Job description

Freight Forwarders research rates, routings, or modes of transport for shipment of products. Maintain awareness of regulations affecting the international movement of cargo. Make arrangements for additional services, such as storage or inland transportation.

• Calculate weight, volume, or cost of goods to be moved.
• Inform clients of factors such as shipping options, timelines, transfers, or regulations affecting shipments.
• Prepare shipping documentation, such as bills of lading, packing lists, dock receipts, or certificates of origin.
• Provide shipment status notification to exporters, consignees, or insurers.

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Salary

Freight Forwarders with little to no experience tend to make between $25970 and $33870 while the more experienced ones can earn over $55430 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Freight Forwarder is to move to a higher paying state like NJ. Right now, the highest paying states for Freight Forwarders are NJ, WA, OR, AR and NE.

However, a higher pay at NJ doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at NJ might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Freight Forwarder is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Freight Forwarders what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a High School Diploma followed by a College Certificate.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Freight Forwarder.

What is the job like

66% of Freight Forwarders said they were satisfied with their job and 48% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

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Anton Noss

TForce Worldwide

I have been in the International/Domestic Freight Forwarding industry for 20 years.

• Monitoring shipments to ensure they arrive at their destination.
• Reply to customer requests, quote requests. Advise Customers of issues/delays/potential problems.
• Check in with Sales Team.
• Process and move shipments.
• Much of what we do is problem solving. Many shipments run into issues that we must spend time and resources to address and resolve. Many times the customer does not know anything had happened, and this would be the preference.

Cons

• Long hours, and what can seem like endless work.
• Very competitive industry.

Pros

• Working with all different countries and cultures from around the world. Making and having friends/colleagues in other countries. Traveling to other countries for work.
• There are many different departments you can work in. It can be an exciting and rewarding career.

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Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas..

They also like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

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