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Customs Broker

Customs Broker profiles score highest on Organizing 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
$80,730per year, U.S. BLS 2025
Entry education
Vocational training or associate's degreetypical for the occupation

SOURCE · O*NET 13-1041.08 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.

What the work involves

Prepare customs documentation and ensure that shipments meet all applicable laws to facilitate the import and export of goods. Determine and track duties and taxes payable and process payments on behalf of client. Sign documents under a power of attorney. Represent clients in meetings with customs officials and apply for duty refunds and tariff reclassifications. Coordinate transportation and storage of imported goods.

Skills rated most important

Active Listening75
Reading Comprehension72
Complex Problem Solving69
Critical Thinking69
Speaking69

Work context

Spend Time Sitting98
Contact With Others93
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams93
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled79
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled19
Spend Time Standing19
Spend Time Walking or Running16
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body6
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling3
Spend Time Climbing Ladders, Scaffolds, or Poles1
Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance1

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

The trait profile

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

Organizing85
Influencing66
Law-Abiding63
Safety-Seeking60
Persevering54
Harmonizing37
Exploring25
Operating24
Helping21
Analyzing11
Creating2

Who it fits, and who it doesn’t

Strong signals

  • 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 Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • High Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • High Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.
  • High Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.

Friction points

  • 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 Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • Low Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • Low Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.

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: Vocational training or associate's degree.

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

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 Customs Broker?

Is this profile yours?

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