Career profile for Shipping Clerk

What does a Shipping Clerk do?

Shipping Clerks verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory.

In addition, Shipping Clerks

duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products,
may prepare items for shipment.

What kind of tasks does a Shipping Clerk perform regularly?

Shipping Clerks are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.
Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.
Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.
Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter.
Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes.
Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications.
Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins.
Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials.
Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.
Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list.

The above responsibilities are specific to Shipping Clerks. More generally, Shipping Clerks are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

What is a Shipping Clerk salary?

The median salary for a Shipping Clerk is $35,260, and the average salary is $37,210. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Shipping Clerk salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Shipping Clerks earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Shipping Clerks earn less than $25,360 per year, 25% earn less than $29,060, 75% earn less than $43,120, and 90% earn less than $52,820.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Shipping Clerks is expected to change by -5.5%, and there should be roughly 64,000 open positions for Shipping Clerks every year.

Median annual salary: $35,260
Typical salary range: $25,360 - $52,820
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -5.5%

What personality traits are common among Shipping Clerks?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Shipping Clerk are usually higher in their Conventional and Realistic interests.

Shipping Clerks typically have very strong Conventional interests. 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.

Also, Shipping Clerks typically have strong Realistic interests. 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.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Shipping Clerk tend to value Relationships, Support, and Independence.

Most importantly, Shipping Clerks strongly value 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.

Second, Shipping Clerks moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Shipping Clerks somewhat value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Shipping Clerks must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Shipping Clerks, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
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.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

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.

What education and training do Shipping Clerks need?

Working as a Shipping Clerk usually requires a high school diploma.

Shipping Clerks need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Shipping Clerks

11.9% did not complete high school or secondary school
43.6% completed high school or secondary school
25.9% completed some college coursework
8.0% earned a Associate's degree
9.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.4% earned a Master's degree
0.3% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Shipping Clerks

Shipping Clerks may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as administrative, computers and electronics, or production and processing knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Shipping Clerks might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Administrative		Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Administrative

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Important Abilities needed by Shipping Clerks

Shipping Clerks must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Shipping Clerks need abilities such as near vision, oral expression, and problem sensitivity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Shipping Clerks, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Information Ordering		The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Critical Skills needed by Shipping Clerks

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Shipping Clerks frequently use skills like speaking, reading comprehension, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Shipping Clerks, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Shipping Clerk

Shipping Clerk

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