Material handlers must be reliable and hard working, and they should enjoy doing repetitive work. They need to be able to follow directions and ask questions if they don’t understand an instruction. When working around dangerous machinery, they must use safety precautions to protect themselves. Material handlers need to get along well with their co-workers and supervisors.

After graduating from a career and technical center, I was hired at a manufacturing plant. I learned all my skills on the job by shadowing another material handler during the first two weeks. Now that I’m experienced, I often train new material handlers.