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The differences between driver assistants and lead drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead driver has an average salary of $43,769, which is higher than the $37,795 average annual salary of a driver assistant.
The top three skills for a driver assistant include delivery truck, customer service and safety procedures. The most important skills for a lead driver are DOT, work ethic, and CDL.
| Driver Assistant | Lead Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $37,795 | $43,769 |
| Hourly rate | $18.17 | $21.04 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 387,080 | 821,463 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
A driver assistant is responsible for helping the lead driver transport people, goods, and services from one place to various destinations as required with utmost safety and security. Driver assistants respond to the customers' delivery inquiries and concerns, update delivery receipts, inspect the quality of the merchandise before loading and unloading, report replacements to the distribution centers, and assist with the road navigation to prevent delivery delays. A driver assistant must have excellent organizational and time-management skills, ensuring smooth delivery operations professionally and efficiently.
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.
Driver assistants and lead drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Driver Assistant | Lead Driver | |
| Average salary | $37,795 | $43,769 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $66,000 | Between $27,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | General Motors | Univar |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a driver assistant and a lead driver in terms of educational background:
| Driver Assistant | Lead Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between driver assistants' and lead drivers' demographics:
| Driver Assistant | Lead Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 3.4% White, 56.5% 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% |