Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CE

Customs Brokers

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.

Also called: Broker, CCS (Certified Customs Specialist), Corporate Licensed Broker, LCB (Licensed Customs Broker), LCB (Licensed Custom Broker).

O*NET 13-1041.08

At a glance

US median annual pay: $80,730; Middle half earn $61,280 to $109,010. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +3% · As fast as average; 418,000 jobs in 2024, projected 430,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Compliance officers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Pay, or arrange for payment of, taxes and duties on shipments.
Classify goods according to tariff coding system.
Clear goods through customs and to their destinations for clients.
Prepare and process import and export documentation according to customs regulations, laws, or procedures.
Stay abreast of changes in import or export laws or regulations by reading current literature, attending meetings or conferences, or conferring with colleagues.
Calculate duty and tariff payments owed on shipments.
Confer with officials in various agencies to facilitate clearance of goods through customs and quarantine.
Obtain line releases for frequent shippers of low-risk commodities, high-volume entries, or multiple-container loads.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Writing3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Active Learning3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.3 / 5
Administrative4.2 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
English Language4.0 / 5
Transportation3.7 / 5
Administration and Management3.6 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic23
Investigative9
Artistic0
Social19
Enterprising67
Conventional86

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

shipbroker · DE Schiffsmakler/Schiffsmaklerin · FR courtier affrètement maritime/courtière affrètement maritime
non-vessel operating common carrier · DE Frachtführer ohne eigenen Schiffsbetrieb/Frachtführerin ohne eigenen Schiffsbetrieb · FR transporteur non exploitant/transporteuse non exploitante de navire
customs and excise officer · DE Zolldeklarant/Zolldeklarantin · FR préposé des douanes/préposée des douanes
forwarding manager · DE Speditionskaufmann/Speditionskauffrau · FR chef de service affrètement
import export specialist · DE Import-/Exportsachbearbeiter/Import-/Exportsachbearbeiterin · FR spécialiste en import-export
import export specialist in agricultural machinery and equipment · DE Import-/Exportsachbearbeiter für Landwirtschaftsmaschinen und -ausrüstung/Import-/Exportsachbearbeiterin für Landwirtschaftsmaschinen und -ausrüstung · FR spécialiste en import-export de matériel agricole

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Importers and exporters (3542)6,500 employed
Brokers (3531)67,900 employed
Protective service associate professionals n.e.c. (3319)98,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.70. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1041).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test