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Stocker / Order Filler

$37,330
median / year
$30,110 – $49,260
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Move, shelve, and track merchandise so shelves and orders stay full and customers find what they need.

You may also see this posted as: Checker Stocker, Order Filler, Stock Clerk, Stocker, Inventory Specialist, Inventory Technician (Inventory Tech).

Where you work

Store floors, stockrooms, and warehouses

The hours

Early mornings, nights, and weekend shifts

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Complete order receipts.
  • Answer customers' questions about merchandise and advise customers on merchandise selection.
  • Issue or distribute materials, products, parts, and supplies to customers or coworkers, based on information from incoming requisitions.
  • Keep records of out-going orders.
  • Stock shelves, racks, cases, bins, and tables with new or transferred merchandise.

Good fit if you like…

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Realistic

working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

O*NET job zone 2 of 5

Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilityAttention to DetailIntegrityCooperation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Apple SafariGoogle DocsMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft EdgeMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office software

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$37,330
per year
Hourly median
$17.95
per hour
What most earn
$30,110–$49,260
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~472,300
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+8.5%
Faster than average
Working in the U.S.
2,833,810
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 0.2% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

No formal credential

Training path: On-the-job training, paid.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

Physical staminaAttention to detailBasic organizationReliability

The honest take

One of the most available jobs anywhere, and often the doorway into a warehouse or store career.

Standard Occupational Classification 53-7065. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.