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

What is a cargo agent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A cargo agent is one of the most important parties involved in ocean freight. This agent advises on different relevant destination charges. He/she pays taxes, tariffs, and duties on behalf of the cargo owner. The cargo agent monitors the movement of the goods and cooperates with the port authorities during goods inspection. Plus, he/she keeps and presents the necessary documents like the packing list, commercial invoice, etc., to the customs authority.

Since a cargo agent handles import, export, and cross trades shipments, he/she or she needs strategic skills, organizational skills, management skills, business skills, networking skills, multitasking skills, and logistics skills. You must secure at least a high school diploma to work as a cargo agent. Most of these agents, however, learn about their duties informally, through training. A cargo agent earns an average of $28,473 annually, and that is $14 per hour.

ScoreCargo AgentUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,411

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82%

Asian 14.07%

Black or African American 5.99%

Hispanic or Latino 27.52%

Unknown 7.14%

White 44.47%

Gender

female 31.39%

male 68.61%

Age - 41.5

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 - 41.5

Stress Level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.0

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a cargo agent

Explore cargo agent education requirements

Most common cargo agent degrees

High School Diploma

40.4 %

Bachelor's

23.2 %

Associate

20.2 %

Start to develop specific cargo agent skills

Skills	Percentages
Security Procedures	18.00%
Data Entry	17.18%
Customer Service	7.98%
Freight Shipments	7.18%
Computer System	7.04%

Complete relevant cargo agent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cargo agents 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 agent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cargo agent resumes.

Research cargo agent duties and responsibilities

Manage and carry out specific program and regulatory activities such as enforcing hazmat and weight restrictions.
Maintain compliance issues relate to TSA, FAA, and cargo operations for several major airlines.
Handle various amounts of freight including both FTL, LTL, dry, refrigerate, flatb, and intermodal.
Practice safe conscious behaviors in all operational processes and procedures by adhering to strict TSA, IATA, and DCOM regulations.

Prepare your cargo agent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cargo agent 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 agent 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 Agent Resume templates

Build a professional Cargo Agent 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 Agent resume.

Apply for cargo agent jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a cargo agent job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do cargo agents rate their job?