Interested in becoming a part of a warehouse workforce? Retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and even the military use warehouses to store and distribute goods and merchandise, so there’s lots of opportunity out there. The environment you work in can vary depending on the size of the company and what position you’re hired for, but the hard work often pays off if you’re well suited.
Types of Warehouse Work
There are many moving pieces and workers in a warehouse. Job roles include material movers, equipment operators, maintenance workers, administrators, general workers and more. Material movers and equipment operators are in charge of operating heavy machinery to move product around the warehouse in a timely and safe manner. If you’re looking into operating forklift trucks, you’ll need to obtain a forklift license and go through the proper training to ensure safe operation. Depending upon experience, sit down riders forklift operators can make around $12 to $20 an hour.
Heavy equipment is obviously a critical part of operations, so knowledgeable maintenance workers are just as important. You’ll have to be able to work quickly to make sure all machines are working properly and that breakdowns don’t inhibit productivity. Warehouse administrators are another integral piece of the team who are depended upon to execute clerical activities as well as logistics, dispatching, safety administration, and inventory. If you’re on boarded as a general worker, you’ll be put to work for a variety of tasks like being in charge of picking product, assembling, and/or packing.
It’s Hot In The Warehouse
If you’re extremely sensitive to heat, warehouse jobs may not be the best fit for you. It can be challenging to work in warm conditions and it’s often hard for companies to air condition the entire warehouse, so they often install high volume industrial fans to keep things cool. It’s important to keep hydrated in summer months while working in a warehouse to prevent any chance of overheating. Working for large companies has its perks, since giants like Amazon has installed air conditioning in its U.S. warehouses.
Chances are that whatever role you play in the warehouse, you’re going to be doing some physical work at some point. You’re probably going to be doing a good amount of walking or standing, and sometimes heavy lifting, so being physically fit is an important qualifier for certain warehouse jobs.
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