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

What is a shipping lead person and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average shipping lead person salary is $41,329. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a shipping lead person. Shipping lead people with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -38,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreShipping Lead PersonUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,329

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%

Asian 6.03%

Black or African American 12.93%

Hispanic or Latino 18.33%

Unknown 4.45%

White 57.43%

Gender

female 13.16%

male 86.84%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a shipping lead person

Explore shipping lead person education requirements

Most common shipping lead person degrees

High School Diploma

52.0 %

Associate

16.0 %

Diploma

14.5 %

Start to develop specific shipping lead person skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	19.62%
Shipping Receiving	15.13%
Truck Loads	8.17%
Inventory Control	7.46%
RF	5.68%

Complete relevant shipping lead person training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New shipping lead people 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 lead person based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real shipping lead person resumes.

Research shipping lead person duties and responsibilities

Manage international shipping - coordinate documentation, commercial invoices, letters of credit, NAFTA, certificates of origin.
Use computers to verify inventory, cycle count, RF scanner and daily shipments.
Operate 8000 pound forklift and used RF hand scanners to verify accuracy of load.
Create and maintain the batch lot tracking and FIFO programs for the door impact beams.

Get shipping lead person experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a shipping lead person. The most common roles before becoming a shipping lead person include forklift operator, machine operator team lead and shipping and receiving clerk.

Apply for shipping lead person jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a shipping lead person job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams