Over-the-road drivers are truckers that drive long-distance routes, as opposed to drivers that make short deliveries in their area. OTR drivers can transport any kind of material, from raw supplies to finished goods. Some OTR drivers have special certifications that allow them to transport Hazmat material. Obviously, the most important skill for an OTR driver is the ability to drive long distances while maintaining road safety standards. OTR drivers also need to load cargo onto the trailer while knowing weight distribution regulations and safety guidelines. They also need to handle the administrative aspect of transporting cargo, such as obtaining the proper signatures and maintaining cargo logs.
To become an Over Road driver, most people only need a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and some driving experience. Many driving schools offer classes to help people earn their CDLs.
OTR drivers earn an average annual salary of $60,909, but that salary comes with a lot of hardship. Many drivers are on the road for days without seeing their families. Sometimes, they drive up to eight hours before they can take a break.
What is an Over The Road Driver?
What Does an Over The Road Driver Do
There are certain skills that many over the road 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, physical health and visual ability.
How To Become an Over The Road Driver
If you're interested in becoming an over the road driver, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 13.0% of over the road drivers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.3% of over the road drivers have master's degrees. Even though some over the road drivers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Over The Road Driver Job Description
Over The Road 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 foreman eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title terminal manager.
Average Salary for an Over The Road Driver
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Over The Road Driver
The role of an over the road 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 over the road driver responsibilities:
- 1. Operate tractor-trailer combination, including doubles
- 1. Maintain customer relations by transporting crews safely
- Operates tractor-tralier combination in a safe
There are several types of over the road 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
Truck Driver
Role:
Remember when you were a little kid and you would move your arm in a pulling down motion every time you passed a large semi-truck? You know that excitement when the drive actually honked? That's actually one of the responsibilites of being a truck driver.
While we're totally kidding, honking at kids (and let's face it, some adults) does make the long road trips a little more fun. After you take a professional truck driving school and obtain your commercial driver's license, then you'll be able to see the country. Imagine all of the cities and towns you'll get to drive through.
- Average Salary: $60,326
- Degree: High School Diploma
Route Driver
Role:
Route drivers work primarily independently, but they report to the dispatcher, and they work closely with them. As a route driver, you are to pick up and deliver products to diverse local customers. Choosing this career path requires constant travel because you will be involved in transporting materials and supplies. Being a route driver entails you to review route sheets daily to know the locations of pickups and deliveries.
Also, you are to maintain logs by filling out delivery and picking up logs accurately and with detailed information. In addition, you are expected to perform vehicle maintenance and communicate with customers. There is no formal training required for this role. You must, however, be able to drive comfortably. To be a successful route driver, you must possess exceptional organizational skills and customer service. Averagely, you will make $15.95 per hour.
- Average Salary: $45,492
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Over The Road Driver Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active over the road driver jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where over the road drivers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Over The Road Driver Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 38,732 | $62,828 |
| 2 | California | 30,526 | $53,766 |
| 3 | Georgia | 23,249 | $70,447 |
| 4 | Illinois | 22,227 | $65,650 |
| 5 | Ohio | 20,817 | $67,334 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 18,162 | $66,798 |
| 7 | Virginia | 13,752 | $67,506 |
| 8 | Indiana | 13,642 | $64,440 |
| 9 | New York | 12,212 | $67,214 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 9,953 | $66,380 |
| 11 | Missouri | 8,216 | $69,794 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 7,756 | $66,929 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 7,706 | $61,098 |
| 14 | Michigan | 7,610 | $64,011 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 7,138 | $67,062 |
| 16 | Alabama | 7,127 | $64,759 |
| 17 | Florida | 6,889 | $64,204 |
| 18 | Colorado | 6,508 | $61,792 |
| 19 | Maryland | 5,998 | $70,022 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 5,825 | $62,803 |
| 21 | Minnesota | 5,464 | $62,176 |
| 22 | Iowa | 5,461 | $59,063 |
| 23 | Kansas | 5,378 | $68,698 |
| 24 | Louisiana | 4,995 | $63,087 |
| 25 | Arizona | 4,936 | $67,863 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 4,851 | $67,626 |
| 27 | Mississippi | 4,805 | $64,641 |
| 28 | West Virginia | 4,387 | $63,857 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 4,084 | $65,906 |
| 30 | New Jersey | 3,899 | $72,092 |
| 31 | Utah | 3,798 | $56,836 |
| 32 | Washington | 3,554 | $54,682 |
| 33 | Oregon | 2,967 | $51,216 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 2,738 | $63,152 |
| 35 | Massachusetts | 2,732 | $70,097 |
| 36 | New Mexico | 2,102 | $57,142 |
| 37 | Connecticut | 1,886 | $70,966 |
| 38 | Delaware | 1,666 | $69,304 |
| 39 | Nevada | 1,535 | $56,771 |
| 40 | South Dakota | 1,457 | $63,095 |
| 41 | Idaho | 1,432 | $48,732 |
| 42 | North Dakota | 1,295 | $67,871 |
| 43 | Montana | 803 | $61,290 |
| 44 | New Hampshire | 783 | $68,654 |
| 45 | Maine | 740 | $64,129 |
| 46 | Rhode Island | 685 | $64,105 |
| 47 | Vermont | 591 | $64,561 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 587 | $68,623 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 161 | $48,517 |
| 50 | Alaska | 149 | $54,937 |
Top Skills For an Over The Road 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, 34.3% of over the road drivers listed cdl on their resume, but soft skills such as hand-eye coordination and physical health are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Over The Road Driver Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Over The Road Driver templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Over The Road Driver resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Over The Road Driver diversity
Over The Road Driver Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among over the road drivers, 11.1% of them are women, while 88.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among over the road drivers is White, which makes up 60.1% of all over the road drivers.
- The most common foreign language among over the road drivers is Spanish at 58.7%.
Online Courses For Over The Road Driver That You May Like
1. Internet Giants: The Law and Economics of Media Platforms
This seven-week course will explore the relationship between law and technology with a strong focus on the law of the United States with some comparisons to laws around the world, especially in Europe. Tech progress is an important source of economic growth and raises broader questions about the human condition, including how culture evolves and who controls that evolution. Technology also matters in countless other ways as it often establishes the framework in which governments interact with...
2. International Water Law
In recent decades, international law has undergone a series of major developments in order to accommodate the many new facets of freshwater management and protection. The adoption of universal, regional and basin instruments highlights how important it is to study the evolution of international water regulations and to be able to identify the main principles in this field. This course aims to provide the necessary background to understand and examine the regulation applicable to transboundary...
3. 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...
Best States For an Over The Road Driver
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an over the road driver. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Over the road drivers make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $72,092. Whereas in Connecticut and Georgia, they would average $70,966 and $70,447, respectively. While over the road drivers would only make an average of $70,097 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. Georgia
$70,447
Avg. Salary
2. Kansas
$68,698
Avg. Salary
3. Ohio
$67,334
Avg. Salary
How Do Over The Road Drivers Rate Their Jobs?
Top Over The Road Driver Employers
Most Common Employers For Over The Road Driver
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Covenant | $75,458 | $36.28 | 442 |
| 2 | Schneider National | $70,052 | $33.68 | 550 |
| 3 | Celadon Group | $69,207 | $33.27 | 139 |
| 4 | Werner Enterprises | $69,010 | $33.18 | 564 |
| 5 | K&B Transportation | $63,725 | $30.64 | 155 |
| 6 | Crete Carrier | $62,991 | $30.28 | 189 |
| 7 | J.B. Hunt Transport Services | $61,756 | $29.69 | 411 |
| 8 | Stevens Transport | $61,720 | $29.67 | 288 |
| 9 | C.R. England | $61,520 | $29.58 | 613 |
| 10 | Western Express | $61,405 | $29.52 | 284 |
Over The Road Driver Videos
