How To Become A Sorting Machine Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sorting machine operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a sorting machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.51 an hour? That's $30,183 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -6% and produce -29,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSorting Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,183

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate -6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.53%

Asian 11.80%

Black or African American 11.24%

Hispanic or Latino 15.04%

Unknown 3.73%

White 56.66%

Gender

female 47.42%

male 52.58%

Age - 50

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 - 50

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.2

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sorting machine operator

Explore sorting machine operator education requirements

Most common sorting machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

50.5 %

Associate

17.8 %

Bachelor's

13.0 %

Start to develop specific sorting machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Guidelines	19.86%
RAN	16.18%
Assembly Line	14.84%
Mail Handling	7.26%
Quality Checks	7.11%

Complete relevant sorting machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sorting machine operators 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 sorting machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sorting machine operator resumes.

Research sorting machine operator duties and responsibilities

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Create designs on computer to run on embroidery machines--run 4 head and single head embroidery jobs daily.
Start with a 2-head embroidery machine.
Operate drill press, CNC lathes, tapping and automatic machines.

Prepare your sorting machine operator resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable sorting machine operator resume templates

Build a professional sorting machine operator 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 sorting machine operator resume.