If you've ever stepped foot in a warehouse, you know how much trouble is can be around the corner. From forklifts to other fun (albeit dangerous) machinery just waiting to be ridden or played with, it's easy to get hurt. Usually, during work there's not a whole lot of time for play so, hopefully, that saves you from a hefty medical bill.
As a warehouse worker, you'll have plenty of work to keep your mind off that machinery. You'll need to receive and process any deliveries of stock or materials that come your way and you may also be in charge of filling out those delivery orders, as well as sending out some deliveries yourself.
While you'll probably only be working eight hours per shift, you may think this job is a breeze. Don't forget that standing around for that long and moving heavy items can take a toll. If you work as a warehouse worker, you'll need to make sure you're taking plenty of breaks during each shift, which I'm sure you'll happily agree to.
How to Become a Warehouse Worker
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a warehouse worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.15 an hour? That's $31,519 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 46,900 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Warehouse Worker Do
There are certain skills that many warehouse workers 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 detail oriented, math skills and communication skills.
How To Become a Warehouse Worker
If you're interested in becoming a warehouse worker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 9.6% of warehouse workers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.6% of warehouse workers have master's degrees. Even though some warehouse workers 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 worker. When we researched the most common majors for a warehouse worker, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on warehouse worker resumes include associate degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a warehouse worker. In fact, many warehouse worker jobs require experience in a role such as cashier. Meanwhile, many warehouse workers also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or customer service representative.
Warehouse Worker Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of driver you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title operations manager.
Average Salary for a Warehouse Worker
What Am I Worth?
Top Skills For a Warehouse Worker
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, 12.4% of warehouse workers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and math skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Warehouse Worker Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Warehouse Worker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Warehouse Worker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Warehouse Worker Demographics
Warehouse Worker Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among warehouse workers, 21.7% of them are women, while 78.3% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among warehouse workers is White, which makes up 60.4% of all warehouse workers.
- The most common foreign language among warehouse workers is Spanish at 82.1%.
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Best States For a Warehouse Worker
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a warehouse worker. The best states for people in this position are Illinois, Wyoming, Indiana, and Washington. Warehouse workers make the most in Illinois with an average salary of $37,297. Whereas in Wyoming and Indiana, they would average $36,289 and $36,075, respectively. While warehouse workers would only make an average of $34,545 in Washington, 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. Indiana
$36,075
Avg. Salary
2. Illinois
$37,297
Avg. Salary
3. Utah
$33,564
Avg. Salary
How Do Warehouse Worker Rate Their Jobs?
Top Warehouse Worker Employers
Most Common Employers For Warehouse Worker
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Home Depot | $37,101 | $17.84 | 1,176 |
| 2 | Kohl's | $36,338 | $17.47 | 522 |
| 3 | Sears Holdings | $36,155 | $17.38 | 521 |
| 4 | PepsiCo | $36,005 | $17.31 | 519 |
| 5 | Target | $35,557 | $17.09 | 1,353 |
| 6 | JCPenney | $35,343 | $16.99 | 590 |
| 7 | Walmart | $34,972 | $16.81 | 2,169 |
| 8 | Hobby Lobby | $34,233 | $16.46 | 609 |
| 9 | The Coca-Cola Company | $34,204 | $16.44 | 1,003 |
| 10 | Amazon | $33,622 | $16.16 | 5,641 |
Warehouse Worker Videos
Becoming a Warehouse Worker FAQs
How long does it take to become a Warehouse Worker?
It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a warehouse worker. That is the time it takes to learn specific warehouse worker skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.
Do you need a college degree to work in a warehouse?
No, you do not need a college degree to work in a warehouse. While the qualifications and skills you need to work in a warehouse will depend on the type of job you plan to pursue, most companies only require a high school diploma.
How much should warehouse workers get paid?
Warehouse workers should be paid at least $16 an hour. Warehouses have typically paid less than factories but more than retailers. These haven't been highly skilled jobs but require a certain level of ability - whether managing inventory or driving a forklift without damaging goods and hurting anyone.
Is being a warehouse worker a good career?
No, being a warehouse worker is not a good career. The average warehouse worker makes $31,200 a year ($16 an hour). The sad fact is that many warehouse employees cannot support the cost of living on a warehouse salary.
Is being a warehouse worker hard?
Yes, being a warehouse worker is hard. Working in a warehouse is not an easy task at all. It involves physical and technical work. Though it largely involves manual labor, it can be as fun and fulfilling as other jobs.
What is the job title of a warehouse worker?
The job title of a warehouse worker is warehouse laborer. There are many different jobs within a warehouse, and each one has its own job titles and job duties.
Examples of common job titles and responsibilities for warehouse workers:
What qualifications do you need to work in a warehouse?
The qualifications needed to work in a warehouse are a high school diploma, physical capabilities, and motivation. Most of the skills and safety qualifications needed to work in a warehouse will be learned on the job.