At a freight forwarder or exporter's shipping desk, you shepherd outbound international shipments — booking with carriers, preparing export documents, coordinating with overseas agents, and supporting customers through the export cycle.
A typical week involves booking, documentation, and steady cross-time-zone communication — confirming bookings with ocean, air, or trucking carriers; preparing commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, AES filings; coordinating with destination-country agents; updating shippers on cargo status. Bookings on time, documentation accuracy, and clean handoffs shape the visible measures.
The harder part is often the destination-country variance — different markets carry different documentation requirements, restricted-party rules, and certification expectations, and the coordinator builds expertise on each trade lane over time. Variance across employers is real: large global forwarders specialize coordinators by trade lane; smaller forwarders ask coordinators to handle a broader range of destinations.
This work tends to fit folks who find global trade interesting, manage time-zone-crossing communication patiently, and carry the document discipline that export work requires. CCS and FIATA diploma anchor advancement. The trade-off is the always-on rhythm of global trade and the early or late hours that align with overseas offices.
Still figuring out what you want to become
when you grow up?
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Don't do Truest if you aren't ready
to invest in yourself and your career.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →At a freight forwarder or exporter's shipping desk, you shepherd outbound international shipments — booking with carriers, preparing export documents, coordinating with overseas agents, and supporting customers through the export cycle.
Median pay for an Export Coordinator is about $50K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $37K to $76K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Reading Comprehension, Coordination, Speaking, Monitoring, and Active Listening.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 8.5% through 2034, with roughly 195,600 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Air Export Agent, Export Agent, and Ocean Export Agent.
Your job belongs to your employer.
Your career belongs to you.