Shipping Clerk

Shipping Clerks are responsible for all outgoing shipments at a company. As a Shipping Clerk, you track shipments, calculate costs, and keep up with inventory. You receive work orders from other sections of your company, and work to fill those orders efficiently and cost-effectively.

Your value to the company comes from your resourcefulness and attention to detail. Depending on the size of your company, there may be other offices (receiving, etc.) that you need to coordinate with, but your ability to operate independently and get your tasks done correctly the first time will take you far. You may be many things to many people, all in the same day: grabbing an item for shipping from the stockroom, figuring out the shipping cost, wrapping it up, and getting it out in time for a deadline, then generating a report of all shipments for that day.

Without Shipping Clerks, the supply chain breaks down. You’re a vital link in the process, helping to get goods to people who want or need them. You can feel good about providing this kind of service to people around the world. Being a Shipping Clerk is a great way to touch the world beyond your backyard.

Be prepared for a fairly traditional office if you’re thinking about entering this line of work. Your office will probably be located right inside a warehouse or processing facility. Automation is changing the field though: Clerks now use computers, electronic scales, and printers to generate labels and track packages.