Career field
Transportation & Logistics careers
Occupations that move people and goods and support logistics. CampusPin lists 50 transportation & logistics occupations, with median pay ranging from $34,330 to $226,600 per year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). Median pay is occupation-wide, not a starting wage or a guarantee.
Occupations
50
indexed BLS occupations
Median pay range
$34,330–$226,600
BLS 2024, occupation-wide
Typical pay (midpoint)
$52,095
median of these medians
Most common entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
across 50 occupations
Projected to grow fastest
BLS projected employment change, 2024–2034.
- Taxi drivers+11.1%
- Flight attendants+9.2%
- Driver/sales workers+8.8%
- Stockers and order fillers+8.5%
- Light truck drivers+7.3%
Largest by employment
BLS employment estimate, 2024.
Typical entry-level education
How many of these occupations BLS classifies at each typical entry-level education. Many roles also have experience or licensure requirements beyond a degree.
- High school diploma or equivalent: 26
- No formal educational credential: 17
- Postsecondary nondegree award: 5
- Bachelor's degree: 1
- Associate's degree: 1
Occupations in this field
Every occupation BLS places in this field, with median pay, the openings each is projected to average per year, its projected employment change, and the education most entrants hold. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first, which is the measure of how much hiring a field actually does rather than how much it pays.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockers and order fillers | $37,090 | 472,300 | +8.5% | No formal educational credential |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $38,940 | 384,300 | +1.5% | No formal educational credential |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | $57,440 | 237,600 | +4% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Light truck drivers | $44,140 | 120,200 | +7.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | $46,390 | 76,400 | +1.1% | No formal educational credential |
| Packers and packagers, hand | $35,580 | 74,000 | -5.4% | No formal educational credential |
| First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors | $61,890 | 61,300 | +3.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bus drivers, school | $47,040 | 61,000 | +0.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | $35,270 | 56,200 | +3.9% | No formal educational credential |
| Driver/sales workers | $37,130 | 51,300 | +8.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs | $36,670 | 36,300 | +6.7% | No formal educational credential |
| Taxi drivers | $36,220 | 22,600 | +11.1% | No formal educational credential |
| Bus drivers, transit and intercity | $57,440 | 20,900 | +4.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Flight attendants | $67,130 | 19,800 | +9.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Parking attendants | $34,600 | 18,500 | +3% | No formal educational credential |
| Refuse and recyclable material collectors | $48,350 | 16,900 | +0.9% | No formal educational credential |
| Automotive and watercraft service attendants | $34,850 | 14,400 | -1% | No formal educational credential |
| Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers | $226,600 | 11,700 | +3.9% | Bachelor's degree |
| Motor vehicle operators, all other | $36,260 | 11,100 | +6% | No formal educational credential |
| Commercial pilots | $122,670 | 6,600 | +5.1% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Machine feeders and offbearers | $39,700 | 4,700 | -13% | No formal educational credential |
| Aircraft service attendants | $41,540 | 4,300 | +5.1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels | $85,540 | 4,300 | +0.5% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Passenger attendants | $37,560 | 4,100 | +4.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Sailors and marine oilers | $49,610 | 3,900 | +2.3% | No formal educational credential |
| Crane and tower operators | $66,370 | 3,800 | +3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Material moving workers, all other | $41,690 | 3,100 | +4.3% | No formal educational credential |
| Railroad conductors and yardmasters | $74,080 | 3,100 | +1.1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Conveyor operators and tenders | $41,230 | 2,600 | -3.4% | No formal educational credential |
| Transportation inspectors | $85,750 | 2,500 | +1.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Air traffic controllers | $144,580 | 2,200 | +1.2% | Associate's degree |
| Locomotive engineers | $77,400 | 2,200 | +0.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Wellhead pumpers | $70,010 | 2,000 | -4.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Airfield operations specialists | $56,750 | 1,600 | +4.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Pump operators, except wellhead pumpers | $60,020 | 1,500 | +2.6% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians | $34,330 | 1,400 | -1.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Tank car, truck, and ship loaders | $58,070 | 1,300 | +4.3% | No formal educational credential |
| Transportation workers, all other | $39,630 | 1,200 | +3.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Aircraft cargo handling supervisors | $63,940 | 1,100 | +5.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Ship engineers | $101,320 | 1,100 | +1.6% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers | $65,480 | 1,000 | +1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Subway and streetcar operators | $84,830 | 900 | +3.4% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Traffic technicians | $58,480 | 800 | +3.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators | $71,510 | 600 | -1.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bridge and lock tenders | $58,490 | 300 | -3.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Hoist and winch operators | $52,310 | 300 | -1.1% | No formal educational credential |
| Motorboat operators | $51,880 | 300 | +1.4% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Rail transportation workers, all other | $49,330 | 200 | +3.9% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers | $58,030 | 200 | +0.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Dredge operators | $48,430 | 100 | +1.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024 wages and Employment Projections. “Most entrants hold” describes the education people already working in the occupation typically have. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Majors that lead into this field
CampusPin majors whose program maps to occupations in this field via the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk.
Frequently asked questions
What careers are in the transportation & logistics field?
CampusPin lists 50 transportation & logistics occupations from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, including Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers, Air traffic controllers, Commercial pilots, Ship engineers. Each links to a career page with median pay, projected job growth, and typical entry-level education.
How much do transportation & logistics careers pay?
Across these occupations, BLS 2024 median pay ranges from $34,330 to $226,600 per year, with a midpoint (the median of the occupations' medians) near $52,095. Median pay is occupation-wide, not a starting wage, and varies by state, employer, and experience.
What education do transportation & logistics careers require?
Typical entry-level education varies by occupation; the most common in this field is high school diploma or equivalent. 26 occupations list high school diploma or equivalent; 17 occupations list no formal educational credential; 5 occupations list postsecondary nondegree award; 1 occupation list bachelor's degree; 1 occupation list associate's degree.
Which transportation & logistics careers are projected to grow fastest?
Over 2024–2034, BLS projects the fastest growth for Taxi drivers (+11.1%), Flight attendants (+9.2%), Driver/sales workers (+8.8%), Stockers and order fillers (+8.5%), Light truck drivers (+7.3%). Projections are BLS model estimates, not guarantees.
Put this field in context
The pay and growth numbers above are field-wide BLS medians and national projections across transportation & logistics occupations, not a starting salary or a guarantee for any single job. These CampusPin guides explain how to read them and how a field connects to majors and college choices.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
How one major connects to many careers
A major points toward several occupations in a field, not a single destination.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Compare cost, earnings, and debt together
Weigh price, earnings, and debt side by side without reducing a field to one number.
Occupation data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (Employment Projections); wages are 2024 and projections cover 2024–2034. Figures are national, not institution-specific, and projections are estimates, not guarantees.