How To Become A Sanitation Truck Driver: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sanitation truck driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average sanitation truck driver salary is $37,044. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a sanitation truck driver. Sanitation truck drivers with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 90,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSanitation Truck DriverUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,044

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.76%

Asian 3.32%

Black or African American 13.69%

Hispanic or Latino 20.88%

Unknown 4.51%

White 56.85%

Gender

female 5.29%

male 94.71%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.4

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sanitation truck driver

Explore sanitation truck driver education requirements

Most common sanitation truck driver degrees

High School Diploma

61.1 %

Associate

12.7 %

Diploma

11.5 %

Start to develop specific sanitation truck driver skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	28.01%
Safety Policies	16.03%
Post-Trip	12.63%
Garbage Collection	5.76%
Safety Checks	4.80%

Complete relevant sanitation truck driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sanitation truck drivers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sanitation truck driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sanitation truck driver resumes.

Research sanitation truck driver duties and responsibilities

Manage and expedite the secure transportation and accountability of logistic materials and HAZMAT chemicals to commercial, state and government facilities.
Experience in front load box CNG trucks (compress natural gas) trucks
Follow GPS directives and maintain in constant communication with dispatch when necessary.
Follow GPS directives and maintain in constant communication with dispatch when necessary.

Prepare your sanitation truck driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sanitation truck driver resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sanitation truck driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sanitation truck driver resume templates

Build a professional sanitation truck driver resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your sanitation truck driver resume.