How To Become A Material Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a material worker 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 material worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.78 an hour? That's $41,138 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 358,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMaterial WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,138

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.4

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.07%

Asian 5.46%

Black or African American 14.08%

Hispanic or Latino 18.83%

Unknown 5.17%

White 55.38%

Gender

female 16.78%

male 83.22%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress Level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.7

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.4

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a material worker

Explore material worker education requirements

Most common material worker degrees

High School Diploma

36.6 %

Bachelor's

25.4 %

Associate

23.9 %

Start to develop specific material worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Hazardous Materials	54.89%
PPE	8.52%
Cycle Counts	7.05%
Asbestos	6.47%
Safety Procedures	4.93%

Complete relevant material worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New material workers 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 material worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real material worker resumes.

Research material worker duties and responsibilities

Utilize a manufacturing cloud ERP system to accomplish tasks.
Load and unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.
Arrange contaminated equipment or areas for re-use, using detergents or solvents, sandblasters, filter pumps, or steam cleaners.
Distribute production materials to designate locations on assembly lines observing the first-in-first-out (FIFO) inventory control practice.

Prepare your material worker resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Material Worker Resume templates

Build a professional Material Worker 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 Material Worker resume.

Apply for material worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a material worker 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