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Baggage Porters and Bellhops vs Shampooers: what changes?

Consider Baggage Porters and Bellhops if you want to handle baggage for travelers at transportation terminals or for guests at hotels or similar establishments. Consider Shampooers if you would rather shampoo and rinse customers' hair. Entry credentials differ: Baggage Porters and Bellhops, high school diploma or equivalent; Shampooers, no formal educational credential.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Baggage Porters and Bellhops and Shampooers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Baggage Porters and Bellhops

National median pay (2025)
$37,080
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Receive and mark baggage by completing and attaching claim checks.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
3,800
Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Baggage Porters and Bellhops brief

Shampooers

National median pay (2025)
$32,600
Route into the job
No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Massage, shampoo, and condition patron's hair and scalp to clean them and remove excess oil.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
2,200
Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (15,400 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Shampooers brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Shampooers has the edge on projected growth

Shampooers is at 5.6% projected growth, compared with -3% projected growth for Baggage Porters and Bellhops.

2

Baggage Porters and Bellhops has the edge on annual openings

Baggage Porters and Bellhops is at 3,800 annual openings, compared with 2,200 annual openings for Shampooers.

3

Baggage Porters and Bellhops has the edge on median pay

Baggage Porters and Bellhops is at $37,080, compared with $32,600 for Shampooers.

32.5/ 100

Baggage Porters and Bellhops

vs
41.4/ 100

Shampooers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Baggage Porters and Bellhops vs Shampooers

DimensionBaggage Porters and BellhopsShampooers
Median pay (2025)$37,080$32,600
Pay percentile6.7 percentile0.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)-3%5.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)3,8002,200
2025 employment29,20015,400
How you qualifyHigh school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensingNo formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 2Job Zone 2
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingOne month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Baggage Porters and Bellhops briefRead Shampooers brief

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ChooseField compares fields using public labor-market and professional sources.