Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between commercial truck drivers and professional truck drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a commercial truck driver and a professional truck driver. Additionally, a commercial truck driver has an average salary of $64,512, which is higher than the $48,577 average annual salary of a professional truck driver.
The top three skills for a commercial truck driver include CDL, good time management and safety issues. The most important skills for a professional truck driver are CDL, safety regulations, and on-time delivery.
| Commercial Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $64,512 | $48,577 |
| Hourly rate | $31.02 | $23.35 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 719,069 | 739,437 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A commercial truck driver is primarily in charge of transporting and delivering cargo, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. Their responsibilities include driving for long durations, coordinating with logistics staff, handling documentation, and maintaining the safety of cargo. There are also instances where they must liaise with clients, unload and load cargo, and keep records of all transactions. Furthermore, as a commercial truck driver, it is essential to conduct regular maintenance checks on vehicles and adhere to the traffic laws and regulations for a safe and productive work environment.
Professional truck drivers have skills in communication, organization, and navigation, as well as a motivated personality and a good sense of responsibility. Their services are absolutely essential, with the most basic task being driving commercial trucks for transportation of goods and materials to distribution centers. Truck drivers transport everything from automobiles to produce to machinery.
Commercial truck drivers and professional truck drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Average salary | $64,512 | $48,577 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $100,000 | Between $33,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Tyson Foods | Wellpath |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a commercial truck driver and a professional truck driver in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between commercial truck drivers' and professional truck drivers' demographics:
| Commercial Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% | Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 3.6% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |