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The differences between professional drivers and route drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a professional driver has an average salary of $49,556, which is higher than the $45,492 average annual salary of a route driver.
The top three skills for a professional driver include safety regulations, vehicle inspections and CDL. The most important skills for a route driver are CDL, DOT, and pickup.
| Professional Driver | Route Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $49,556 | $45,492 |
| Hourly rate | $23.82 | $21.87 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 1,043,986 | 266,899 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 27% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A professional driver is responsible for offering driving services as a way of living. Professional drivers are often employed by a company or private household, transporting the employees and clients from one location to another with the utmost safety and comfortability. To be a professional driver, one must have a valid professional driver's license, as well as a clean driving record for efficient job completion. A professional driver should also have comprehensive knowledge of the mechanical industry, especially on inspecting the vehicle's engine and conducting repairs as needed to avoid any delays in services.
A Route Driver is responsible for delivering and transporting supplies or goods within an allotted time. The tasks will vary upon the organization or industry that a Route Driver works for, however, most of the time, the duties will revolve around picking up and dropping off packages at particular destinations ranging from homes to establishments, and communicating with customers. Furthermore, Route Drivers must keep their vehicles in clean and sound condition, report to supervisors should there be any issue, and adhere to the company policies and regulations at all times.
Professional drivers and route drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Driver | Route Driver | |
| Average salary | $49,556 | $45,492 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $73,000 | Between $30,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Blank Rome |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a professional driver and a route driver in terms of educational background:
| Professional Driver | Route Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 27% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between professional drivers' and route drivers' demographics:
| Professional Driver | Route Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.2% Female, 20.8% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 3.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |