How To Become A Shipping Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a shipping inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Robert Shepherd

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a shipping inspector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.92 an hour? That's $28,962 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -17,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a shipping inspector?

Robert Shepherd

NAESA International

People entering the workforce for the first time and recent grads cannot become elevator inspectors do to prerequisites required, which cannot be attained in any sort of schooling supplied in the world, there is none in existence. Th only way you get to be a certified elevator inspector is by successfully attaining a diploma from the school of hard knocks, so OJT is the only way!

ScoreShipping InspectorUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $28,962

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.99%

Asian 8.98%

Black or African American 10.38%

Hispanic or Latino 15.68%

Unknown 4.80%

White 59.16%

Gender

female 44.34%

male 55.66%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a shipping inspector

Explore shipping inspector education requirements

Most common shipping inspector degrees

High School Diploma

33.3 %

Associate

24.7 %

Bachelor's

23.5 %

Start to develop specific shipping inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Calipers	32.32%
Computer System	27.04%
FAA	18.05%
Package Processing Equipment	8.10%
Load Trucks	5.33%

Complete relevant shipping inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New shipping inspectors 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 shipping inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real shipping inspector resumes.

Research shipping inspector duties and responsibilities

Attend seminars require to obtain and maintain FAA ODAR certification.
Supervise all supply-chain management operations, including forecasting, sourcing, procurement, pricing, conversion, distribution and logistics.
Correspond with Honda on issues.
Supervise all supply-chain management operations, including forecasting, sourcing, procurement, pricing, conversion, distribution and logistics.

Prepare your shipping inspector resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable shipping inspector resume templates

Build a professional shipping inspector 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 shipping inspector resume.