A warehouse packer is responsible for stacking and piling goods into their correct containers and preparing them for shipment using various equipment. They clean and prepare boxes before placing goods in them and pack them following a specific set of instructions. They also check to ensure containers are damage-free and verify if items pulled out of the package are correct. Warehouse packers earn a median sum of $12 per hour, which amounts to $25,000 a year.
A warehouse packer primarily prepares items for shipping by weighing, labelling, and packing them into shipping containers. They build the boxes or pallets for shipment and place the packaged orders in the correct distribution area. They then scan those items or manually update the inventory system. Packers tag the containers with marking tools and remove defective products or materials, placing them on moving equipment such as conveyors or in specified areas such as loading docks.
A warehouse packer typically holds a high school diploma or its equivalent. They are expected to have a warehouse or shipping experience. Some employers prefer candidates to operate an electric pallet jack or forklift and stand for long periods and lift to 50 lbs.
Warehouse Packer Overview
Warehouse Packer Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a warehouse packer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.44 an hour? That's $25,869 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 156,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Warehouse Packer Do
There are certain skills that many warehouse packers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed hand–eye coordination, listening skills and physical strength.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a warehouse packer, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.8% of warehouse packers included pallet jack, while 12.4% of resumes included customer orders, and 11.8% of resumes included storage areas. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the warehouse packer job title. But what industry to start with? Most warehouse packers actually find jobs in the retail and manufacturing industries.
How To Become a Warehouse Packer
If you're interested in becoming a warehouse packer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 8.8% of warehouse packers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.6% of warehouse packers have master's degrees. Even though some warehouse packers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a warehouse packer. When we researched the most common majors for a warehouse packer, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on warehouse packer resumes include diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a warehouse packer. In fact, many warehouse packer jobs require experience in a role such as cashier. Meanwhile, many warehouse packers also have previous career experience in roles such as customer service representative or sales associate.
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Warehouse Packer Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a warehouse packer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as machine operator, progress to a title such as technician and then eventually end up with the title operations manager.
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Average Salary for a Warehouse Packer
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Adecco Warehouse Packer Warehouse Packer | Adecco Adecco | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $27,13101/30/2021 $27,131 |
Adecco Warehouse Packer Warehouse Packer | Adecco Adecco | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $26,08801/30/2021 $26,088 |
Adecco Warehouse Packer Warehouse Packer | Adecco Adecco | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $27,13101/30/2021 $27,131 |
Adecco Staffing Warehouse Packer Warehouse Packer | Adecco Staffing Adecco Staffing | 01/29/2021 01/29/2021 | $21,91401/29/2021 $21,914 |
Adecco Warehouse Packer Warehouse Packer | Adecco Adecco | 01/29/2021 01/29/2021 | $32,34901/29/2021 $32,349 |
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Warehouse Packer Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Warehouse Packer. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Warehouse Packer Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Warehouse Packer resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Skills For a Warehouse Packer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.8% of warehouse packers listed pallet jack on their resume, but soft skills such as hand–eye coordination and listening skills are important as well.
- Pallet Jack, 14.8%
- Customer Orders, 12.4%
- Storage Areas, 11.8%
- Different Types, 6.8%
- Safety Rules, 6.0%
- Other Skills, 48.2% See All Warehouse Packer Skills
Best States For a Warehouse Packer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a warehouse packer. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Vermont. Warehouse packers make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $31,046. Whereas in Wisconsin and Wyoming, they would average $30,522 and $30,470, respectively. While warehouse packers would only make an average of $30,027 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Wisconsin
$30,522
Avg. Salary
2. Pennsylvania
$27,960
Avg. Salary
3. Iowa
$28,072
Avg. Salary
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