Work car operator vs lift operator

The differences between work car operators and lift 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 lift operator. Additionally, a work car operator has an average salary of $35,769, which is higher than the $32,309 average annual salary of a lift operator.

The top three skills for a work car operator include CDL, pallets and safety procedures. The most important skills for a lift operator are pallets, fork-lift, and electric pallet jack.

Work car operator vs lift operator overview

	Work Car Operator	Lift Operator
Yearly salary	$35,769	$32,309
Hourly rate	$17.20	$15.53
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	51,230	72,445
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

Work car operator vs lift operator salary

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

	Work Car Operator	Lift Operator
Average salary	$35,769	$32,309
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Kearney, NE	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Travis County	BD
Best paying industry	Government	Automotive

Differences between work car operator and lift operator education

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

	Work Car Operator	Lift Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Work car operator vs lift operator demographics

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

	Work Car Operator	Lift Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8%	Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9%
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, 15.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 2.6% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between work car operator and lift 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.

Lift operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Use AS400 to take yarn out of inventory.
Load and unload ship cargo using wenches or other hoisting devices.
Check forklift for problems such as fluid levels, tires and forks.
Load and unload trucks with as sit down with slip sheet and double forks attachment practicing a safe environment.
Record inventory and reroute misplaced pallets at rack locations to the correct location

Work car operator vs lift operator skills

Common work car operator skills

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

Common lift operator skills

Pallets, 17%
Fork-Lift, 14%
Electric Pallet Jack, 10%
Safety Rules, 9%
Power Saws, 4%
Load Trucks, 4%

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Transportation Industry
Work Car Operator
Work Car Operator vs Lift Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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