Occupations · Transportation and Material Moving
Transportation Inspectors
Inspect equipment or goods in connection with the safe transport of cargo or people. Includes rail transportation inspectors, such as freight inspectors, rail inspectors, and other inspectors of transportation vehicles not elsewhere classified.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 53-6051.00
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
These are national figures, identical for every reader. The report recuts them for your metro area and ranks it among all of them.
Get yours →Pay over time
Median up 73% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $91,150 | 3,990 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $112,340 | 980 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $85,080 | 860 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $45,960 | 790 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $53,010 | 570 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 5 areas with the most people in this occupation
Your metro area, and where it ranks
LockedAll metropolitan areas BLS publishes for this occupation, with your own city's median and its rank among them.
Open in your report →Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments.
- Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked.
- Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered.
- Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo.
- Observe loading of freight to ensure that crews comply with procedures.
- Post warning signs on vehicles containing explosives or flammable or radioactive materials.
- Recommend remedial procedures to correct any violations found during inspections.
- Measure heights and widths of loads to ensure they will pass over bridges or through tunnels on scheduled routes.
- Inspect loaded cargo, cargo lashed to decks or in storage facilities, and cargo handling devices to determine compliance with health and safety regulations and need for maintenance.
- Notify workers of any special treatment required for shipments.
- Direct crews to reload freight or to insert additional bracing or packing as necessary.
- Check temperatures and humidities of shipping and storage areas to ensure that they are at appropriate levels to protect cargo.
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 your tools are worth
Occupation-based, not posting-based: how much employment, pay and projected growth sit behind each tool. It is not a count of job ads.
| Tool | Value | Spread across occupations |
|---|---|---|
| Google Android | 76 | 12 occupations; absent from the 2015 catalogue |
| Microsoft Outlook | 68 | 348 → 642 occupations since 2015 |
| Microsoft Word | 67 | 646 → 784 occupations since 2015 |
What your tools are worth
LockedThe same score for every tool in this occupation, plus the ones you ticked and the ones you did not.
Open in your report →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 2020-11
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
Averaged across the 1 earlier occupation codes this job was merged from.
O*NET 25.0 education, training and experience · observed 2008-06
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
Get this as a personal report
The same sourced evidence, recut for the closest published view of your city, state or industry, as a dated PDF.
Free page vs. the $29 report
The page above is a public national reference, identical for every reader — and we deliberately give away a lot of it. The report does three things this page cannot: it answers the question you type in your own words, using only figures that appear in the report with their sources; it ranks your city among all 445 metros instead of the twelve shown here; and it places your level on the employer pay ladder. Choose $49 for the wider comparison of industries, places and next moves, $99 to add named employers and the international purchasing-power index.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| rolling stock inspector | 3115.1.19 | broader |
| marine cargo inspector | 3359.5.1 | broader |
| dangerous goods safety adviser | 4323.5 | broader |
| freight inspector | 3359.5 | broader |
| marine surveyor | 3115.1.8 | broader |
| rolling stock assembly inspector | 7543.7.6 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
Keep exploring
See labor-market evidence in motion.
Watch short Tamhu stories about pay, growth and how work changes — then return to the source data here.
Watch this occupation
This job has changed before and it will change again. We'll email you when the data moves — a tool appears, a skill gains weight, the pay distribution shifts. Free, and one click to stop.
Check your inbox — your watch starts only after you confirm.
We send data, not advice. No sharing, no resale. Privacy