How To Become An Industrial Truck Driver: What It Is and Career Path

What is an industrial truck driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an industrial truck driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.26 an hour? That's $58,782 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreIndustrial Truck DriverUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,782

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%

Asian 2.52%

Black or African American 16.04%

Hispanic or Latino 17.80%

Unknown 4.41%

White 58.40%

Gender

female 12.30%

male 87.70%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an industrial truck driver

Explore industrial truck driver education requirements

Most common industrial truck driver degrees

High School Diploma

45.7 %

Associate

25.7 %

Bachelor's

14.3 %

Start to develop specific industrial truck driver skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	22.64%
CDL	17.99%
Trip Inspections	16.68%
Unload Trucks	6.39%
Vacuum Truck	6.20%

Complete relevant industrial truck driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New industrial truck drivers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an industrial truck driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real industrial truck driver resumes.

Research industrial truck driver duties and responsibilities

Manage and expedite the secure transportation and accountability of logistic materials and HAZMAT chemicals to commercial, state and government facilities.
Operate lift beams and swivel-hooks, hoists, and elevating platforms, manually or mechanically.
Perform safety inspections in truck as required by DOT.9.
Simulate and gather data on connectors and wire resistance via LabVIEW software tool.

Prepare your industrial truck driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your industrial truck driver resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an industrial truck driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable industrial truck driver resume templates

Build a professional industrial truck driver resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your industrial truck driver resume.

Apply for industrial truck driver jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an industrial truck driver job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do industrial truck drivers rate their job?

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Industrial truck driver reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2021

Pros

i have experience in that line. it is best line for my future life

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Cons

You can make enough money to support your family but you will not be a very big part of that family. Not family oriented, always gone. Missing out on your family's life.