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Swamper vs material handler

The differences between swampers and material handlers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a swamper has an average salary of $34,411, which is higher than the $33,215 average annual salary of a material handler.

The top three skills for a swamper include safety equipment, CDL and frac tanks. The most important skills for a material handler are pallets, basic math, and forklifts.

Swamper vs material handler overview

SwamperMaterial Handler
Yearly salary$34,411$33,215
Hourly rate$16.54$15.97
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs47,952174,068
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 65%High School Diploma, 51%
Average age4040
Years of experience--

What does a swamper do?

A Swamper serves as a helper or an assistant to a more skilled laborer. Swampers help operators and their crew members in the oil and gas industry in performing manual labor-associated tasks. Their duties and responsibilities depend on their field or industry in which they work. They help set-up and pull-down equipment and conduct inspections before and after the trip. It is their job to maintain a safe and orderly job site.

What does a material handler do?

Material handlers are responsible for moving products, storing items, and managing supplies to proper shelf categories. A material handler also documents deliveries and ensures that all items for shipment are correct and free of any damage. Material handlers must also be a fast-learner to operate various warehouse equipment that would make the task more efficient and less time-consuming. A material handler must also check all the incoming deliveries to validate all purchases made. Material handlers must be able to analyze sheet orders and prepare the correct merchandise the client needs.

Swamper vs material handler salary

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

SwamperMaterial Handler
Average salary$34,411$33,215
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $43,000Between $26,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City-Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state-Minnesota
Best paying company-Battelle
Best paying industry-Automotive

Differences between swamper and material handler education

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

SwamperMaterial Handler
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 65%High School Diploma, 51%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Swamper vs material handler demographics

Here are the differences between swampers' and material handlers' demographics:

SwamperMaterial Handler
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 93.4% Female, 6.6%Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 29.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 47.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%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 Percentage5%5%

Differences between swamper and material handler duties and responsibilities

Swamper example responsibilities.

  • Manage mulching, fertilizing, watering and mowing activities.
  • Put correct PPE on and mark the soil to start dig.
  • Used hand tools such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, hedge and brush trimmers and axes.
  • Weld new cutting edges on front end loaders, new shanks and teeth on buckets.
  • Allocate and attach pulleys, cables, braces, booms, chains and hooks to lifting machinery.
  • Operate backhoes, loaders, forklift.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Swamper vs material handler skills

Common swamper skills
  • Safety Equipment, 15%
  • CDL, 12%
  • Frac Tanks, 10%
  • Manual Labor, 10%
  • Load Trucks, 9%
  • Hoisting, 3%
Common material handler skills
  • Pallets, 12%
  • Basic Math, 6%
  • Forklifts, 6%
  • Math, 5%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Hand Tools, 4%

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