The vast majority of goods that are shipped across the United States are moved by truck. Such a huge industry requires thousands of truck drivers and logistical workers that make sure goods get to where they need to be. A lead driver is one such logistical worker crucial in the shipping industry.
A lead driver probably has prior experience as a truck driver, but their main duties go way beyond driving. They supervise truck drivers and take care of logistical tasks that help truckers do their jobs, such as writing dispatch reports, managing communications, and controlling the accuracy of shipments.
Lead drivers also have an important responsibility to the truckers that they manage. They help train new drivers to follow safety procedures and make sure that all trucks are actually fit for use. Trucking is an important but also dangerous industry, and a lead driver needs to be a highly attentive, safety-oriented person to manage a smooth shipping operation and keep their drivers safe.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Lead Driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.3 an hour? That's $42,230 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 99,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Lead Drivers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Hand-eye coordination, Hearing ability and Physical health.
If you're interested in becoming a Lead Driver, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 18.0% of Lead Drivers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.4% of Lead Drivers have master's degrees. Even though some Lead Drivers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Lead Driver. When we researched the most common majors for a Lead Driver, we found that they most commonly earn High School Diploma degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Lead Driver resumes include Bachelor's Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Lead Driver. In fact, many Lead Driver jobs require experience in a role such as Driver. Meanwhile, many Lead Drivers also have previous career experience in roles such as Truck Driver or Delivery Driver.