Occupation Details
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.
Quick Navigation
Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Relationships
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$34,310.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$41,130.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$52,350.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
16,560
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
21,180
+462 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
2,478
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.3%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Transportation
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Concern for Others
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Banding equipment
- Belt conveyors
- Booms
- Bridgeplates
- Bulk liquid trucks
- Cantilever trucks
- Combination vacuum lifts
- Container top handlers
- Counterbalanced front/side loader lift trucks
- Crane attachments
- Dockboards
- Dollies
- Extended-reach forklifts
- Flatbed trailers
- Fork-grapples
- Forktrucks
- High-lift order picker trucks
- Hustlers
- Industrial crane trucks
- Jacks
- Lift beams
- Lift trucks
- Lifting clamps
- Metal dump hopper attachments
- Motorized hand trucks
- On-board computers for sending/receiving instructions
- Overhead hoists
- Pallet trucks
- Personal computers
- Platform lift trucks
Technology
- Argos Software ABECAS Insight WMS
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Lilly Software Associates VISUAL DCMS
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Word
- RedPrairie DLx Warehouse
- SAP business and customer relations management software
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- maintain or repair cargo or passenger vehicle
- operate material moving, loading, or unloading equipment
- operate packaging or banding machine or equipment
- use hand or power tools
- use weighing or measuring devices in transportation
- use vehicle repair tools or safety equipment
- maintain production or work records
- signal directions or warnings to coworkers
- move or fit heavy objects
- load, unload, or stack containers, materials, or products
- fasten attachments or accessories to tractor
- inspect material moving equipment
- perform safety inspections in manufacturing or industrial setting
- operate cargo handling gear
- operate forklift
- operate tractor with accessories or attachments
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- 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.
- Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
- Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
- Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.
- Signal workers to discharge, dump, or level materials.
- Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
- Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels.
- Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank.
- Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines.
- Hook tow trucks to trailer hitches and fasten attachments, such as graders, plows, rollers, or winch cables to tractors, using hitchpins.
- Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Construction Equipment Operators
Visit this link for information on this career in the military.
Learn MoreMaterial moving occupations
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
Learn More