Cargo and Freight Agents

Expedite and route movement of incoming and outgoing cargo and freight shipments in airline, train, and trucking terminals and shipping docks.

Sector: Government
Preparation: Zone 2 — some preparation needed
O*NET code: 43-5011.00

What you'll actually do

The activities O*NET rates highest for this occupation, most important first. Numbers are out of 100.

Getting Information

a major part of the work — rated 78/100 for importance.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems

a major part of the work — rated 72/100 for importance.
Documenting/Recording Information

a major part of the work — rated 72/100 for importance.
Handling and Moving Objects

a regular part of the work — rated 65/100 for importance.
Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People

a regular part of the work — rated 61/100 for importance.
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings

a regular part of the work — rated 61/100 for importance.

Expedite and route movement of incoming and outgoing cargo and freight shipments in airline, train, and trucking terminals and shipping docks. Take orders from customers and arrange pickup of freight and cargo for delivery to loading platform. Prepare and examine bills of lading to determine shipping charges and tariffs.

What it takes

Two numbers per line: the level the work expects, and how important it is to doing the job well. Both are O*NET ratings, already on a 0–100 scale.

Skills

Speaking

Needed at a basic working level (43/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.
Active Listening

Needed at a basic working level (43/100), and rated 63/100 for importance.
Critical Thinking

Needed at a solid working level (52/100), and rated 56/100 for importance.
Reading Comprehension

Needed at a basic working level (45/100), and rated 56/100 for importance.
Negotiation

Needed at a basic working level (45/100), and rated 53/100 for importance.

Knowledge

Transportation

Needed at a high level (65/100), and rated 89/100 for importance.
Geography

Needed at a high level (62/100), and rated 88/100 for importance.
Public Safety and Security

Needed at a solid working level (52/100), and rated 76/100 for importance.
English Language

Needed at a basic working level (44/100), and rated 73/100 for importance.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension

Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Oral Expression

Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Written Comprehension

Needed at a solid working level (54/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Near Vision

Needed at a basic working level (45/100), and rated 56/100 for importance.

How people get in

O*NET places this occupation in Zone 2 — some preparation needed. That is a statement about what employers typically require, not a rule about you.

Education

A high-school diploma is the usual starting point.

Experience

Some prior work experience helps but is rarely required.

Training

Expect a few months to a year of on-the-job training.

How the work tends to run

Each line below is read off a single O*NET activity rating for this occupation — named, so you can disagree with it.

The work is physical — you are on your feet and handling things, not sitting still.From “Performing General Physical Activities”

How FlightWay scores your fit against this

No black box. Here is the whole method, factor by factor.

1. You answer a short quiz: Your answers build a profile across the same 161 O*NET dimensions this page is describing — skills, knowledge, abilities and work activities. Same axes, so the comparison is like-for-like.
2. We correlate the two profiles: Fit is a mean-centered cosine — a correlation between the SHAPE of your profile and the shape of Cargo and Freight Agents. Centering matters: raw similarity between any two occupations sits at 0.70–0.85 because all work shares a common profile, so without it every career would look like a match.
3. The number you see is personality fit only: "Would I want this work" and "am I ready for this work" are different questions, and averaging them answers neither. So readiness — what your résumé, coursework and projects prove — is scored separately and shown next to fit, never blended into it.
4. Every factor is visible: You can open any match and see which dimensions pushed it up and which pulled it down. If you disagree with the number, you can see exactly where it came from.

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Occupational data on this page comes from the O*NET 30.3 Database, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET is a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. FlightWay is not endorsed by, and USDOL/ETA is not responsible for, anything built on that data — see our terms. What is ours is the comparison, the score and the plan.