Summer job season is here. As the weather gets warmer and schools let out for the year, many job seekers will run into a higher unemployment rate due to virus-related layoffs and other economic and social factors, but not those looking for jobs in a warehouse.
Ready to Tackle a Summer Job?
The overall unemployment rate for those aged 16-24 has been rising steadily over the past few years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rise in e-commerce, even before shutdown orders boosted it higher, has created a boom for employees ready to tackle a job LinkedIn recently named the most in-demand job right now.
With average pay for non-supervisory warehouse jobs at more than $18 an hour, warehouse work offers good pay and are high-tech, temperature-controlled temples to efficiency, speed, and productivity (2021 wage statistic).
Warehouse Summer Jobs for Students
Labor laws prevent anyone under the age of 18 from doing most warehouse jobs, but it could be a perfect fit though for college students on summer break. For those uninterested in the college path and would rather be a student of the world, a summer warehouse job can be an ideal way to test the waters for a possible career.
The best warehouse jobs for students usually don’t require any previous experience and include:
Warehouse Associate
The typical duties of a warehouse associate vary, but will likely consist of:
- Picking items, packing, and shipping orders
- Sorting and storing inventory items
- Loading and unloading trailers and containers
- Managing bill of ladings, packing slips, and invoices
Skills required for a warehouse associate include:
- Picking items, packing, and shipping orders
- Sorting and storing inventory items
- Loading and unloading trailers and containers
- Managing bill of ladings, packing slips, and invoices
Warehouse Packer
The typical duties of a warehouse packer vary, but will likely consist of:
- Organize selecting documents prior to the order selection process
- Assemble boxes and cartons
- Accurately and efficiently pick/pack products
- Visually inspect products to assure quality standards
- Operate RF scanning equipment
- Keep work area safe and clean
- Collaborate closely with other departments and teams
Skills and prerequisites required for a warehouse packer include:
- High School diploma or equivalent
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Basic computer skills
- Basic math skills
- Strong organizational skills
Inventory Control Clerk
The typical duties of a inventory control clerk vary, but will likely consist of:
- Enter inventory data and make cycle count adjustments in WMS
- Troubleshoot quantity discrepancies in WMS
- Collect product lot number and expiration date data
- Monitor all items with shelf-life
- Prepare reports
- Perform cycle counts and pick-list counts
- Participate in physical inventory
- Check orders for accuracy before shipping
Skills required for a inventory control clerk include:
- High school diploma or GED
- One year of warehouse experience
- Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office
- Basic math
- Experience with a warehouse management software (WMS) is generally preferred
Warehouse Summer Jobs for Adults
Adults will have more opportunities in warehouse jobs. Some folks already know they’re interested in a warehouse career and they’ll find plenty of full-time permanent jobs. For those exploring the field for the first time, a summer job in a warehouse could be a great testing ground. There’s also a growing segment of the working population that prefers the flexibility of gig work. A survey from consulting firm North Highland found that 20% of the workforce at most companies is gig work. For those workers, other seasons could be spent doing work in other industries and the summer could be warehouse season.
Shipping and Receiving Clerk
The typical duties of a shipping and receiving clerk (warehouse packer) vary, but will likely consist of:
- Know and enforce standard operating procedures (SOP)
- Keep warehouse manager informed of operations
- Complete a dock safety and security checks
- Manage lift operators and material handlers
- Check in and out truck drivers in a timely manner using logistics software
- Handle transactions which may include legal documents
- Assign drivers to bays for loading and unloading
- Assign material handlers to load and unload trucks
- Complete bills of lading for drivers
- Maintain office areas
- Ensure employee and driver compliance with OSHA safety codes
- Ensure employee and driver compliance with security policy
Skills and prerequisites needed for a warehouse packer position include:
- High school diploma or GED
- Basic math skills
- Order entry and administrative experience
- 1 year of warehouse or logistics experience
- Microsoft Office experience (Word/Excel)
- Experience setting up LTL shipments and creating bills of lading
Forklift Driver
The typical duties of a forklift driver vary, but will likely consist of:
- Load and unload shipments, parts, and materials from trailers
- Bring palleted orders to the docks
- Move and store items with their equipment
- Inspect incoming shipments and deliveries
- Transport pallets to be wrapped and labeled before shipping
- Take care of their truck by performing general maintenance
- Handle bill of ladings and other paperwork
Skills and prerequisites needed for a forklift driver job include:
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Previous warehouse experience
- Forklift certification
- Previous forklift experience
Warehouse Inventory Specialist
The typical duties of a warehouse inventory specialist vary, but will likely consist of:
- Overseeing inventory organization
- Performing inventory audits
- Researching inventory overages and shortages
- Managing deliveries
- Using WMS and enterprise resource planning software to accurately reflect inventory
Skills and requirements needed for a warehouse inventory specialist job include:
- High school diploma or GED equivalent
- 1-3 years of previous inventory control experience
- Microsoft Excel, Access, or other related software experience
- WMS & ERP experience
- Associates Degree in Business or Supply Chain Management
Warehouse Manager
The typical duties of a warehouse manager vary, but will likely consist of:
- Meeting regularly with supervisors to discuss plans and numbers
- Contacting brokers and negotiating shipping rates to move freight
- Organizing placement of goods in the warehouse’s layout
- Working with accounting on budgets
- Strategizing ways to move your distribution center forward
Skills and requirements for a warehouse manager position can include:
- Trustworthiness
- Quick and accurate thinking
- Organization
- Effective communication
- Time management
- Supply chain management certification: Popular ones include the Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) as well as the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) from The Association for Operations Management (APICS).
- OSHA certification for safety policies: An online Warehouse Safety Certification course is available for less than $25.
Financial and Physical Benefits
Summer jobs can be beneficial financially and physically. A summer warehouse job can provide temporary employment between semesters for students or a testing ground for adults to jump into the thriving gig economy.
Wherever your interest in warehouse work lies, WarehouseGig can provide a one-stop shop for researching and applying for thousands of warehouse jobs with the country’s top employers. Find a warehouse job near you.