Top Warehouse Jobs that Pay Well and Where to Find Them

The warehouse industry is full of lucrative employment opportunities. Even if you have no formal education beyond high school, you can find a high-paying job in this sector as on-the-job training is common. 

From warehouse clerks to forklift operators to assembly technicians, warehouse jobs are fairly lucrative because of the high demand for warehouse workers. Continue reading if you’re looking for lucrative warehouse job opportunities as well as information on how to obtain them and the skills you will need. 

How Much Does a Warehouse Job Pay?

If you work in the warehouse industry, your salary will vary considerably according to factors like the company your work for, your position, and your level of experience. Generally speaking, warehouse jobs pay a decent wage and some are among the top jobs that pay at least $15 an hour.

PayScale reports that a warehouse manager in the United States earns $55,606 per year, which is considered a competitive wage. On the other hand, the average warehouse worker earns just $36,189 per year. According to over 2,600 salary reports on Glassdoor, an Amazon warehouse worker gets paid an hourly wage of about $16.

How to Get a High-Paying Warehouse Job

Are you looking for a high-paying warehouse job? There are many warehouse jobs that pay reasonably high salaries and do not require a bachelor’s degree. Although these jobs might have low barriers to entry, you’ll face stiff competition. Here are some steps you should take to improve your chances of landing a remunerative warehouse job.

Step 1: Do Formal and Informal Job Hunting 

You can find ads for warehouse jobs on job boards online as well as in newspapers. If you know what company you’d like to work for, you can also visit its careers page. However, many people also land jobs in warehousing through more informal means like referrals. This means that if you know anyone in the industry, you should ask them if they know of any open positions. 

Step 2: Conduct Proper Due Diligence

Before applying for a warehouse job, make sure that the company and the position are a good fit for you and your lifestyle. You want to work for a company whose values you can identify with. Likewise, you should make sure that the job hours allow you to meet any obligations you may have. Night shifts are common in this industry. You may want to consider working nights if you have commitments during the day such as attending university classes.

Step 3: Update Your Resume with Relevant Skills 

Many warehouse jobs don’t require a lot of experience, but having certain skills in your resume can give you an edge. Each position requires different skills so do some research beforehand and make sure to add pertinent skills to your resume. For warehouse jobs that involve a high degree of physical activity, you should highlight skills such as fitness, mobility, hand-eye coordination, self-motivation, and even teamwork. 

What Warehouse Jobs Pay the Most? The Highest-Paying Warehouse Jobs You Should Consider

Below we consider some of the most profitable entry, intermediate, and managerial warehouse positions. All these jobs pay well above the minimum wage, which makes them great employment options considering that many of them do not require formal education or a lot of experience.

Warehouse Associate

• Average salary: $38,769
• Job growth: 7%
• Companies hiring: Amazon, The Home Depot, Costco Wholesale, Caterpillar, PepsiCo, Target, Nordstrom, Best Buy, FedEx

Warehouse associates can take on a wide range of warehouse duties. They are mostly involved with manual labor, such as organizing, shelving, and moving materials. Other duties of a warehouse associate include processing shipping orders, maintaining inventory levels, performing product inspections, and reviewing customer invoices.

Assembly Technician

• Average salary: $38,044
• Job growth: -5%
• Companies hiring: Lockheed Martin, Manpower Group, Siemens, John Deere, General Electric, General Motors, Caterpillar

Assembly technicians carry out general assembly tasks. For instance, they might assemble machine parts, including cars and agricultural machinery. They may also be charged with planning procedures to streamline assembly lines and conducting tests to verify that units operate properly while adhering to relevant health and safety regulations.  

Entry-Level Warehouse Laborer

• Average salary: $35,781
• Job growth: 7%*
• Companies hiring: Walmart, DHL, True Value, FedEx

An entry-level warehouse worker loads and unloads shipments from a warehouse facility to a truck. There are few entry barriers, as job seekers are not required to have prior warehouse experience or formal education. This position requires heavy lifting and prolonged standing so you must be physically fit. Additionally, some warehouses may require weekend and holiday work.

Forklift Operator

• Average salary: $33,559
• Job growth: 7%
• Companies hiring: Target, WinCo Foods, DHL, Universal Logistics, Foot Locker, Dollar General, PepsiCo

Also known as forklift drivers, forklift operators deliver, move, stack, load, and unload goods in a warehouse using an industrial truck. Other job duties include performing equipment checks, basic maintenance, and adhering to health and safety standards. You’ll need great organizational skills to accomplish your daily tasks efficiently. 

Truck Loader

• Average salary: $33,374
• Job growth: 9%
• Companies hiring: Kentwood Springs Water, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Domino’s Pizza

A truck loader puts a wide variety of products onto a pallet for transportation. Other responsibilities of these professionals include verifying shipments from a warehouse as well as receiving packages from vendors, preparing them, and storing them in the proper location.

Material Handler

• Average salary: $33,369
• Job growth: 7%*
• Companies hiring: UPS, McKesson, Manpower Group, Tesla, PepsiCo, Amazon, FedEx

As a material handler, you will be charged with wrapping products and loading them onto delivery vans. You’ll also be responsible for unloading trucks and stocking shelves as needed. You must be in good physical condition and be able to lift at least 30 pounds without assistance.

Warehouse Clerk

• Average salary: $33,356
• Job growth: 7%*
• Companies hiring: Amazon, Target, UPS, Costco Wholesale, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Best Buy, FedEx

Warehouse clerks assist in a variety of warehouse tasks. They may receive, pick, package, and return goods as well as load and unload trucks. To work as a warehouse clerk, you must be well-organized and able to work in a fast-paced environment.

Production Worker

• Average salary: $32,228
• Job growth: 0%
• Companies hiring: General Motors, Randstad, Aerotek, Manpower Group, Ford, Continental, General Electric

Production workers are assigned to different stages of a production line and operate various machines to manufacture products. Other job responsibilities of a production worker include recording production data as required and examining products as they leave the production line. Due to the nature of manufacturing, certain warehouse positions may require you to work 12-hour shifts, including weekends and holidays.

Shift Manager

• Average salary: $31,119
• Job growth: 9%
• Companies hiring: Amazon, Raising Cane’s, Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores, ArcelorMittal

Shift managers are more common in the hospitality industry, working for companies like KFC, McDonald’s, and Chick-fil-A. However, top companies with advanced warehouse procedures, such as Amazon, require a shift manager to ensure that all activities in a warehouse run smoothly. These individuals also assist in coordinating the receipt, storage, and dispatch of various products. To become a shift manager, you must have excellent people management skills.

Stock Clerk

• Average salary: $30,230
• Job growth: -1%
• Companies hiring: Publix, Costco Wholesale, Target, Lockheed Martin, Levi Strauss, Northrop Grumman, Chick-fil-A

As a stock clerk, your main duties involve moving merchandise from the warehouse or store to display shelves. These workers oversee and organize stock. They must also work closely with management to monitor inventory, keep accurate store records, and add price tags to products.

* Figure taken from the BLS page for hand laborers and material movers

Best Warehouse Jobs: Top Companies that Hire for Warehouse Jobs

If some of the jobs on the list above seem appealing to you, here are some of the best companies hiring for those positions.

• Amazon: Amazon is one of the few companies that offer good medical benefits. Additionally, workers have control of when they work as they can choose their shifts. Other benefits include an easy transfer policy and the option to choose if you get paid weekly or monthly. 
• Target: Target is a good company to work for if you are interested in working overtime. After a few times in this company, you’ll have access to better-paying positions.
• UPS: Consider working for UPS if you want to start at an entry-level warehouse job and work your way up. However, you will probably need to work overtime as the rates are not as high as other companies. 
• Costco Wholesale: Costco offers great benefits and job security to its warehouse employees. Although the pay is higher than most companies, you may not have enough hours per week.
• PepsiCo: If you’re looking for a simple job with good pay, you should consider this company. There is a lot of lifting involved but the pay and benefits make it worth it.

Where to Find a Warehouse Job

With online job boards constantly posting vacancies, finding a warehouse job that meets all of your professional needs is relatively easy. However, there are dozens of online job boards today advertising hundred of positions, so finding the ideal match can be challenging. To help you out, we have chosen the top online job boards you should consider when looking for warehouse jobs.

Indeed

Indeed is one of the top job sites in the world. At the time of writing, this site had over 1,600 warehouse worker job vacancies. Indeed allows you to apply for jobs from anywhere in the world. Another advantage of searching for jobs on this site is that you’ll receive job alerts for positions that may interest you.

Monster Jobs

This global employment website creates technologies to connect workers and employers. This is a large platform, so you are sure to find many interesting warehouse jobs. Additionally, the site is completely free to use and you won’t have to spend a dime to apply for a job.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking site. It enables professionals to interact and use referrals to find new job opportunities. Employers can also use this platform to post job openings. At the time of writing, there were over 200,000 warehouse-related jobs in the United States. LinkedIn also allows professionals to set job alerts to receive an email if there is a warehouse job vacancy near them.

Skills Required to Land Your First Warehouse Job

During the job hunt, highlighting certain skills in your resume can give you an advantage over the competition. Below we take a closer look at the skills that will make you a stronger candidate for a warehouse job.

Flexibility

Warehouse work is fast-paced, tiring, and stressful at times. In addition, you may be required to perform tasks that are not part of your job description. Having the ability to quickly switch from task to task and to accommodate work-related requests from management will make a more valuable asset to the company. 

Computer Literacy

Many warehouse positions do not require computer skills. However, knowing your way around spreadsheets as well as productivity and presentation software will improve your candidacy. In addition, if you get the job, having basic proficiency with computers will improve your chances of being promoted to a technical position with significantly higher pay.

Communication Skills

Being able to communicate effectively with team members is important in any job. In a warehouse, you will have to interact with other workers as well as managers and supervisors. Showing the ability to understand and follow instructions as well as the interpersonal skills required to collaborate effectively with fellow workers will make you a strong candidate for a promotion.

Can a Coding Bootcamp Help Me Get a Warehouse Job?

A coding bootcamp will not help you get a warehouse job. Coding bootcamps focus on computer science subjects like programming and data science. Unfortunately, knowledge of these topics won’t matter when applying for entry-level warehouse jobs.

Once you land a job a warehouse job with a company that you would like to grow with, you may consider enrolling in a coding bootcamp to gain access to tech roles. After all, every medium-sized and large company nowadays needs software engineers, data entry operators, data factory developers, researchers, and data scientists. Consider speaking with the hiring manager about such opportunities for growth in your warehouse career.

Is a Warehouse Job For Me?

A warehouse job might be for you if you are physically fit and capable of working long hours. Most warehouse positions are physically demanding, requiring you to stand for extended periods while moving or packing products and operating machinery such as forklifts and compactors. 

As a warehouse worker, your shifts may occasionally change or rotate and you may be asked to work long hours. You should also be aware that some jobs may expose you to hazardous materials and other health risks. 

On the upside, a warehouse job will give you a chance to earn a comfortable salary even if you don’t have a university education. If you are willing to work overtime, your earnings could experience a sizeable increase. All in all, a warehouse job is a great fit for people who like physical work and who are looking for a stable source of income.

Warehouse Jobs that Pay Well FAQ