What does a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader do?

Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. Day to day that includes work like seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks and Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.

What skills should a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Time Management, and Active Listening among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes CompuWeigh GMS, Distributed control system DCS, Linux, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader work?

O*NET records 34 titles for this occupation, including Loader, Loader Operator, Tankerman, and Truck Loader. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 81% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader resume example

A resume for a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader needs to show the work itself: load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. Day to day that means work like this: seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks; verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Loader
Loader Operator
Tankerman
Truck Loader
Load Out Person
Loading Operator
Oil Movements Operator
PVC Loader
Polyvinyl Chloride Loader
Rail Car Loader
Tank Car Loader
PVC Monitor
Barge Loader
Bulk Tank Car Unloader
Car Loader
Car Unloader
Caustics Loader
Coal Dumping Equipment Operator

O*NET records 34 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks.
Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures.
Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.
Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.
Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.
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.
Operate industrial trucks, tractors, loaders, and other equipment to transport materials to and from transportation vehicles and loading docks, and to store and retrieve materials in warehouses.
Connect ground cables to carry off static electricity when unloading tanker cars.
Copy and attach load specifications to loaded tanks.
Remove and replace tank car dome caps, or direct other workers in their removal and replacement.

19 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

CompuWeigh GMS
Distributed control system DCS
Linux
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
SAP software
Warehouse management system WMS

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Computer laser printers
Conveyor belt systems
Digital hydrometers
Electric hoists
Loading scales
Mechanical spray nozzles
Mobile shiploaders
Personal computers
Protective respirators
Reach trucks
Riding pallet jacks
Skid steers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

CompuWeigh GMS
Distributed control system DCS

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Operation and Control
02Operations Monitoring
03Reading Comprehension
04Time Management
05Active Listening
06Complex Problem Solving
07Critical Thinking
08Monitoring
09Speaking
10Writing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Transportation
Production and Processing
English Language
Public Safety and Security

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

81%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
12%Less than a High School Diploma
4%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader do?: Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. Day to day that includes work like seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks and Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
What skills should a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Time Management, and Active Listening among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes CompuWeigh GMS, Distributed control system DCS, Linux, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader work?: O*NET records 34 titles for this occupation, including Loader, Loader Operator, Tankerman, and Truck Loader. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 81% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.