A class A driver, also referred to as a CDL driver, is the motorist of commercial trucks used for the transportation of goods. Although regulations regarding class A licenses vary by state, generally, they are required for vehicles that weigh above 26,001 lbs, such as trucking rigs, semitrailers, or motor trucks.
Training courses with qualified instructors are available for you if you have never worked as a CDL driver before and you do not have any military experience. You can extend a CDL license with additional certifications, allowing you to transport hazardous cargo or tow livestock, or tanker trailers.
As easy as it sounds, working as a CDL driver takes a toll on your life, having to spend long periods of time away from home. Demands on the position are increasing in alignment with the national average, though, so there will be no shortage of openings if you do decide to embark on this journey. Pun intended.
Class A Driver Overview
Class A Driver Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a class a driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.34 an hour? That's $52,705 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 99,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Class A Driver Do
There are certain skills that many class a drivers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed hand-eye coordination, hearing ability and physical health.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a class a driver, we found that a lot of resumes listed 32.7% of class a drivers included cdl, while 12.4% of resumes included customer service, and 8.4% of resumes included otr. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the class a driver job title. But what industry to start with? Most class a drivers actually find jobs in the transportation and retail industries.
How To Become a Class A Driver
If you're interested in becoming a class a driver, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 7.7% of class a drivers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.1% of class a drivers have master's degrees. Even though some class a drivers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a class a driver. When we researched the most common majors for a class a driver, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on class a driver resumes include diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a class a driver. In fact, many class a driver jobs require experience in a role such as driver. Meanwhile, many class a drivers also have previous career experience in roles such as cdl class a driver or truck driver.
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Class A Driver Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of cdl class a driver you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title superintendent.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Class A Driver
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Produce Distributor Class A Driver Class A Driver | Produce Distributor Produce Distributor | 01/31/2021 01/31/2021 | $45,91401/31/2021 $45,914 |
Us Xpress Class A Team Driver Jobs: Earn Up To 80 CPM! Class A Team Driver Jobs: Earn Up To 80 CPM! | Us Xpress Us Xpress | 01/31/2021 01/31/2021 | $175,00001/31/2021 $175,000 |
Schneider Class A Driver Class A Driver | Schneider Schneider | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $69,00001/30/2021 $69,000 |
Ritchie Trucking Service Holdings LLC Class A Drivers Class A Drivers | Ritchie Trucking Service Holdings LLC Ritchie Trucking Service Holdings LLC | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $35,47901/30/2021 $35,479 |
Pipeline Carriers, Inc. Class A Driver-Flatbed Class A Driver-Flatbed | Pipeline Carriers, Inc. Pipeline Carriers, Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $31,30501/30/2021 $31,305 |
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Class A Driver Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Class A Driver. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Class A Driver Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Class A Driver resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Skills For a Class A Driver
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 32.7% of class a drivers listed cdl on their resume, but soft skills such as hand-eye coordination and hearing ability are important as well.
- CDL, 32.7%
- Customer Service, 12.4%
- OTR, 8.4%
- Post-Trip Inspections, 6.8%
- Hazmat, 5.0%
- Other Skills, 34.7% See All Class A Driver Skills
Best States For a Class A Driver
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a class a driver. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut. Class a drivers make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $73,666. Whereas in Massachusetts and New York, they would average $70,281 and $68,562, respectively. While class a drivers would only make an average of $67,978 in Connecticut, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Pennsylvania
$67,304
Avg. Salary
2. North Dakota
$62,067
Avg. Salary
3. Mississippi
$63,480
Avg. Salary
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