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The differences between professional truck drivers and drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a professional truck driver has an average salary of $48,577, which is higher than the $34,771 average annual salary of a driver.
The top three skills for a professional truck driver include CDL, safety regulations and on-time delivery. The most important skills for a driver are math, basic math, and CDL.
| Professional Truck Driver | Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $48,577 | $34,771 |
| Hourly rate | $23.35 | $16.72 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 739,437 | 1,017,998 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 43% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 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.
Drivers are responsible for safely transporting people, packages, or goods from one destination to another. They should be familiar with the different routes that may be taken to reach the desired goal. They should be expert navigators and may use navigation apps to help them along the way. They should also be familiar with the basic mechanics of the vehicle they are using and the proper maintenance and cleaning needed to ensure that the car is running well. Drivers are expected to have excellent customer relation skills, a strong sense of direction, and superb organizations.
Professional truck drivers and drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Truck Driver | Driver | |
| Average salary | $48,577 | $34,771 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $69,000 | Between $22,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Wellpath | Air Liquide |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a professional truck driver and a driver in terms of educational background:
| Professional Truck Driver | Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between professional truck drivers' and drivers' demographics:
| Professional Truck Driver | Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7% | Male, 83.0% Female, 17.0% |
| 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, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 3.5% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |