Work car operator vs forklift operator

The differences between work car operators and forklift operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a work car operator and a forklift operator. Additionally, a work car operator has an average salary of $35,769, which is higher than the $34,213 average annual salary of a forklift operator.

The top three skills for a work car operator include CDL, pallets and safety procedures. The most important skills for a forklift operator are pallets, basic math, and electric pallet jack.

Work car operator vs forklift operator overview

	Work Car Operator	Forklift Operator
Yearly salary	$35,769	$34,213
Hourly rate	$17.20	$16.45
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	51,230	213,020
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 59%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

Work car operator vs forklift operator salary

Work car operators and forklift operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Work Car Operator	Forklift Operator
Average salary	$35,769	$34,213
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Kearney, NE	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Alaska	North Dakota
Best paying company	Travis County	DeWitt LLP Law Firm
Best paying industry	Government	Automotive

Differences between work car operator and forklift operator education

There are a few differences between a work car operator and a forklift operator in terms of educational background:

	Work Car Operator	Forklift Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 59%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Work car operator vs forklift operator demographics

Here are the differences between work car operators' and forklift operators' demographics:

	Work Car Operator	Forklift Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8%	Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 2.7% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 16.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 2.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between work car operator and forklift operator duties and responsibilities

Work car operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Provide first tier support for NOC operations and basic help desk support duties.
Unload merchandise from semi-trucks onto conveyor belt, then onto pallets within the store.
Stage pallets for loading on proper dock locations, and shrink wrapped product on loading dock.
Work overnight monitoring CCTV systems and alarms for local businesses including cardealerships.
Handle troubleshooting and monitoring of systems activities on all production servers utilizing UNIX.

Forklift operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Position forks under, over, or around load pallets, boxes, products, and transports load to designate area.
Transport raw materials to storage or point of production base on FIFO.
Remove press parts from line and place into WIP locations by FIFO.
Perform safety checks on machines; and troubleshoot problems during machine operation.
Start working as an order selector picking orders and wrapping for shipment.

Work car operator vs forklift operator skills

Common work car operator skills

CDL, 29%
Pallets, 26%
Safety Procedures, 11%
Bobcat, 7%
Customer Orders, 6%
Mowing, 4%

Common forklift operator skills

Pallets, 18%
Basic Math, 6%
Electric Pallet Jack, 5%
OSHA, 5%
Safety Procedures, 5%
Load Trucks, 4%

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Transportation Industry
Work Car Operator
Work Car Operator vs Forklift Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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