Retail Warehouse Workers

The warehouse is the first stop for any product sold in a retail setting. In fact, there are sometimes two warehouses involved in the process – the warehouse owned by the manufacturer, where the product is stored until buyers order it, and the warehouse owned by the store itself, where the product is stored until it is needed at the store. Jobs in both places are generally very similar, if not the same.

Of all retail jobs, the warehouse workers have the most physical jobs. You must be able to lift weight (usually around 50 pounds at least) and able to stay on your feet during an entire shift. Warehouse workers also must move quickly, as the amount of work you can do in a shift depends on your ability to move items back and forth across entire warehouses or even warehouse complexes.

There are a number of jobs in warehouses, but in general, they are split into three categories: supervisors, trained employees, and untrained employees.

• Supervisors often work alongside those on their team, but they are also responsible for keeping everyone on task, filling the schedule, doing paperwork, and working with any problems the employees have. They may also be in charge of hiring and firing. Supervisors make the most money, and the best way to get hired in a supervisor position is to work your way up the ranks.
• Trained employees have – you guessed it – special training that allows them to do special tasks, such as run forklifts. In many cases, you must be 21 years old to perform these jobs, and they are more competitive to get because the pay rate is higher.
• Untrained employees aren’t uneducated or untrained in the sense that they don’t know what they are doing. Really, “untrained” simply means that the workers don’t have special certifications to run machinery. The untrained employees are the lowest on the pay scale, but in most warehouses, you have to be at least 18 to get even this bottom-tier job.

In a warehouse, safety is of the utmost importance. There are a number of hazards, as well as dangerous machines like loaders and forklifts that can injure you if you aren’t careful. On top of that, warehouse workers must be careful not to pull muscles when lifting. This is not a job for everyone, but the pay is usually significantly better here than in sales and jobs are fairly easy to get. So, it might be the right retail position for you.