Warehouse jobs can be very lucrative. They tend to pay well since there is a lot of demand and competition for warehouse workers.
What’s even better is that you don’t need any specialized education as an entry level warehouse employee.
Virtually all warehouses provide free in-house training and certification for entry level jobs like forklift operator and order selector.
Additionally, if you are a student, warehouse jobs are a good choice for working your way through college.
However, not all warehouses are the same. There are four things we need to look at when determining the best warehouses to work for. They are:
Benefits: good benefits will improve your quality of life as a warehouse employee. You want to work at a place where everyday stresses such as health and financial well-being are taken care of for you and your family. Pay: the best warehouses recognize the effort and sacrifice workers make when doing their jobs and provide commensurate remuneration. This pay also includes incentives which are bonuses paid to workers whose performance exceeds a specified time allocation. Almost all warehouses listed here give out incentive pay. Work Environment: you want to work in warehouses that provide conducive environments to work in (e.g. free of workplace harassment and management bullying). Remember, you will be spending a large chunk of your life in these places. Career growth opportunities: Nobody wants a dead end job. Ability to move up the ladder is necessary for job satisfaction. Career advancement in most warehouses is difficult but companies listed in this article encourage promoting from within.1. PepsiCo
As one of the biggest soft drink companies in the world, PepsiCo is one of the best places to work at, and that includes its warehouses.
This section focuses on Pepsi-operated warehouses only as independent bottlers also have their own warehouses.
Typical job positions at PepsiCo warehouses include:
- Warehouse and forklift support
- Seasonal warehouse support
- Warehouse worker
- Merchandiser
- Warehouse technician
- Order picker
Pay and Benefits
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid vacation
- 401(k) plan
- Maternal and paternal leave
- Tuition reimbursement
Pay – $18/hr
2. WinCo Foods
WinCo Foods is an employee-owned supermarket chain located in western United States.
What makes WinCo one of the best employers for warehouse workers is its reputation for treating employees well. You get a retirement plan that is equal to 20% your annual income, fully paid by the company.
In fact, WinCo Foods has hundreds of workers with pensions of over a million dollars.
As an entry level warehouse employee at WinCo Foods, you might find yourself working in any of the following areas:
- Receiving clerk
- Inventory clerk
- Maintenance specialist
- Truck driver
- Sanitor
- Warehouse worker
- Floor slab/joint specialist
The biggest downside, though, is that WinCo has a limited number distribution centers. They only have six locations so far:
- Boise, Idaho
- Modesto, California
- Denton, Texas
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Woodburn, Oregon
- Myrtle Creek, Oregon
Pay and Benefits
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- Voluntary benefits such as legal and identity theft protection, pet insurance, auto and home insurance
- Short-term and long-term disability
- Employee assistance program – help for personal and work-related issues for employees and their dependants
- Flexible spending – reimbursement account to save money for health and daycare
It is important to note that if you are an hourly WinCo Foods worker, you have to apply for benefits three months after hire and as long as you worked at least 100 hours a month for those three months.
On the other hand, if you are a salaried employee, you can enrol for benefits the first month following your hire date.
WinCo pays around $18 an hour for new employees in the warehouse.
3. Target
If you want a distribution center job that pays well with good hours, you can’t go wrong with Target.
Target operates 47 distribution centers across America as of 2021, which serve both stores and online customers.
Target DCs have three sections:
Inbound: products come into the inbound section from suppliers through trailer trucks.
Warehouse: this is where products are stored if not immediately needed.
Outbound: products that have been ordered by stores or online customers go through outbound and are loaded onto trucks for shipment.
Jobs available at Target distribution centers include:
- Order picker operator
- Loader
- Maintenance technician
- Forklift operator
- Utility attendant
- Receiver
- Operations manager
- HR
- Order selector
Pay and Benefits
- Vision, dental and medical insurance
- 401(k) plans
- Parental leave
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance
- Education insurance
- Life insurance
Target pays $16 – $26 an hour for entry level jobs.
4. Sysco
Sysco is the largest food service distribution company in the world with over 330 distribution centers across ninety countries.
It distributes food to restaurants, hospitals, schools, concert venues and government buildings.
Warehouse job titles at Sysco warehouses include:
- Order selector
- Forklift operator
- Loader
- Cooler lift operator
- Receiver
- Warehouse supervisor
- Warehouse worker
- Outbound warehouse supervisor
- Outbound warehouse clerk
- Warehouse manager
- Warehouse director
- Returns putaway
Pay and Benefits
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- 401(k) plan
- Legal insurance
- Employee stock purchase plan with a 15% discount
- Auto and home insurance
- Identity theft protection plan
- Employee assistance program
Entry level jobs at Sysco distribution centers range from $16 to $40 an hour.
5. HEB
HEB offers competitive pay to its workers and are willing to work with your schedule if you are a part time employee.
There is also ample overtime for those who need it. Standard shifts at most HEB distribution centers last ten to twelve hours.
Typical entry level jobs at HEB include:
- Order selector
- Forklift operator
- Material handler
- Sanitation crew
- Shipping clerk
Pay and Benefits
- Parental leave
- Scholarship program
- Paid time off
- 401(k) plan match
- Health, dental and vision insurance
- Sick pay
Pay – $17.50/hr
6. The Home Depot
The Home Depot has around 90 distribution centers spread across North America.
These facilities receive the freight, then process and pack it and deliver it to the stores as quickly as possible.
The Home Depot DCs are generally divided into three categories. You will probably work in one of these as a warehouse employee:
- Radpid Deployment Centers (RDCs): these are fast flowing facilities that receive orders from suppliers and vendors then distribute them to the company’s stores.
- Stocking Distribution Centers(SDCs): they serve as hubs for product warehouses and service stores.
- Stock and Flow Campuses (SFCs): these are campuses that consists of two or more buildings such as an RDC and an SDC.
Positions available at Home Depot distribution centers include:
- Forklift operator
- Loader
- Order selector
- Order fulfillment associate
- Overnight warehouse worker
- General warehouse associate
- Operations manager
- Inventory manager
Pay and Benefits
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Tuition reimbursement
- Relocation assistance
- Vacation and holiday benefits
- Adoption assistance
The Home Depot pay starts at around $16 an hour for entry level warehouse employees.
7. Amazon
Believe it or not, Amazon fulfillment centers are some of the best places to work at in warehousing despite all the flak they get.
This is because despite all the news you hear about the treatment of their workers, most warehouses and distribution centers are about the same in terms of their work environment.
They just happen to be one of the biggest and most recognizable so they get more attention than the rest.
The biggest problem we have with them is their opposition to unions. Amazon’s management has continuously and actively prevented their employees from unionizing because they don’t want to relinquish decision making in areas like compensation to a union.
Despite this, you’ll find that Amazon has among the highest pay rates and some of the best benefits in the warehousing industry.
As an Amazon warehouse worker, you will probably be working in one the following types of facilities:
Fulfillment Centers: Amazon warehouses that deal with picking, packing and shipping orders.
Sort Centers: these facilities receive orders from Amazon warehouses and engage in sorting and handing them to outbound trucks.
AmazonFresh warehouses: these are distribution centers that deal with groceries like fresh, frozen and packaged foods.
Job titles that you can apply for in these warehouses include:
- Stower
- Forklift operator
- Order picker
- Waterspider
- Warehouse attendant
- Warehouse operative
- Warehouse team member
- Locker team member
- Lead fulfillment associate
- Warehouse assistant
Facts About Amazon’s Pay and Benefits
Since 2018, Amazon’s warehouse workers get a minimum of $15 an hour. Employees also get the following benefits:
- Health and dental insurance for themselves and their families
- Holiday Pay
- 401(k) savings plan
- Discounts on select purchases (e.g., work shoes)
- Parental leave
- Amazon Career Choice tuition program
8. Publix
Like WinCo Foods, Publix is an employee-owned supermarket chain. In fact, it’s the largest employee owned corporation in America with twenty seven warehouses located in nine distribution centers.
One of the defining qualities that makes Publix warehouses a great place to work at is their penchant for promoting from within.
Managers and supervisors all started as entry level employees at the warehouse.
Listed below are jobs you can apply for at Publix warehouses:
- Distribution operator
- Forklift operator
- Warehouse selector
- Cafeteria worker
- Cafeteria team leader
- Dock person
- Stocker
- Cook
- Fuel attendant
- Frontline supervisor
- Fleet maintenance technician
Pay and Benefits
- Vacation pay
- Paid holidays
- Tuition reimbursement (individual courses, occupational/technical programs, undergraduate programs and graduate programs)
- Long-term disability plan
- Credit union membership
Publix distribution centers pay around $17 an hour for entry level jobs.
9. Petsmart
As the largest pet retailer in the US, Petsmart also has some of the largest distribution centers in this space.
While working at a Petsmart warehouse, you will most likely be responsible for loading and/or packing pet supplies such as cat food and dog treats.
Job positions at Petsmart distribution centers include:
- Reach truck driver
- Rack associate
- Warehouse associate
- Maintenance technician
- Operations supervisor
- Service supervisor
- Fish health manager
- Operations manager
- Maintenance supervisor
- Services manager
Pay and Benefits
- Health benefits with HSA, HRA and FSA
- 50% discount on select products for associates
- Up to $3,500 tuition reimbursement
- Fertility, adoption and pregnancy assistance
- 401(k) match
- $500,000 donated to support workers in need
Pay: $15 to $25 an hour.
10. US Foods
US Foods is one of the largest food distributors in the United States. Working at the company’s distribution centers, you will most likely be handling food items such as meats, coffee, seafood and baked goods.
These products are shipped out to schools, restaurants, cafes and hospitals.
Here are the most common jobs found in US Foods warehouses:
- Order selector
- Forklift operator
- Loader
- Operations clerk
- Facility maintenance supervisor
- Quality assurance clerk
- Yard jockey switcher
- Maintenance mechanic
- Robo wrapper
- Sanitation worker
- Utility clerk
Pay and Benefits
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- 401(k) plan
- Paid time off
- Life insurance
- Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) with 15% discount
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance
US Foods pays around $16/hr for entry level warehouse jobs.
