Are you considering making a career change but aren’t sure what to do? Or maybe you’re just about to start working and are curious about the light industrial world. 

Here are some important things to know about the industry before you pursue what might be a great new career path for you! 

What You Need to Know About the Light Industrial Industry

• Let’s start at the beginning: What is ‘light industrial’ anyway? Essentially, light industrial work is a category of jobs that you’d find in manufacturing, just smaller. This can include things like repackaging large shipments into smaller orders or parceling out specific items for distribution to retailers, subcontractors, etc. It also includes assembly jobs and quality control verification positions, in addition to manufacturing smaller parts or components of larger machines or objects. These are the kinds of jobs that human workers are needed for, so there’s no threat of robots making the positions obsolete, offering you a steady career choice for your future. There’s a focus on some specific labor practices and less on machinery.  

• What kinds of jobs are considered light industrial? There are plenty of job opportunities in the light industrial field, including electronics assembler, welder, machine operator, quality control tester, inventory clerk, repackager, sorter, etc. Someone who works on an assembly line, taking smaller components and fastening them together in a specific order, would be considered a light industrial employee. People who package items for shipping or who break down and sort large shipments into their various categories would also be considered light industrial. Even technicians, mechanics and janitors are categorized as light industrial: They’re specialists in their line of work and are highly skilled for their expertise, and people really appreciate their knowledge. 

• How do I know if this is for me? If you like building skills as you go and becoming a relied-upon member of a team, light industrial work might be great for it. This is a broad field of work that offers a variety of options, but there are some overarching qualities that people need in order to excel in any light industrial position: 

1. 1. 1. You’re very good at paying attention to detail.
      2. You’re flexible and ready to change tasks or pick up something new to help your team while still comfortable on those days when you can follow a routine.
      3. You have the dexterity and ability to handle small components, if needed, and can utilize appropriate-sized tools to complete intricate tasks. 
      4. You really like being someone people trust and depend on; you like to raise your hand and offer to help when someone needs it and enjoy being viewed as a valuable member of a team. 

• Are there advancement opportunities in light industrial work? Certainly! The longer you’re in a light industrial position, the more chances you have to add to your skills and work your way up the ladder. Someone who starts out as a shipper or packaging person might one day become a supervisor, training others to do the same job. Someone who has an assembly job on a line might become a shift supervisor or foreman. The more you learn and the more skills you show an interest in acquiring, the greater contributions you can make to your team and the more options you have for advancing your career. 

• All this sounds interesting and enticing, but how’s the pay? While the rate of pay will vary based on position and possibly by any shift differential offered by individual companies (as some companies will pay a little more for people who work afternoons or overnight shifts), the average annual pay for light industrial work is nearly $43,000 per year as of late April. That breaks down to about $20.54 per hour and around $3,559 per month. Depending on where you live and the actual job you have, this can be a great income to help support yourself and maybe your family and to have a steady career with growth options if you’d like to advance your career. Some light industrial positions pay up to $66,500! 

Ready to Dive into Light Industrial Careers?

Light industrial work encompasses so many things, from technicians to operators, packers/pullers/pickers to welders, assemblers to forklift operators, and even warehouse workers and quality control inspectors. If this all sounds interesting to you and you’d like to learn more, take the first step today and take a look at all of the light industry jobs available through Davis Staffing. Our website provides an up-to-date list of all the positions we’re working with our partner companies to fill, in addition to details about where the job is located, the rate of pay, and whether a job is temporary or permanent — a temporary light industrial job might be a great way to see if this is a career you’d like! 

When you’re ready to make a change, contact Davis Staffing and learn how we can help you start that great new career.