Forklift Driver job description

Warehousing and storage employs about 33 percent of material moving machine operators, wholesale trade another 12 percent, and temporary help services 7 percent, so who signs a forklift driver's check does more to set the pay than the title does. The work is loading and unloading trailers, feeding production lines, putting away and pulling stock, and staging outbound freight. BLS reported a May 2025 median of $46,420 for industrial truck and tractor operators, inside a material moving band running from $36,900 to $64,230 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles. Entry asks for no diploma. The employer certification required under OSHA 1910.178 is the real requirement.