What does a driver assistant do?
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.
Driver assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real driver assistant resumes:
- Load truck with appropriate product and deliver accordingly, return to warehouse for receiving and other warehouse duties including monthly inventory.
- Memorize menu, delivered/prepare sandwiches, maintain inventory, take customer/catering orders in-store/over-the-phone, utilize POS computer system.
Driver assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Driver Assistants are proficient in Delivery Truck, Customer Service, and Safety Procedures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Math skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Driver Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Delivery Truck, 14%
Help delivered package in delivery truck to customers homes and businesses
- Customer Service, 13%
Delivered products to various businesses* Maintained relationships with the businesses* Improved customer service skills while managing day to day situations
- Safety Procedures, 12%
Delivered packages, used hand held scanners, and learned the safety procedures while riding in UPS company trucks.
- CDL, 9%
Received my class C CDL in order to transport children to and from school in school vehicle.
- CPR, 7%
Completed CPR and Defensive Driving certifications.
- Package Delivery, 6%
Assisted drivers in package delivery and improved efficiency.
"delivery truck," "customer service," and "safety procedures" are among the most common skills that driver assistants use at work. You can find even more driver assistant responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a driver assistant to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "when completing deliveries, drivers often interact with customers and should make a good impression to ensure repeat business." Additionally, a driver assistant resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "communicate effectively with customers in a professional manner assist driver with truck inspections and moving equipment inventory. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform driver assistant duties is math skills. Driver assistants responsibilities require that "because delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers sometimes take payment, they must be able to count cash and make change quickly and accurately." Driver assistants also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "clean floors/ dishes accomplishments i had no accidents skills used math, find the houses"
Patience. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of driver assistants is patience. This skill is critical to many everyday driver assistant duties, as "when driving through heavy traffic congestion, delivery drivers must remain calm and composed." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "delivered customers' orders safely and swiftly dealt with customer complaints with respect and patience"
Sales skills. For certain driver assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "sales skills." The day-to-day duties of a driver assistant rely on this skill, as "driver/sales workers are expected to persuade customers to purchase new or different products." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what driver assistants do: "communicated with customer and sales staff for delivery schedule to job site. "
Hand-eye coordination. A commonly-found skill in driver assistant job descriptions, "hand-eye coordination" is essential to what driver assistants do. Driver assistant responsibilities rely on this skill because "drivers need to observe their surroundings at all times while operating a vehicle." You can also see how driver assistant duties rely on hand-eye coordination in this resume example: "time management and customer location coordination key to ensuring many different deliveries occurred on time. "
Visual ability. While "visual ability" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to driver assistant responsibilities. Much of what a driver assistant does relies on this skill, seeing as "to have a driver’s license, delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers must be able to pass a state vision test." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of driver assistants: "transport of mobile center to locations, transport-vehicle maintenance, mobile center operation, customer service, & audio/visual equipment troubleshooting. "
The three companies that hire the most driver assistants are:
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Compare different driver assistants
Driver assistant vs. Transportation driver
A transportation driver is responsible for transporting people and goods from one place to another. A transportation driver must have a clean driving record to operate vehicles carefully and efficiently. Transportation drivers must ensure that the passengers are safe and comfortable during the trip and that goods are in proper condition to avoid damage and defects. They should strictly adhere to the transport schedules and assigned routes to avoid delays of operations. A transportation driver should also understand maintenance basics of vehicles to perform repair and reconditioning of any engine malfunction.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between driver assistants and transportation driver. For instance, driver assistant responsibilities require skills such as "delivery truck," "package delivery," "load trucks," and "pallet jack." Whereas a transportation driver is skilled in "dot," "tractor trailer," "hazmat," and "post-trip inspections." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that transportation drivers earn slightly differ from driver assistants. In particular, transportation drivers are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a driver assistant. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Driver assistant vs. Delivery driver/warehouse
A warehouse delivery driver is responsible for transporting goods and services from the warehouse to different assigned locations. Warehouse delivery drivers record the inventory materials receipt before and after delivery to ensure the merchandise's correct quantity and quality. They also maintain the condition of the engine and immediately detect inconsistencies to avoid delays in deliveries. A warehouse delivery driver assists customers with their inquiries and concerns and escalates complaints to management for resolution.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, driver assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "safety procedures," "cpr," "package delivery," and "pallet jack." Meanwhile, a delivery driver/warehouse has duties that require skills in areas such as "math," "basic math," "warehouse operations," and "cycle counts." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Delivery driver/warehouses earn a lower average salary than driver assistants. But delivery driver/warehouses earn the highest pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $34,891. Additionally, driver assistants earn the highest salaries in the automotive with average pay of $50,189 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Delivery driver/warehouses tend to reach similar levels of education than driver assistants. In fact, they're 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Driver assistant vs. Dispatcher/driver
A contract driver mainly provides transport services on a contractual basis. Their duties typically depend on their contract or place of employment; they may deliver goods or provide private transport to clients. When it comes to delivering goods, a contract driver must adhere to schedules and guidelines, maintain documents, and coordinate with clients. Furthermore, a contract driver must perform regular maintenance checks on their vehicles and abide by the traffic laws and regulations to maintain a safe and efficient work environment.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from driver assistant resumes include skills like "delivery truck," "safety procedures," "cpr," and "package delivery," whereas a dispatcher/driver is more likely to list skills in "dot," "relevant safety regulations," "service vehicle," and "pickup. "
When it comes to education, dispatcher/drivers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to driver assistants. In fact, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Driver assistant vs. Contract driver
Types of driver assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
