Occupations · Transportation and Material Moving
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. May perform a variety of other tasks relating to shipment of products. May gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 53-7121.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 76% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $59,560 | 1,720 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $71,230 | 460 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $69,410 | 230 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $52,870 | 210 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $59,300 | 170 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $75,470 | 150 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $77,440 | 130 |
| Charleston, WV | $56,620 | 130 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $51,780 | 120 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $58,170 | 120 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $77,070 | 110 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $80,920 | 110 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks.
- Connect ground cables to carry off static electricity when unloading tanker cars.
- Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
- Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures.
- Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.
- Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.
- Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.
- Copy and attach load specifications to loaded tanks.
- Remove and replace tank car dome caps, or direct other workers in their removal and replacement.
- Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment.
- Test samples for specific gravity, using hydrometers, or send samples to laboratories for testing.
- Test vessels for leaks, damage, and defects, and repair or replace defective parts as necessary.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2019-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2019-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 4
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| petroleum pump system operator | 3134.4 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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