Career
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
Track what comes in, what goes out, and what is on the shelf.
$45,260
Median pay
-7.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
61,300
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $45,260 a year and 61,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Postal Service Clerks$62,130 · -0.3%
- Stockers and Order Fillers$37,330 · +8.9%
- Cargo and Freight Agents$52,260 · +6.2%
- Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping$46,380 · -4.8%
- Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators$58,470 · -5.3%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.