Porter Work

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While traveling with heavy luggage, if you end up on a crowded railway station, what is the first thought that comes to your mind? We hope and pray for some assistance to help us transport the luggage safely to our pre-booked seat. We receive assistance in form of the porter. The porter is a person who is responsible for managing luggage. It is his responsibility to carry luggage up to its destined location and make the journey easy for the guests. Irrespective of the work place of a porter, their chief duties deal with handling luggage and ensuring the comfort of the guests.

Work Nature

The work nature of a porter is to perform strenuous work of carrying heavy luggage. The work nature is dependent upon the place of work. Any porter working at transportation for services will play a restricted role of transportation. However, those in hotel industry, have the additional responsibility of helping the guests find their rooms and use the hotel facilities well. There are few porters who work at dock, who transport variety of goods, from mails to even animals at times. Certain porters are responsible for cleaning and maintenance work of the building premise too.

Work Requirements

Porter work is not subject to rigidity on educational qualifications. Even those with limited education can work as porters. A high school diploma is sufficient to work as a porter. Besides, the aspirant must possess communication, coordination and initiative making abilities. Most of the knowledge and skills can be acquired on the job. Hence, getting an entry into working as a porter is not so difficult.

Work Conditions

Porter work is difficult. They must carry heavy weights for long span of times. For longer span of the day, they are constantly on their feet. Hence, work life of a porter can be quite exhausting. Being a part of the hospitality industry, they must be available to serve the guests at any time during the day. They must work in shifts. Dealing with high profile guests can be quite stressful at times.

Career Prospects

Porters find job opportunities in various industries: hospitality, transportation, construction, automobiles, repairs and maintenance, etc. Owing to such wide application of jobs to different fields, the career prospects for porter jobs are strong. Several aspirants with little or no experience get absorbed easily into all these industries. If one is willing to learn, then a porter can progress to work at the level of supervisor. Remunerations received are at par with the efforts that go into the work. Also, the occasional tips you receive from guests add to up to lucrative perks.

Other Porter Jobs

There are few other jobs that are recognized as porter profiles but include work other than transportation. Few examples are:

• Sales Porters: Sales porters unpack, clean and prepare the items to be sold at the store. They work for manufacturing, automotive, food, transportation, etc. Sales porters help to arrange goods at the designated places and make it visually appealing to induce sales.

• Building Porters: Building porters are building maintenance specialists. They are responsible to clean the interiors and exteriors of the building. They clean the floor of the buildings and windows, arrange the furniture, mow the grass, change light bulbs, make basic repairs and do other petty jobs.

• Hospital Porters: Hospital Porters maintain the hospital premise and facilities. They keep the premise clean by mopping floors, cleaning windows and storage areas and by disinfecting the premise. They repair and maintain the non-medical equipments too. Also, some work as patient aides and provide support in medical care.

• Kitchen Porter: Kitchen porters lend support to the chef's staff by managing the kitchen supplies and maintaining the cleanliness of the kitchen. Besides, they make sure the utensils are cleaned and placed in order before the work begins. Also, they ensure cleanliness of the kitchen towels, aprons, etc.

Porter work may sound physically challenging but it opens up good job prospects for all, especially those with limited qualifications. Hence, make sure you consider a career as a porter to begin your career on a good note.