Work-life balance – Does the thought of being chained to a desk sound boring and tedious? Are you physically and/or mentally tired of taking your work home? If so, earning a forklift certification might be calling your name.
Forklift drivers are in high demand throughout the country, particularly Los Angeles County.
Recruiters and hiring managers are contacting us daily, seeking certified forklift operators for various industries – from warehouse work and new construction, to maintenance work and dock work, including special events and Hollywood studio sets.
In addition to rising demand for, entering the forklift industry has many benefits, including: (1) job stability, (2) great pay, (3) wonderful perks, (4) many opportunities to enter managerial roles, and (5) ability to improve your work-life balance.
In respect to number five, we’d like to dive in a bit further. Unfortunately, society is experiencing an increase in the blurring of boundaries between one’s professional and personal life. Too often, people go to work, but rather than clock off at the end of their work day, they bring their work home – resulting in poor work-life balance. They may answer phone calls, respond to emails, think of projects, and continue to stress about “work” at a time when they’re supposed to be rejuvenating at home and creating wonderful memories with loved ones.
This is leading to health problems, greater stress, burnout, relationship issues, and living life on autopilot. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, the psychological and physical problems of burned out employees cost an estimated $125 billion to $190 billion a year in healthcare spending in the United States.
As a forklift operator, however, you can leave your problems behind when you clock off. You’ll be able to go home, focus on your personal life, and actually get to look forward to another new day on a job that is anything but monotonous.
You can end your workday, confident, knowing you’re delivering meaningful contributions to the economy and businesses in many industries – working in an industry growing in demand on the daily and surrounded by opportunities.
That said, a few questions we regularly hear from students are: how hard is it to become a forklift operator? Is it hard to drive a forklift? And Is driving a forklift like driving a car?
In response, first, we’d like to state that it’s not hard to become a forklift operator. The first step is to get trained in forklift operations – which can be done at a forklift school like ours, American Forklift Training Centers, Inc. Once you’re trained, then you can take the required forklift test and subsequently earn your forklift certification.
Second, driving a forklift is not necessarily hard, but it does require some practicing. For example, although a forklift and a car may both have four wheels, a seatbelt, and a steering wheel, driving a forklift is not like driving a car. Unlike a car, a forklift uses its rear wheels for steering, allowing it to use its front wheels to support most of the load it carries and to turn in a much tighter radius. In turn, however, the rear wheel steering also causes the tail end of the forklift to swing much wider than a car to accomplish tighter corners.
In short, the forklift industry can be wonderful for your pocket book and well-being. Becoming a forklift operator doesn’t have to be difficult either, so long as you’re properly trained and certified.
To learn more about forklift operations and how we can help, Contact us Today!