Freight and Material Mover Career Assessment
The best-paying job in this area that needs no license
Welcome
Freight and material movers load, unload, and move goods by hand and with equipment, on docks, in warehouses, and on job sites.
The North Dakota median is about $21.97 an hour — roughly $7.50 above fast food — with about 1,400 openings a year and no school required.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Freight and Material Mover?
You load and unload trucks, move materials around a warehouse, plant, or site, stage goods for shipping, and keep the flow moving so nothing sits where it blocks something else. You will use hand trucks, pallet jacks, carts, and often a forklift. In construction and oil-field settings it also means moving materials where the crew needs them, when they need them.
The Reality: If nobody moves freight, nothing gets off the truck. The store runs out, the plant stops, the clinic does not get its supplies. It is heavy, physical work and the pay reflects that — this is the highest median in this whole area for a job with no license requirement. The honest cost is your body. Lifting all day for fifteen years is a real thing that happens to real people, and the workers who are still doing this at fifty are the ones who learned to lift properly in their first month and used the equipment instead of their back. Learn it early. You do not get your back back.
Your Responsibilities:
- Load and unload trucks and containers
- Move materials with hand trucks, pallet jacks, and carts
- Operate a forklift where certified
- Stage and sort freight for shipping or for a crew
- Check loads against paperwork and report damage
- Secure loads so nothing shifts in transit
- Keep aisles, docks, and work areas clear and safe
- Work to a schedule set by when trucks arrive
The job is physical, but the people who last at it are the ones who work smart about how they lift.
A Day in the Life
6:00 AM — Clock in. Check the dock schedule and what is inbound.
6:30 AM — First truck. Unload and sort to staging.
8:30 AM — Move staged freight to its departments with the pallet jack.
10:00 AM — Break.
10:15 AM — Outbound load. Stack, secure, and check against paperwork.
12:00 PM — Lunch.
12:30 PM — Second inbound truck.
2:30 PM — Sweep the dock, stage tomorrow’s outbound, flatten pallets.
Paced by the trucks — intense while one is in, steadier between.
Training in North Dakota
No school needed. Trained on the job within a week. You learn the equipment, the safety rules, and the paperwork on shift. Forklift certification, where the job needs it, is provided and paid for by the employer because the law requires them to train you.
Training Pathways:
- Warehouse and distribution: Steady, usually day shifts, hired year-round in the larger North Dakota cities.
- Construction and industrial sites: Often the better-paying end. Seasonal in parts of the state, and sometimes long hours in summer.
- Forklift certification: Free, employer-provided, and the single most useful thing you can get in your first month.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
Before You Start: No diploma or experience required. You need to lift heavy, repeatedly, for a full shift. Most employers require you to be 18. Steel-toe boots are usually required — ask whether they supply them or give an allowance.
Tip: Most of these jobs need no school, so the cost of starting is not tuition — it is the things you need in the first month. Non-slip shoes, work clothes or a uniform, a way to get to work, and getting through the two or three weeks before the first paycheck arrives. Ask the employer first: many will supply a uniform, some give a shoe allowance, and some pay weekly rather than every two weeks, which matters a lot at the start. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like work clothes, boots, tools, or getting to work. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you start rather than after.
Certification & Licensing
No license required to start. You can be hired with nothing. Equipment certifications come from the employer and are normally free.
Worth having:
- Forklift (powered industrial truck) certification — employer-provided and employer-paid; required by law to operate one
- OSHA 10 — a short general safety course that construction and industrial employers value
- Proper lifting training — provided by good employers; take it seriously in your first month
- Load securement basics — relevant if you work outbound freight
The Exams: Forklift certification involves a short written test and a driving evaluation at work.
Cost: Normally nothing. The employer is legally responsible for the training.
Keeping It Current: Forklift certification renews every three years.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Freight and Material Mover Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $16.80–$18.50/hour ($34,940–$38,470/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $21.97/hour ($45,690/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $23.84–$28.37/hour ($49,580–$59,020/year)
What that means: Even the bottom of this range is above the median of most jobs in this area. Industrial, construction, and energy-sector work sits at the upper end; retail-attached warehouse work nearer the middle. Overtime is common in this job and can add a lot — ask whether it is regular or occasional.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 10,180 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 10,860 (about 7% growth). Expect about 1400 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is growing about as fast as average.
Outlook: Strong and large. About 1,400 openings a year in North Dakota, second only to fast food in this area, with about 7% growth.
Who Hires in ND: Distribution centers, manufacturers, construction companies, farm and equipment dealers, energy-sector suppliers, freight terminals, and large retailers.
Work Setting: Warehouses, loading docks, plants, and outdoor job sites. Some of it is cold in winter and hot in summer, especially dock and site work.
Physical Demands: Very high. Repeated heavy lifting, often 50 pounds and sometimes more, carrying, pushing, and climbing in and out of trailers.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 53-7062); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Material Handler or Loader — Where you start.
Path 2: Forklift Operator — Free certification, and usually a raise.
Path 3: Shipping and Receiving Clerk — Paperwork and coordination, easier on the body.
Path 4: Warehouse Lead or Supervisor — Running a dock crew.
Path 5: Light Truck Driver — Median about $1.10 an hour higher and far easier on your back — see that page.
Path 6: Heavy Truck Driver (CDL) — A much larger step up in pay. Employers in this state often pay for the CDL.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- The highest median in this area for a job with no license requirement
- About 1,400 openings a year in North Dakota
- No school, diploma, or experience needed
- Free forklift certification that follows you anywhere
- Overtime is common and can add a great deal
- Direct route into driving, which pays better still
What's Hard:
- Genuinely heavy work — this is the most physical job in this area
- Real long-term wear on your back, shoulders, and knees
- Dock and site work means cold in winter and heat in summer
- Paced by trucks, so the pressure arrives in bursts
- Injury risk is higher here than in most jobs on this site
- Overtime is sometimes expected rather than offered
Be Honest: Can your body do heavy lifting repeatedly, and are you willing to learn to lift properly in your first month rather than your fifth year? Can you work outside in a North Dakota winter? Do you want the overtime, or will it be forced on you?