How To Become A Cargo Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cargo specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a cargo specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.78 an hour? That's $55,694 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 46,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCargo SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $55,694

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.91%

Asian 6.32%

Black or African American 13.58%

Hispanic or Latino 21.32%

Unknown 4.69%

White 53.18%

Gender

female 22.31%

male 77.69%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.9

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

2.7

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cargo specialist

Explore cargo specialist education requirements

Most common cargo specialist degrees

High School Diploma

33.8 %

Bachelor's

30.5 %

Associate

22.6 %

Start to develop specific cargo specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Forklifts	17.38%
Cranes	16.07%
Safety Procedures	14.41%
Motor Vehicle	12.48%
Data Processing Systems	4.97%

Complete relevant cargo specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cargo specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cargo specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cargo specialist resumes.

Research cargo specialist duties and responsibilities

Provide technical solutions to DoD agencies and manage multiple client accounts.
Implement logistics support plan to manage advance shipment of hazardous goods to area of responsibility.
Ensure adherence applicable to civil and federal and DOD regulations.
Provide inflight refueling and cargo loading for the USAF in the KC-135R aircraft.

Prepare your cargo specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cargo specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cargo specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Cargo Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Cargo Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Cargo Specialist resume.