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

What is a transport truck driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A transport truck driver works for a transportation company delivering goods across the country. They can deliver consumer goods within a local area or criss-cross the country delivering hazardous materials. No matter what they deliver or where they drive, transport truck drivers need to have excellent driving skills. They need to follow accurate routes and make timely deliveries so that customers receive their goods when they need them. Transport truck drivers also need to have an excellent eye for road safety rules in order to prevent accidents that damage the company vehicle and could seriously injure other drivers. Besides driving, transport truck drivers are responsible for safely loading and unloading their vehicles and developing positive relationships with customers.

Transport truck drivers need to have a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Some transport truck drivers also get certification in transporting HAZMAT materials. Formal education is less important, and only a few transport truck drivers have a bachelor's degree.

Transport truck drivers make a lot of sacrifices to do their job, such as spending many days away from their families, but they earn an average salary of $83,855 a year.

ScoreTransport Truck DriverUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,936

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%

Asian 3.93%

Black or African American 12.57%

Hispanic or Latino 19.87%

Unknown 4.84%

White 57.96%

Gender

female 9.94%

male 90.06%

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 transport truck driver

Explore transport truck driver education requirements

Most common transport truck driver degrees

High School Diploma

44.8 %

Associate

20.5 %

Bachelor's

13.4 %

Start to develop specific transport truck driver skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	53.55%
Traffic Violations	22.24%
Customer Service	8.40%
Customer Locations	6.13%
Emergency Equipment	3.99%

Complete relevant transport truck driver training and internships

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

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed transport truck driver usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed transport truck driver in most of states. 13 states require transport truck 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 transport 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.
Certify CDL with all endorsements.
Deliver loads in tractor/trailer OTR in timely manner.
Prompt delivery of materials using GPS navigation software

Prepare your transport truck driver resume

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

Build a professional transport 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 transport truck driver resume.