How To Become A Chopper: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chopper and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a chopper. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.95 an hour? That's $35,246 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 358,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreChopperUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,246

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.7

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.32%

Asian 8.54%

Black or African American 5.27%

Hispanic or Latino 13.17%

Unknown 4.84%

White 65.85%

Gender

female 33.76%

male 66.24%

Age - 41

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

Stress Level

4.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.8

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chopper

Explore chopper education requirements

Most common chopper degrees

High School Diploma

53.0 %

Associate

21.7 %

Bachelor's

16.9 %

Start to develop specific chopper skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	98.79%
POS	0.93%
Groceries	0.28%

Complete relevant chopper training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New choppers 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 chopper based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chopper resumes.

Research chopper duties and responsibilities

Ask the customer if they would like a carry out if they have alot of groceries.
Maintain general cleanliness of Chicago streets and alleyways.
Mow and trim turf, pick up refuse and brush, clean restrooms, shelters and other facilities.

Prepare your chopper resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chopper 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 chopper resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Chopper Resume templates

Build a professional Chopper 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 Chopper resume.

Apply for chopper jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a chopper 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 choppers rate their job?