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The differences between professional truck drivers and cdl drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a professional truck driver and a cdl driver. Additionally, a cdl driver has an average salary of $63,112, which is higher than the $48,577 average annual salary of a professional truck driver.
The top three skills for a professional truck driver include CDL, safety regulations and on-time delivery. The most important skills for a cdl driver are DOT, CDL-A, and customer service.
| Professional Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $48,577 | $63,112 |
| Hourly rate | $23.35 | $30.34 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 739,437 | 784,044 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Professional truck drivers have skills in communication, organization, and navigation, as well as a motivated personality and a good sense of responsibility. Their services are absolutely essential, with the most basic task being driving commercial trucks for transportation of goods and materials to distribution centers. Truck drivers transport everything from automobiles to produce to machinery.
A CDL driver is responsible for the transportation of goods from the manufacturing warehouse to specific store locations. CDL drivers' duties include inspecting the items before and after the delivery to ensure that the orders are correct with the right quantity, providing proof of delivery from the receiving customers, following the delivery schedule and report any delays immediately, monitoring the vehicle's engine for efficiency, and escalating concerns of incorrect deliveries and defective items. A CDL driver must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills, following safety procedures and road rules at all times.
Professional truck drivers and cdl drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Average salary | $48,577 | $63,112 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $69,000 | Between $41,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Wyoming |
| Best paying company | Wellpath | GCP Applied Technologies |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Retail |
There are a few differences between a professional truck driver and a cdl driver in terms of educational background:
| Professional Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between professional truck drivers' and cdl drivers' demographics:
| Professional Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7% | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |