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Career Cluster
Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
- Would you like to fly planes, drive trucks, or pilot ships?
- Are you organized and efficient?
- Do you have good eyesight and quick reflexes?
- Are you good at solving problems?
- Are you good at understanding mechanics?
- Would you enjoy planning roads or power systems?
- Would you like working on a train or in a shipyard?
If you answered yes to some of these questions, you might enjoy a career in transportation, distribution, and logistics. You might succeed in one of these careers:
- aircraft mechanic
- airline pilot
- bus driver
- locomotive engineer
- ship captain
- truck driver
- freight agent
- shipping clerk
- civil engineer
- transportation inspector
Cluster Definition
Jobs in the transportation, distribution, and logistics career cluster involve the planning, management, and movement of people, materials, and goods by road, air, rail, and water, as well as related professional and technical support services such as transportation infrastructure planning and management, logistics services, and mobile equipment and facility maintenance.
Career Pathways in Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
A career pathway is an area of concentration within a career cluster. Each pathway contains a group of careers requiring similar academic and technical skills as well as similar industry certifications or postsecondary education. The transportation, distribution, and logistics career cluster has seven pathways:
Facility and Mobile Equipment Maintenance
This pathway comprises jobs maintaining, repairing, and servicing all types of vehicles, including trucks, airplanes, cars, and other transportation equipment. Occupations include:
- facility maintenance manager
- industrial equipment mechanic
- industrial electrician
- automotive mechanic
- truck mechanic
- locomotive mechanic
- ship mechanic
Health, Safety, and Environmental Management
Workers in this pathway assess and manage safety risks and possible environmental hazards. Jobs include:
- health and safety engineer
- environmental manager
- safety analyst
- compliance worker
Logistics Planning and Management Services
Jobs in this pathway involve planning, managing, and controlling the physical distribution of people and freight from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Jobs include:
- logistics manager
- logistics engineer
- logistics analyst
Sales and Service
These jobs involve marketing and selling transportation services for people or freight. Jobs include:
- marketing and sales manager
- reservation and travel clerk
- customer service representative
- customer billing clerk
- cashier
Transportation Operations
Jobs in this pathway involve the operation and support of mobile equipment in the movement of goods and people. Jobs include:
- airline pilot
- flight attendant
- truck driver
- dispatcher
- ship captain
- locomotive engineer
- airport support specialist
- harbor support specialist
Transportation Systems/Infrastructure Planning, Management, and Regulation
This pathway focuses on the planning and management of the public transportation infrastructure. Jobs include:
- urban planner
- regional planner
- government regulator
- city transportation coordinator
- transportation inspector
- civil engineer
Warehousing and Distribution Center Operations
This pathway covers the jobs involved in packaging, loading, and tracking goods for transportation, including:
- warehouse manager
- industrial and packaging engineer
- traffic, shipping, and receiving clerk
- material handling worker
