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Boston Career Explorer

Transportation and Material Moving

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.

Also called: Checker Loader, Fork Lift Technician, Fork Truck Driver, Forklift Driver, Forklift Operator, Lift Truck Operator

Compare with my current job (Food Preparation Workers)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$47,800
$22.98/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
5,030
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+21.7%
1,140 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$42,160$46,290$47,800$55,510$61,660

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure5 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 5
  • Language-model AIOE 2
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 8

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. Driving and loading trucks, positioning lifts, and checking loads are physical tasks in busy workplaces. AI tools may help with some routing or inventory checks, but the hands-on work remains.

Likely to change

  • Tracking inventory and load accuracy
  • Planning routes around the warehouse

Still relies on people

  • Driving and handling equipment safely around people
  • Loading, stacking, and securing materials by hand

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Construction Laborers

    Moving materials and running equipment carry over to construction sites. Boston median pay is $63,420, with short on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$15,620 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +9.5%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Structural Iron and Steel Workers

    Moving and placing heavy materials helps in this apprenticeship job, which has a Boston median pay of $120,840.

    Pay difference
    +$73,040 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers

    Your hands-on work with materials and equipment carries over. No formal credential is needed, and Boston median pay is $62,870.

    Pay difference
    +$15,070 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +2.9%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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