Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.

• Move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material.
• Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
• Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
• Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.

Salary

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators with little to no experience tend to make between $24910 and $28710 while the more experienced ones can earn over $42360 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as an Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator is to move to a higher paying state like AK. Right now, the highest paying states for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators are AK, HI, DC, WA and NY.

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

Three other factors that can increase your salary as an Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a High School Diploma followed by less than a High School Diploma.

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 an Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator.

What is the job like

53% of Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators said they were satisfied with their job and 29% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

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 work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

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