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Cargo Handling Supervisor

Cargo Handling Supervisor profiles score highest on Safety-Seeking and Influencing. This page covers what the work involves, what the trait profile looks like, what it pays, and where the fit tends to break.

Median pay
$58,170per year, U.S. BLS 2025
Entry education
High schooltypical for the occupation
Outlook
BrightO*NET Bright Outlook occupation

SOURCE · O*NET 53-1041.00 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.

What the work involves

Supervise and coordinate the activities of ground crew in the loading, unloading, securing, and staging of aircraft cargo or baggage. May determine the quantity and orientation of cargo and compute aircraft center of gravity. May accompany aircraft as member of flight crew and monitor and handle cargo in flight, and assist and brief passengers on safety and emergency procedures. Includes loadmasters.

Skills rated most important

Critical Thinking69
Management of Personnel Resources69
Active Listening66
Monitoring66
Speaking66

Work context

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams99
Contact With Others97
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled87
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled77
Spend Time Standing63
Spend Time Walking or Running53
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body49
Spend Time Sitting37
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling31
Spend Time Climbing Ladders, Scaffolds, or Poles20
Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance20

O*NET importance and frequency ratings, 0–100.

The trait profile

Where Cargo Handling Supervisor profiles sit on the eleven Haliscope traits, derived from O*NET’s published interest and work-style data.

Safety-Seeking74
Influencing72
Organizing62
Operating60
Persevering57
Law-Abiding48
Harmonizing45
Helping26
Analyzing21
Exploring17
Creating2

Who it fits, and who it doesn’t

Strong signals

  • High Influencing. Measures your drive to lead, persuade, and shape outcomes. High scorers are confident communicators who naturally take charge and direct others.
  • High Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • High Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
  • High Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • High Harmonizing. Measures your focus on group cohesion and interpersonal peace. High scorers build consensus, facilitate cooperation, and prioritize team harmony.

Friction points

  • Low Influencing. Measures your drive to lead, persuade, and shape outcomes. High scorers are confident communicators who naturally take charge and direct others.
  • Low Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • Low Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
  • Low Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • Low Harmonizing. Measures your focus on group cohesion and interpersonal peace. High scorers build consensus, facilitate cooperation, and prioritize team harmony.

These are what the occupation’s profile says, not a hiring criterion. Haliscope is not validated for hiring or screening, and none of these is disqualifying — they are where a fit most often breaks.

Getting in

Entry education: High school.

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

O*NET Job Zone descriptions, U.S. Department of Labor.

Exposure to AI

How much of this work AI can already do, and how much AI tools help the people doing it, is scored task by task in the AI Risk Index.

Will AI replace Cargo Handling Supervisor?

Is this profile yours?

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