Shipping Clerk job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

10

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks

O*NET-SOC 43-5071.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$45,260

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks (O*NET-SOC 43-5071.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Shipping Clerk” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index, the U.S. Employment and Training Administration and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy. importance 4.2 of 5
2. Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock. importance 4.0 of 5
3. Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials. importance 4.0 of 5
4. Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter. importance 4.0 of 5
5. Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes. importance 4.0 of 5
6. Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications. importance 4.0 of 5
7. Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins. importance 3.9 of 5
8. Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials. importance 3.8 of 5
9. Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped. importance 3.8 of 5
10. Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list. importance 3.7 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Handling and Moving Objects, Documenting/Recording Information and Performing General Physical Activities.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Compare shipping routes or methods to determine which have the least environmental impact.

Knowledge areas: Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Production and Processing, Mathematics and English Language.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Firefox. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

Most shipping clerks surveyed by O*NET (75%) name a high school diploma or equivalent as the education the job requires.

Job title: Shipping Clerk
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Shipping Clerk to verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will 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.
- 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.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in speaking, reading comprehension and active listening
- Working knowledge of Administrative and Computers and Electronics
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Apple Safari or Microsoft Edge]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, the median annual wage was $45,260 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $21.76. BLS estimates about 816,870 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks to decline 7.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 61,300 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real shipping clerk posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only shipping clerk work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (speaking and reading comprehension): a real situation, what you did and what changed.