Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between driver/owner operators and company 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 driver/owner operator and a company driver. Additionally, a driver/owner operator has an average salary of $169,793, which is higher than the $65,430 average annual salary of a company driver.
The top three skills for a driver/owner operator include CDL, DOT and OTR. The most important skills for a company driver are CDL, OTR, and PET.
| Driver/Owner Operator | Company Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $169,793 | $65,430 |
| Hourly rate | $81.63 | $31.46 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 170,784 | 708,157 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 44% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Driver/owner-operators are self-employed commercial truck drivers who operate trucks to transport goods for their customers. Most of these operators started working as drivers for trucking companies to gain experience and decide if it's the right career path for them. They are allowed to haul freelance or agree to a lease agreement dedicating their equipment to one product or customer. To become an owner-operator, one should consider many things, including business set-up, vehicle type, and licenses.
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.
Driver/owner operators and company drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Driver/Owner Operator | Company Driver | |
| Average salary | $169,793 | $65,430 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $417,000 | Between $45,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Savannah, GA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Texas | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Clean Harbors | Air Products |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a driver/owner operator and a company driver in terms of educational background:
| Driver/Owner Operator | Company Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 44% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between driver/owner operators' and company drivers' demographics:
| Driver/Owner Operator | Company Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 3.8% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |