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The differences between company drivers and lead 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 company driver and a lead driver. Additionally, a company driver has an average salary of $65,430, which is higher than the $43,769 average annual salary of a lead driver.
The top three skills for a company driver include CDL, OTR and PET. The most important skills for a lead driver are DOT, work ethic, and CDL.
| Company Driver | Lead Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $65,430 | $43,769 |
| Hourly rate | $31.46 | $21.04 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 708,157 | 821,463 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 38% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A company driver helps an organization with all transport-related duties and ensures that these are carried out on time. Company drivers transport and deliver goods, equipment, products, and staff members to locations required by the organization. They maintain the cleanliness of their vehicles and are responsible for informing the organization about repairs and maintenance. Company drivers must also obtain the appropriate licenses and should have clean driving records with no accidents and traffic violations.
Lead drivers are professionals who are responsible for supervising the staff drivers of either a logistics or trucking company. These lead drivers must manage the communication between drivers and personnel while generating dispatch reports base on their drivers' tracking logs. They must ensure that vehicles are fit for use according to the standards of the Department of Transportation (DOT) by checking engines and maintaining sufficient fluid levels of all vehicles. Lead drivers must also train and supervise new drivers about the company's policy and safety regulations.
Company drivers and lead drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Company Driver | Lead Driver | |
| Average salary | $65,430 | $43,769 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $93,000 | Between $27,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Air Products | Univar |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a company driver and a lead driver in terms of educational background:
| Company Driver | Lead Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 38% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between company drivers' and lead drivers' demographics:
| Company Driver | Lead Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 3.8% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |