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The differences between driver/technicians and route drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a route driver has an average salary of $45,492, which is higher than the $38,110 average annual salary of a driver/technician.
The top three skills for a driver/technician include patients, DOT and CDL. The most important skills for a route driver are CDL, DOT, and pickup.
| Driver/Technician | Route Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $38,110 | $45,492 |
| Hourly rate | $18.32 | $21.87 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 78,422 | 266,899 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Average age | 36 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A driver/technician's responsibility mainly focuses on driving heavy equipment like forklifts and loaders while ensuring that the equipment is in good condition by doing systematic maintenance and repair. They also perform quality checks on new equipment to ensure they are in good condition and are safe to use. They recommend maintenance, repair, and replacements of machinery and equipment. They are also trained to monitor deliveries and evaluate staff for their performance.
A Route Driver is responsible for delivering and transporting supplies or goods within an allotted time. The tasks will vary upon the organization or industry that a Route Driver works for, however, most of the time, the duties will revolve around picking up and dropping off packages at particular destinations ranging from homes to establishments, and communicating with customers. Furthermore, Route Drivers must keep their vehicles in clean and sound condition, report to supervisors should there be any issue, and adhere to the company policies and regulations at all times.
Driver/technicians and route drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Driver/Technician | Route Driver | |
| Average salary | $38,110 | $45,492 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $51,000 | Between $30,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Precision Drilling | Blank Rome |
| Best paying industry | Government | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a driver/technician and a route driver in terms of educational background:
| Driver/Technician | Route Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between driver/technicians' and route drivers' demographics:
| Driver/Technician | Route Driver | |
| Average age | 36 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 4.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 4% |