A Truck Driver-Over-the-Road, more commonly known as an OTR truck driver, travels long routes, transporting goods. OTR drivers operate large vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks and trailers. They plan their routes and load their trucks, handle the documentation of their cargo, and collect payment for their services upon delivery.
Taking on this job will deeply affect every part of your life. This position could not be more different from a 9 to 5 job. It is more of a lifestyle than a job, actually. The further you drive, the more you earn, so if you want to make this project worth your while, you will not be going home very often.
You need no specific education to get hired as an OTR truck driver. A high school diploma will do the trick, and you must be fit to drive a vehicle, obviously. Having clear vision, excellent hearing, good physical health is a must, and of course, the ability to sit for long periods of time, basically all day, every day.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a truck driver-over-the-road. For example, did you know that they make an average of $32.07 an hour? That's $66,696 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 99,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many truck driver-over the roads 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 visual ability.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a truck driver-over-the-road, we found that a lot of resumes listed 39.1% of truck driver-over the roads included cdl, while 36.4% of resumes included otr, and 8.6% of resumes included over-the-road. 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 truck driver-over-the-road job title. But what industry to start with? Most truck driver-over the roads actually find jobs in the transportation and retail industries.
If you're interested in becoming a truck driver-over-the-road, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 8.5% of truck driver-over the roads have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.4% of truck driver-over the roads have master's degrees. Even though some truck driver-over the roads 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 truck driver-over-the-road. When we researched the most common majors for a truck driver-over-the-road, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on truck driver-over-the-road resumes include diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a truck driver-over-the-road. In fact, many truck driver-over-the-road jobs require experience in a role such as truck driver. Meanwhile, many truck driver-over the roads also have previous career experience in roles such as driver or over the road driver.