Logisticians
Analyze and coordinate the ongoing logistical functions of a firm or organization. Responsible for the entire life cycle of a product, including acquisition, distribution, internal allocation, delivery, and final disposal of resources.
What it pays
Logisticians earn a median of $39.58/hr — about $82,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $24.47/hr; the top 10% earn $64.02/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Logisticians earn a median of $39.58/hr — about $82,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $24.47/hr; the top 10% earn $64.02/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Maintain and develop positive business relationships with a customer's key personnel involved in, or directly relevant to, a logistics activity.
- Develop an understanding of customers' needs and take actions to ensure that such needs are met.
- Manage subcontractor activities, reviewing proposals, developing performance specifications, and serving as liaisons between subcontractors and organizations.
- Develop proposals that include documentation for estimates.
- Review logistics performance with customers against targets, benchmarks, and service agreements.
- Direct availability and allocation of materials, supplies, and finished products.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
The feel of the work
Time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0.3% of logisticians are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused, analytical and take-charge.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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Quick questions
- How much does a logistician make?
- The median pay is $39.58 per hour — roughly $82,500 a year, with the real range running from about $24.47/hr (10th percentile) to $64.02/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a logistician?
- The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
- What does a logistician actually do all day?
- Maintain and develop positive business relationships with a customer's key personnel involved in, or directly relevant to, a logistics activity. Develop an understanding of customers' needs and take actions to ensure that such needs are met. Manage subcontractor activities, reviewing proposals, developing performance specifications, and serving as liaisons between subcontractors and organizations.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.