Salary
Average Salary: $72,780
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $3,038,419
Whether you're figuring out how to move thingamabobs between states, military equipment past enemy lines, or people out of a disaster zone, the pay for a good logistician is fairly consistent. Most of these super movers bank around $73,000 a year (source). Turns out people who get stuff to places efficiently do pretty well for themselves, huh? Just remember that the next time you're the one stuck figuring out how to get all of your friends to Applebee's at the same time.
Is working logistics going to get you rich? Maybe not rich rich, but happy? Science sure seems to think so.
"Science shmience," you say. "How can we trust it? They were wrong about gravity—just look at those videos coming out of the international space station! I need money to power my smile muscles." Alright, alright, calm yourself. If your heart is set on logistics (we sure hope it's not set on physics), there may be a way to make some extra scratch. In fact, the top 10% of workers in this industry rake in over $110,000 (source).
Reaching the six-figure club will be a product of how much you know. Did you go to college and/or score an optional certification? Okay, step in the right direction. Have you worked in the business for ten years? We'll give you two steps for that one.
Where you take a job can also help; moving stuff like oil and gas earns way more than diapers and Trapper Keeper counterparts (source).
That high rate of pay actually makes a lot of sense if a logistician is doing his or her job correctly. After all, they're ultimately there to save money during transport—do you know how much USPS charges a non-logistician to ship twelve million Bratz dolls overnight from California to Florida? (We don't either, but if you ever find out, we recommend getting a tracking number.)