How To Become A Ship Dock: What It Is and Career Path

What is a ship dock and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

You must ensure that deliveries and order processing goes smoothly as ship dock workers. Ship dock workers are responsible for a range of tasks related to receiving, inventory, customer service, and order processing. Taking a job as a ship dock worker is perfect for you if you're someone who has a lot of stamina and doesn't mind doing some heavy lifting.

Some of the tasks you can expect in this job include delivering products, supplies, and equipment to designated areas, preparing packages and merchandise for storage, packing, unpacking, and marking stock items, and recording receiving data using a computer. In some cases, you may be expected to operate a forklift or other machinery. Ship dock workers are expected to adhere to safety policies and procedures and maintain a clean work area.

You'll typically only need a high school diploma if you want to get a job as a ship dock worker. You'll also need to be able to lift up to 50 pounds and stand for an extended period of time.

ScoreShip DockUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,491

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.4

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.06%

Asian 5.82%

Black or African American 12.81%

Hispanic or Latino 20.34%

Unknown 5.16%

White 54.80%

Gender

female 19.64%

male 80.36%

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

Newest jobs for Ship Dock in Columbus, OH

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a ship dock

Explore ship dock education requirements

Most common ship dock degrees

High School Diploma

52.4 %

Associate

14.0 %

Bachelor's

13.8 %

Start to develop specific ship dock skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Trucks	34.29%
Freight Bills	28.04%
Hazardous Materials	16.52%
Pallet Jack	5.87%
Pallets	4.39%

Complete relevant ship dock training and internships

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

Research ship dock duties and responsibilities

Operate yard truck to manage dock needs, maintain safety and cleanliness of dock as well as yard.
Segregate and secure non-conforming product.
Provide comprehensive and accurate flow of merchandise.
Deliver excellent customer service by assisting customers with merchandise pick up.

Prepare your ship dock resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Ship Dock Resume templates

Build a professional Ship Dock 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 Ship Dock resume.