Movers are responsible for loading, transporting, and unloading household goods and office equipment as well as ensuring that shipments are transferred without damage. Movers may work for local haulers or for moving companies that operate throughout a particular state. Movers employed by companies that are agents for interstate moving firms transport goods all across the country. Movers may transport as few as one or two items or the contents of an entire house or office. Some movers work independently, using their own trucks or vans and operating within a restricted area.
Movers may pack delicate items such as china, glassware, and mirrors. Movers may also disassemble some pieces of furniture, such as beds, so that they are easier to move. Some movers place furniture in special containers designed to offer additional protection during transit. Movers also maintain inventory records of the items they transport. Drivers should know how to make minor repairs on their trucks.
Education and Training
Interstate movers must comply with Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) guidelines. They must undergo medical examinations to confirm that they are in good health. They must also take commercial driving examinations and follow ICC shipping and record keeping practices. Many states have licensing standards for intrastate, or within the state, movers. Sometimes training, including driving instruction, is offered on the job. Courses on packing and mechanics may also be available.
Getting the Job
Many movers begin by working for local firms, starting out as helpers who load and unload cargo. You can apply directly to local movers, who should be listed in the telephone directory.
Employment Outlook
Movers may become dispatchers, responsible for overseeing the activities of vehicles in transit, or they may specialize in giving estimates, setting rates, responding to customer complaints, or maintaining safety standards. They may become owners of moving businesses, who may also act as agents for large inter state moving companies.
The employment picture will depend somewhat on economic conditions. If the economy falters, families are less likely to move, and companies are less able to bear the cost of relocating their employees. For the immediate future, however, the outlook is likely to be good.
Working Conditions
The work requires physical strength, stamina, and good organizational skills. Hours tend to be long and irregular, and the job may involve a great deal of travel. Moving is a seasonal trade, and the busiest months are June through September.
Earnings and Benefits
Entry level jobs may start as low as $5.15 to $7.50 an hour, but self employed movers may earn between $750 and $1,200 a week. Benefits for movers who work for large companies include paid holidays and vacations, medical insurance, and pension plans. Self employed movers must provide their own benefits.
Nature of the Work
Route delivery workers are local truck drivers who also handle company business. Generally, they are hired either to sell the company's products or to deliver goods that have been serviced. A route worker may take products, such as bread and milk, to people's doors or drop off clothes that have been dry cleaned or laundered.
Route workers are given certain areas in which to work. They are expected to try to get new customers and to keep their regular clients satisfied. Each day they have to load their trucks before going out. Drivers who sell products must estimate how much they will need.
There are two kinds of route delivery workers: those who sell retail goods and services and those who sell wholesale products. Retail drivers spend most of their time in residential areas. They work directly with consumers, the people who buy and use goods and services. The route workers for laundries and dairies are retail drivers. They write down what they have delivered and what the customer has ordered. This enables the company to send correct bills to its customers at the end of the month. In some cases route workers collect the money directly from each of their customers.
Wholesale drivers, on the other hand, deal with wholesalers and store owners. They deliver goods to stores, such as grocery stores, and are often in charge of stocking the shelves with their goods. They must also keep the store's display cases filled, describe upcoming specials to the manager of the store, and take orders for the next delivery date.
Wholesale drivers have slightly more paperwork than retail drivers do. Besides keeping track of sales and new orders, they must check their invoice sheets with the manager to make sure that all the right goods have been delivered. If the store has an account with the company, the route worker has to make out several copies of the bill. The route driver keeps one of these copies. The others go to the store manager and the billing office of the company.
Education and Training
You must have a chauffeur's license to become a route delivery worker in most states. To get it, you generally must pass both a driving test and a written examination, which will test your knowledge of state and city driving laws.
Most route delivery workers are high school graduates. Companies generally want their drivers to be at least 25 years old. Sometimes they hire younger people for route delivery work. In these cases employees usually begin by working in the firm's warehouse.
Prior work in sales can be useful for those who want to be hired as route delivery drivers. Having a paper route can be useful experience. You should have good eyesight and hearing and a good driving record. You should also be able to lift heavy objects. It also helps if you have had high school courses in math.
Most companies provide on the job training. Newly hired workers are taught subjects such as business math, sales techniques, and defensive driving. A supervisor always goes along on a driver's first few trips to give advice and to help the driver learn the route.
As well as driving and making sales, route workers must often handle large sums of money. To protect themselves against the loss of their money, man; companies insist that their workers be bonded. Bonding is a kind of insurance for which a fee must be paid. The company generally pays this fee, but sometimes the worker has to pay it.
Getting the Job
Route delivery workers who have some experience and already belong to a union may go to the union hiring hall to find out about jobs. Those who do not belong to the union should go directly to the hiring offices of the firms that interest them. State employment bureaus have job listings for route workers. The help wanted ads in newspapers also list job openings.
Employment Outlook
There are only a few supervisory openings for route delivery workers. However, workers driving retail trucks can eventually work wholesale routes. Then they have fewer customers but larger and more profitable accounts. Drivers sometimes become route or sales supervisors.
The employment outlook for route workers is fairly good. Although some services, such as diaper services, are losing business, others are growing. A slight increase in the number of jobs is expected.
Working Conditions
The independence of the job attracts many people. Route workers often finish their routes early and are allowed to return home without a cut in their day's pay. There are times, too, when they finish late and are not paid extra. Drivers are paid for covering their routes, and it is up to them to decide how quick they will be. Some, such as milk delivery workers, begin and end the day early. Patience is necessary because route workers must deal with unpleasant customers sometimes. These workers should enjoy working with people as well as know how to handle them.
Most delivery route workers are paid a base salary plus a commission based on the quantity of goods they sell. Because of this, they sometimes work under pressure. The more they sell, the more they earn.
Many route workers, particularly those delivering bakery and dairy products, are members of labor unions. Some belong to unions that represent the other workers in their firms.
Earnings and Benefits
Earnings for route delivery workers vary, depending partly on the mission. Large firms pay a minimum salary set by the union. For companies that deal in wholesale goods generally pay higher wages. Firms that ask workers to drive big rigs such as gas and oil tankers also pay higher wages. Experienced drivers are paid more than inexperienced ones. Success at sales can be an important factor in total earnings.
Currently, the annual earnings of beginning route drivers, both retail and wholesale, are about $18,700 a year. Experienced drivers may earn from $24,200 to $30,000 or more annually.
Benefits for route workers are fairly good. They can expect both medical coverage and hospital insurance, and many firms and some unions offer pension plans. Route workers also get paid holidays and vacations. Some companies offer their workers the chance to buy company stock and share in the firm's profits. Most companies provide uniforms.
