operator

The differences between production workers and production forklift operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a production forklift operator has an average salary of $34,322, which is higher than the $30,847 average annual salary of a production worker.

The top three skills for a production worker include production process, safety procedures and assembly line. The most important skills for a production forklift operator are pallets, line production, and safety rules.

Production worker vs production forklift operator overview

	Production Worker	Production Forklift Operator
Yearly salary	$30,847	$34,322
Hourly rate	$14.83	$16.50
Growth rate	-	7%
Number of jobs	136,584	160,992
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	4

Production worker vs production forklift operator salary

Production workers and production forklift operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Worker	Production Forklift Operator
Average salary	$30,847	$34,322
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $26,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Tacoma, WA	Fargo, ND
Highest paying state	Washington	Alaska
Best paying company	BD	Darigold
Best paying industry	Automotive	Manufacturing

Differences between production worker and production forklift operator education

There are a few differences between a production worker and a production forklift operator in terms of educational background:

	Production Worker	Production Forklift Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Production worker vs production forklift operator demographics

Here are the differences between production workers' and production forklift operators' demographics:

	Production Worker	Production Forklift Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 56.3% Female, 43.7%	Male, 88.5% Female, 11.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 2.8% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	5%	4%

Differences between production worker and production forklift operator duties and responsibilities

Production worker example responsibilities.

Manage and instruct workers in the art of food preparation as culinary team leader.
Require to know safe food practices like HACCP, and knowing USDA and FDA guidelines when handling and storing foods.
Use scribers, dividers, and squares to mark dimensions on material.
Produce glace, demi-glace and elite culinary sauces.
Handle parts that run off conveyors and are send for painting.
Operate large grinders, run high heat ovens, inspect and paint parts, packaging.

Production forklift operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Move and stock products using a stand up and sit down forklift.
Operate various forklifts from old Clark lifts to any new stand up and sit down lifts.
Load tractor trailer trucks with forklift and keep the production line stock with pallets of assort chicken parts to be package.
Execute production activities as directed by supervisor, including performing GMP cell culture of biologic products using closed-system device.
Deliver finished product to production area and stack items on pallet for pickup

Production worker vs production forklift operator skills

Common production worker skills

Production Process, 15%
Safety Procedures, 10%
Assembly Line, 10%
Basic Math, 10%
Quality Standards, 6%
Pallet Jack, 5%

Common production forklift operator skills

Pallets, 24%
Line Production, 12%
Safety Rules, 12%
Pallet Jack, 8%
RF Scanner, 6%
Quality Standards, 5%

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Production Worker vs Production Forklift Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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