What is a Loader/Driver?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a loader/driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.96 an hour? That's $39,446 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 32,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Loader/Driver Do
There are certain skills that many loader/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 alertness, communication skills and mechanical skills.
How To Become a Loader/Driver
If you're interested in becoming a loader/driver, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 14.5% of loader/drivers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.3% of loader/drivers have master's degrees. Even though some loader/drivers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Loader/Driver Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of driver you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title operations manager.
Average Salary for a Loader/Driver
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Loader/Driver
The role of a loader/driver includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general loader/driver responsibilities:
- Ability to safely operate a garbage truck on specified routes to collect solid waste. Waste experience preferred , but not required. Ability to read route sheets
- Employees in this job classification must attend
- Performs complete pre-trip inspection including, but not limited to, checking tire pressure, fluid levels, safety equipment, gauges
There are several types of loader/driver, including:
Driver
Role:
Almost anyone can drive a car, but not everyone gets paid for it. Drivers are responsible for everything from driving customers from point A to point B, to delivering packages to clients, you have a range of what exactly you want to be driving. If you're going to be delivering packages, you'll want to build up your upper body strength in case you have to lift heavy objects.
As far as driving people around, you might want to brush up on your communication skills, either that or blast your music during the ride. Some drivers are especially helpful to tourists who are curious about the area. In these instances, your favorite restaurant or activity might come in useful.
The hours you'll work as a driver can range dramatically. Your work schedule will depend on who you're working for and if you're able to set your own hours. There are some companies where you'll work 60 hours in 7 days, but other companies will only require 40 hours. If there's anything to take away from being a driver, it's that the job is nothing less than interesting.
- Average Salary: $34,771
- Degree: High School Diploma
Delivery Driver
Role:
As a delivery driver, you get to bring happiness to people every day. Everyone loves receiving packages, and most of the time it's probably something off Amazon that they didn't even really need in the first place. But here you are bringing it to them.
In addition to dropping off unneeded packages, the job also requires you to pick up and transport those packages. But that does without saying. Typically, you'll stick with a local region or urban area for your delivery route. While driving a truck for long periods can be tiring, it'll be totally worth it when you see the look on someone's face who's been waiting for their package all day.
- Average Salary: $38,785
- Degree: High School Diploma
Forklift Operator
Role:
As a forklift operator, the majority of your time will be spent riding around on a forklift. You'll use it to move objects around so, unfortunately, there will be no time for any funny business. In fact, you'll probably need to follow some safety rules to ensure no one gets hurt.
There really aren't any formal education requirements, but you will probably need to be trained on how to operate the machine. Since products and materials are shipped at all times, you may need to stay late or even work an overnight shift from time to time.
And you better believe you'll get some overtime hours from being a forklift operator, which will be a nice little surprise when it's payday. Plus, did we mention you get to drive a forklift around. Sure, you have to be careful moving objects and trying to avoid running over your co-workers but, hey, at least you get to drive a forklift.
- Average Salary: $34,213
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Loader/Driver Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active loader/driver jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where loader/drivers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Loader/Driver Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | 8,175 | $41,910 |
| 2 | Ohio | 7,321 | $40,237 |
| 3 | California | 6,579 | $43,106 |
| 4 | Georgia | 5,169 | $33,739 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 4,356 | $48,374 |
| 6 | Texas | 4,253 | $44,441 |
| 7 | Indiana | 3,698 | $39,076 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 3,527 | $38,451 |
| 9 | Michigan | 3,310 | $41,508 |
| 10 | New York | 3,115 | $59,533 |
| 11 | Virginia | 3,074 | $43,657 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 2,956 | $34,778 |
| 13 | Florida | 2,817 | $37,082 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 2,732 | $36,800 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 2,690 | $39,549 |
| 16 | New Jersey | 2,521 | $53,190 |
| 17 | Maryland | 2,293 | $47,647 |
| 18 | Missouri | 2,033 | $40,228 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | 1,922 | $52,404 |
| 20 | Alabama | 1,860 | $35,084 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 1,759 | $39,936 |
| 22 | Minnesota | 1,686 | $45,056 |
| 23 | Iowa | 1,583 | $42,906 |
| 24 | Washington | 1,574 | $43,827 |
| 25 | Kansas | 1,155 | $38,682 |
| 26 | Louisiana | 1,131 | $39,067 |
| 27 | Oregon | 1,129 | $47,224 |
| 28 | Arizona | 1,105 | $43,802 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 1,052 | $35,384 |
| 30 | Colorado | 1,039 | $40,240 |
| 31 | Mississippi | 1,009 | $34,502 |
| 32 | Utah | 994 | $41,857 |
| 33 | Connecticut | 959 | $46,412 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | 906 | $34,359 |
| 35 | West Virginia | 800 | $39,509 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 566 | $36,933 |
| 37 | Delaware | 519 | $48,405 |
| 38 | New Hampshire | 475 | $43,978 |
| 39 | New Mexico | 439 | $39,306 |
| 40 | Nevada | 407 | $43,703 |
| 41 | Idaho | 379 | $42,406 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 373 | $51,845 |
| 43 | Maine | 360 | $50,402 |
| 44 | South Dakota | 331 | $41,121 |
| 45 | North Dakota | 258 | $48,140 |
| 46 | Montana | 248 | $39,214 |
| 47 | Vermont | 245 | $42,160 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 168 | $42,101 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 142 | $49,345 |
| 50 | Alaska | 106 | $58,222 |
Top Skills For a Loader/Driver
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 28.3% of loader/drivers listed cdl on their resume, but soft skills such as alertness and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Loader/Driver Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Loader/Driver templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Loader/Driver resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Loader/Driver diversity
Loader/Driver Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among loader/drivers, 7.6% of them are women, while 92.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among loader/drivers is White, which makes up 59.8% of all loader/drivers.
- The most common foreign language among loader/drivers is Spanish at 76.5%.
Online Courses For Loader/Driver That You May Like
1. Truck Dispatcher Training (STEP BY STEP, work independently)
FULL COURSE- How to Become a Truck Dispatcher, how to book loads for semi-trucks and start your own Dispatch Company...
2. Truck Dispatcher - Working with owner operators
Work and earn...
3. OSHA Safety Pro: Personal Protective Equipment
Impress management or get that job with you your ability to display life and dollar saving work place safety practices...
Best States For a Loader/Driver
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a loader/driver. The best states for people in this position are New York, Alaska, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Loader/drivers make the most in New York with an average salary of $59,533. Whereas in Alaska and New Jersey, they would average $58,222 and $53,190, respectively. While loader/drivers would only make an average of $52,404 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Rhode Island
$51,845
Avg. Salary
2. New Jersey
$53,190
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$59,533
Avg. Salary
How Do Loader/Drivers Rate Their Jobs?
Top Loader/Driver Employers
Most Common Employers For Loader/Driver
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulkmatic Transport | $53,998 | $25.96 | 11 |
| 2 | Waste Management | $51,000 | $24.52 | 116 |
| 3 | Waste Pro | $50,610 | $24.33 | 12 |
| 4 | Rumpke Waste & Recycling | $48,615 | $23.37 | 13 |
| 5 | Ray's Trash Service | $47,562 | $22.87 | 8 |
| 6 | UPS | $46,743 | $22.47 | 480 |
| 7 | Wimsatt Building Materials | $44,710 | $21.50 | 7 |
| 8 | Waste Connections | $44,582 | $21.43 | 45 |
| 9 | Republic Services | $39,475 | $18.98 | 46 |
| 10 | Cedar Grove | $39,189 | $18.84 | 13 |
Loader/Driver Videos
