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

What is a trailer driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a trailer driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.42 an hour? That's $50,801 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 90,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTrailer DriverUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,801

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.79%

Asian 3.55%

Black or African American 12.56%

Hispanic or Latino 18.72%

Unknown 4.63%

White 59.75%

Gender

female 7.03%

male 92.97%

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 trailer driver

Explore trailer driver education requirements

Most common trailer driver degrees

High School Diploma

47.3 %

Associate

19.5 %

Diploma

13.6 %

Start to develop specific trailer driver skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	27.22%
DOT	18.94%
OTR	9.60%
Delivery Schedules	6.68%
Post-Trip Inspections	6.39%

Complete relevant trailer driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New trailer 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 trailer driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real trailer driver resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed trailer driver usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed trailer driver in most of states. 13 states require trailer drivers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Arkansas	Specific course required	State exam required	Commercial Driver (Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver)
California	-	State exam required	Commercial Driver License
Idaho	-	State exam required	Commercial Drivers
Massachusetts	-	State exam required	COMMERCIAL DRIVERS
Missouri	-	State exam required	Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer

Research trailer driver duties and responsibilities

Check all load documentation for accuracy, inspect load and receive required signatures for pickup and delivery.
Drive flatb with sand sacs from train depot to load site.

Prepare your trailer driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your trailer 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 trailer 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 trailer driver resume templates

Build a professional trailer 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 trailer driver resume.