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The differences between garbage truck drivers and water truck 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 garbage truck driver and a water truck driver. Additionally, a water truck driver has an average salary of $50,440, which is higher than the $38,257 average annual salary of a garbage truck driver.
The top three skills for a garbage truck driver include CDL, customer service and post-trip inspections. The most important skills for a water truck driver are CDL, asphalt, and post-trip inspections.
Just as the name implies, a garbage truck driver is someone who drives a truck and uses it to collect trash, waste products, and recycling from dumpsters and trash cans on a set route. Their responsibilities include driving the truck along a designated route and handling lifting devices to collect trash. Furthermore, they may have to operate a front-end loader truck that lifts the waste into a container behind the vehicle.
Water truck drivers are professional drivers who are required to drive trucks to transport water for construction projects, oil rigs, and crews working in remote sites. These drivers must demonstrate their ability by driving their trucks in unpredictable weather conditions and navigating in heavy traffics. They must conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections while performing preventive maintenance on their trucks to ensure safety while driving. Water truck drivers must also check all load documents to ensure that they are accurate and received the required signatures for pickup and delivery.
Garbage truck drivers and water truck drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Garbage Truck Driver | Water Truck Driver | |
| Average salary | $38,257 | $50,440 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $50,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Trucking Partners | MBI Energy Services |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a garbage truck driver and a water truck driver in terms of educational background:
| Garbage Truck Driver | Water Truck Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 60% | High School Diploma, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between garbage truck drivers' and water truck drivers' demographics:
| Garbage Truck Driver | Water Truck Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1% | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 4.0% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 3.7% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |