How to hire tank car, truck, and ship loaders
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures. • Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow. • Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times. • Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment. • Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers. • Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks. • Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures. • Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: No formal educational credential] • Strong reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, monitoring, speaking and writing skills • Working knowledge of transportation • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $28.30 an hour ($58,870 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for tank car, truck, and ship loaders
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
- Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
- Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What tank car, truck, and ship loaders do
- Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.
- Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.
- Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.
- Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment.
- Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers.
- Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks.
- Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures.
- Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for tank car, truck, and ship loaders
- Typical education to start: No formal educational credential (BLS)
- Related work experience most have: 6 months to 1 year (O*NET)
- Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
- Job outlook: +2.8% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 1,300 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay tank car, truck, and ship loaders
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Texas | $61,170 |
| Louisiana | $58,900 |
| Ohio | $57,700 |
See tank car, truck, and ship loaders pay in every state
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Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.