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One of the more reliable career paths in Canada is work in the logistics and operations realm. Anywhere there is a large company that relies on shipping and storing their products, there is a need for people to manage the operations. There are many different jobs under the umbrella of logistics and operations, but in general this is a field for people who are organised, flexible and can work long hours.

Most of the work in this field involves supervising the daily movements within a warehouse. This includes tasks such as shipping and receiving, inventory management and even hiring and training employees. This is one career that has lots of potential to work your way up the ladder from entry level work to managerial positions.

There is a lot of this kind of work in Canada because the main cities of the country are so far apart. Warehouses are required to act as shipping transit centres to move products from one side of Canada to the other. These products range from perishable food items to raw materials like timber or coal. Jobs can be found both within cities and in rather remote locations.

The product that a logistics manager keeps track of depends on the company they work for. But the job is essentially the same no matter what the product, centring on the receiving, storage and shipment of merchandise in the most efficient manner possible. Strong organisation and communication skills are vital to this kind of work, in particular fluency in English.

The working hours of warehouse managers also tend to be long and unusual, with night shifts and the occasional 12-hour shift. The education required for this work is fairly easy to achieve. A bachelor's degree in business management is the preferred area of study, though many degrees translate well into this kind of logistics work. Unless you have a lot of experience already, it's likely you'll begin with an entry level spot. But this is one job where most positions are hired from within, and advancement comes quickly for talented workers.

Warehouse managers for large firms in Canada typically earn around C$55,000 a year plus a nice benefits package and the potential for lucrative overtime work. The other positions within a warehouse include a range of unskilled or entry-level workers who handle the manual side of the warehouse work or keep track of inventory logs and other clerical duties. The pay is often an hourly rate for unskilled workers, at around C$12 an hour.