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.

Learn more about what a Loader/Driver does

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.

Learn More About How To Become a Loader/Driver

Loader/Driver Career Paths

Average Salary for a Loader/Driver

Loader/Drivers in America make an average salary of $39,446 per year or $19 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $59,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $26,000 per year.
Average Loader/Driver Salary
$39,446 Yearly
$18.96 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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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.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Loader/Driver Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Illinois8,175$41,910
2Ohio7,321$40,237
3California6,579$43,106
4Georgia5,169$33,739
5Pennsylvania4,356$48,374
6Texas4,253$44,441
7Indiana3,698$39,076
8North Carolina3,527$38,451
9Michigan3,310$41,508
10New York3,115$59,533
11Virginia3,074$43,657
12South Carolina2,956$34,778
13Florida2,817$37,082
14Tennessee2,732$36,800
15Wisconsin2,690$39,549
16New Jersey2,521$53,190
17Maryland2,293$47,647
18Missouri2,033$40,228
19Massachusetts1,922$52,404
20Alabama1,860$35,084
21Kentucky1,759$39,936
22Minnesota1,686$45,056
23Iowa1,583$42,906
24Washington1,574$43,827
25Kansas1,155$38,682
26Louisiana1,131$39,067
27Oregon1,129$47,224
28Arizona1,105$43,802
29Arkansas1,052$35,384
30Colorado1,039$40,240
31Mississippi1,009$34,502
32Utah994$41,857
33Connecticut959$46,412
34Oklahoma906$34,359
35West Virginia800$39,509
36Nebraska566$36,933
37Delaware519$48,405
38New Hampshire475$43,978
39New Mexico439$39,306
40Nevada407$43,703
41Idaho379$42,406
42Rhode Island373$51,845
43Maine360$50,402
44South Dakota331$41,121
45North Dakota258$48,140
46Montana248$39,214
47Vermont245$42,160
48Wyoming168$42,101
49Hawaii142$49,345
50Alaska106$58,222

Loader/Driver Education

Loader/Driver Majors

25.2 %

Loader/Driver Degrees

High School Diploma

48.1 %

Associate

17.9 %

Bachelors

14.5 %

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.

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Loader/Driver diversity

Loader/Driver Gender Distribution

Male
Male
92%
Female
Female
8%

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%.

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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

Total Loader/Driver Jobs: 373
Highest 10% Earn:
$85,000
Location Quotient:
0.9

2. New Jersey

Total Loader/Driver Jobs: 2,521
Highest 10% Earn:
$89,000
Location Quotient:
0.93

3. New York

Total Loader/Driver Jobs: 3,115
Highest 10% Earn:
$99,000
Location Quotient:
0.71
Full List Of Best States For Loader/Drivers

How Do Loader/Drivers Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Loader/Driver Employers

Most Common Employers For Loader/Driver

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Bulkmatic Transport$53,998$25.9611
2Waste Management$51,000$24.52116
3Waste Pro$50,610$24.3312
4Rumpke Waste & Recycling$48,615$23.3713
5Ray's Trash Service$47,562$22.878
6UPS$46,743$22.47480
7Wimsatt Building Materials$44,710$21.507
8Waste Connections$44,582$21.4345
9Republic Services$39,475$18.9846
10Cedar Grove$39,189$18.8413

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