How To Become A Carrier Driver: What It Is and Career Path

What is a carrier driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average carrier driver salary is $33,256. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a carrier driver. Carrier drivers with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 90,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCarrier DriverUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,256

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%

Asian 3.88%

Black or African American 13.45%

Hispanic or Latino 20.53%

Unknown 4.81%

White 56.51%

Gender

female 29.32%

male 70.68%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.4

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a carrier driver

Explore carrier driver education requirements

Most common carrier driver degrees

High School Diploma

38.4 %

Bachelor's

20.0 %

Associate

18.9 %

Start to develop specific carrier driver skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	62.80%
Delivery Route	18.28%
DOT	8.68%
Newspapers	6.05%
Customer Satisfaction	1.35%

Complete relevant carrier driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New carrier drivers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a carrier driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real carrier driver resumes.

Research carrier driver duties and responsibilities

Update and maintain customer delivery schedule, and deliver newspapers efficiently and accurately.
Handle all phases of cash ex: pick up cod's due on vehicles, fuel purchases, tolls, etc.
Secure, prepare, and stow ammunition on scout vehicles.
Drive and distribute newspapers to businesses, dealers or residences on a designate route.

Prepare your carrier driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your carrier driver resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a carrier driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable carrier driver resume templates

Build a professional carrier driver resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your carrier driver resume.