Conveyor Operators and Tenders
Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Production and Processing
- Transportation
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
- Customer and Personal Service
What the work involves
- Position deflector bars, gates, chutes, or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor.
- Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime.
- Inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed.
- Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.
- Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.
- Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.
- Load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers.
- Observe packages moving along conveyors to identify packages, detect defective packaging, and perform quality control.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (70% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (54.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (54.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Conveyor Operators and Tenders is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 99% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 86% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 56% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 93% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 60% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 99% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 65% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others about half the time: 3.87%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: 11.74%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 1.13%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.06%
- Fairly important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very little freedom: 1.06%
- Limited freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Some freedom: 12.63%
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 12.8%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 61.76%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.36%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.19%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 1.06%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 15.54%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 53-7011.00 · SOC 53-7011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8