A tow truck operator's duties consist of communicating with a dispatcher, driving to the scene of an accident or breakdown, connecting the vehicle to the tow truck, and transporting it back to the service station or junkyard. The driver is usually responsible for attaching the disabled vehicle to the tow truck. Depending on the type of tow truck, this may include using a chain, winch, steering locks, and other devices and affixing lights onto the towed vehicle.
At the very least, applicants must have a valid driver's license and a record of safe driving to become a tow truck operator. Other qualifications vary by state and employer. In general, they should be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Prior work experience isn't typically required, but trucking or automotive repair is always a plus.
Tow truck operators start at an average of $12.00 to $16.00 an hour, depending on employer and experience.
Tow Truck Driver Overview
Tow Truck Driver Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a tow truck driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.03 an hour? That's $35,425 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 99,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Tow Truck Driver Do
There are certain skills that many tow truck 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 communication skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a tow truck driver, we found that a lot of resumes listed 22.4% of tow truck drivers included transport vehicles, while 17.4% of resumes included cdl, and 14.2% of resumes included customer service. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the tow truck driver job title. But what industry to start with? Most tow truck drivers actually find jobs in the retail and hospitality industries.
How To Become a Tow Truck Driver
If you're interested in becoming a tow truck driver, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 3.7% of tow truck drivers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.7% of tow truck drivers have master's degrees. Even though some tow truck drivers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a tow truck driver. When we researched the most common majors for a tow truck driver, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on tow truck driver resumes include diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a tow truck driver. In fact, many tow truck driver jobs require experience in a role such as driver. Meanwhile, many tow truck drivers also have previous career experience in roles such as truck driver or delivery driver.
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Tow Truck Driver Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a tow truck driver can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as driver, progress to a title such as technician and then eventually end up with the title service manager.
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Average Salary for a Tow Truck Driver
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah Tow Truck Driver Tow Truck Driver | AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah | 06/30/2021 06/30/2021 | $37,25306/30/2021 $37,253 |
XXX Tow Truck Driver Tow Truck Driver | XXX XXX | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $34,12206/29/2021 $34,122 |
Enterprise Holdings Tow Truck Driver Tow Truck Driver | Enterprise Holdings Enterprise Holdings | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $45,91406/29/2021 $45,914 |
AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah Insurance Exchange Tow Truck Driver Tow Truck Driver | AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah Insurance Exchange AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah Insurance Exchange | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $37,25306/29/2021 $37,253 |
XXX Tow Truck Driver-Immediately Tow Truck Driver-Immediately | XXX XXX | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $37,00006/29/2021 $37,000 |
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Tow Truck Driver Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Tow Truck Driver. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
10 Best Resume Templates In 2021
Learn How To Write a Tow Truck Driver Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Tow Truck Driver resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
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Top Skills For a Tow Truck 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, 22.4% of tow truck drivers listed transport vehicles on their resume, but soft skills such as hand-eye coordination and physical health are important as well.
- Transport Vehicles, 22.4%
- CDL, 17.4%
- Customer Service, 14.2%
- AAA, 7.7%
- Fuel Delivery, 4.9%
- Other Skills, 33.4% See All Tow Truck Driver Skills
Best States For a Tow Truck Driver
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a tow truck driver. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Minnesota, Washington, and Rhode Island. Tow truck drivers make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $55,099. Whereas in Minnesota and Washington, they would average $54,137 and $53,137, respectively. While tow truck drivers would only make an average of $53,085 in Rhode Island, 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. Minnesota
$54,137
Avg. Salary
2. Rhode Island
$53,085
Avg. Salary
3. Indiana
$45,105
Avg. Salary
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