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The differences between heavy truck drivers and professional 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 heavy truck driver and a professional truck driver. Additionally, a heavy truck driver has an average salary of $54,369, which is higher than the $48,577 average annual salary of a professional truck driver.
The top three skills for a heavy truck driver include CDL, safety rules and hazmat. The most important skills for a professional truck driver are CDL, safety regulations, and on-time delivery.
A heavy truck driver delivers goods and other heavy loads for clients. They transport these goods within a designated route from the manufacturing warehouse to designated store locations. In addition to driving, they determine if their truck complies with the weight or height restrictions on certain bridges and tunnels and modifies routes as necessary.
Professional truck drivers have skills in communication, organization, and navigation, as well as a motivated personality and a good sense of responsibility. Their services are absolutely essential, with the most basic task being driving commercial trucks for transportation of goods and materials to distribution centers. Truck drivers transport everything from automobiles to produce to machinery.
Heavy truck drivers and professional truck drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Heavy Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Average salary | $54,369 | $48,577 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $75,000 | Between $33,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bakersfield, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | B & B Co. | Wellpath |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a heavy truck driver and a professional truck driver in terms of educational background:
| Heavy Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between heavy truck drivers' and professional truck drivers' demographics:
| Heavy Truck Driver | Professional Truck Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9% | Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 3.9% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |