Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
Make and confirm reservations for transportation or lodging, or sell transportation tickets. May check baggage and direct passengers to designated concourse, pier, or track; deliver tickets and contact individuals and groups to inform them of package tours; or provide tourists with travel or transportation information.
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks earn a median of $21.34/hr — about $44,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $15.45/hr; the top 10% earn $37.57/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Examine passenger documentation to determine destinations and to assign boarding passes.
- Trace lost, delayed, or misdirected baggage for customers.
- Check baggage and cargo and direct passengers to designated locations for loading.
- Provide boarding or disembarking assistance to passengers needing special assistance.
- Confer with customers to determine their service requirements and travel preferences.
- Announce arrival and departure information, using public address systems.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the work happens outdoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 3% of reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused, people-focused 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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- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
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- Customer Service Representatives
- Office Clerks, General
- File Clerks
Quick questions
- How much does a reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerk make?
- The median pay is $21.34 per hour — roughly $44,500 a year, with the real range running from about $15.45/hr (10th percentile) to $37.57/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerk?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerk actually do all day?
- Examine passenger documentation to determine destinations and to assign boarding passes. Trace lost, delayed, or misdirected baggage for customers. Check baggage and cargo and direct passengers to designated locations for loading.
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.