Professional mover vs material handler

The differences between professional movers and material handlers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a material handler has an average salary of $33,215, which is higher than the $33,183 average annual salary of a professional mover.

The top three skills for a professional mover include work ethic, office furniture and customer service. The most important skills for a material handler are pallets, basic math, and forklifts.

Professional mover vs material handler overview

	Professional Mover	Material Handler
Yearly salary	$33,183	$33,215
Hourly rate	$15.95	$15.97
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	45,183	174,068
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Professional mover vs material handler salary

Professional movers and material handlers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Professional Mover	Material Handler
Average salary	$33,183	$33,215
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	Minnesota
Best paying company	-	Battelle
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between professional mover and material handler education

There are a few differences between a professional mover and a material handler in terms of educational background:

	Professional Mover	Material Handler
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Professional mover vs material handler demographics

Here are the differences between professional movers' and material handlers' demographics:

	Professional Mover	Material Handler
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 13.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between professional mover and material handler duties and responsibilities

Professional mover example responsibilities.

Carry and stack all assign furniture using appropriate equipment such as dollies and pallet jacks.
Deliver goods to specific locations, often moving large items such as pianos, copiers, and safes.
Operate GPS system to find or locate customers' business/residence to deliver and assemble product in predestine time frame.
Provide help with furniture other residents need moving such as; dryers, pool tables, hot tubs and pianos.
Develop and enhance teamwork and communication skills.
Accompany CDL Driver/Mover to transport and deliver customer belongings.

Material handler example responsibilities.

Utilize a manufacturing cloud ERP system to accomplish tasks.
Operate forklift according to OSHA safety regulations.
Pull parts from stockroom using detail BOM's.
Perform daily transactions of materials and inventory movements in ERP system.
Help train in coming personnel on FedEx and LTL carriers shipping systems.
Move parts from CNC operators to stock area or to assemblers directly.

Professional mover vs material handler skills

Common professional mover skills

Work Ethic, 63%
Office Furniture, 16%
Customer Service, 8%
Household Goods, 2%
DOT, 2%
Office Equipment, 1%

Common material handler skills

Pallets, 12%
Basic Math, 6%
Forklifts, 6%
Math, 5%
Customer Service, 4%
Hand Tools, 4%

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Professional Mover
Professional Mover vs Material Handler

Updated January 8, 2025

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