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The differences between truck operators and water truck drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a truck operator and a water truck driver. Additionally, a water truck driver has an average salary of $50,440, which is higher than the $39,608 average annual salary of a truck operator.
The top three skills for a truck operator include CDL, industrial cleaning and customer service. The most important skills for a water truck driver are CDL, asphalt, and post-trip inspections.
| Truck Operator | Water Truck Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $39,608 | $50,440 |
| Hourly rate | $19.04 | $24.25 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 667,980 | 860,835 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | High School Diploma, 50% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Truck Operators are individuals making a living by driving trucks and heavy goods vehicles such as articulated trucks, semi-trailers, and tankers. They are responsible for administering goods, loading and unloading into the truck, assessing the goods conditions, scheduling transport operations, arranging transport documentations, and inspecting vehicle conditions before starting work. Other duties include checking tires, fuel, oil filters, and oil levels. Truck Operators also supervise delivery operations, vehicle cleaning, tire maintenance, and refueling.
Water truck drivers are professional drivers who are required to drive trucks to transport water for construction projects, oil rigs, and crews working in remote sites. These drivers must demonstrate their ability by driving their trucks in unpredictable weather conditions and navigating in heavy traffics. They must conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections while performing preventive maintenance on their trucks to ensure safety while driving. Water truck drivers must also check all load documents to ensure that they are accurate and received the required signatures for pickup and delivery.
Truck operators and water truck drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Truck Operator | Water Truck Driver | |
| Average salary | $39,608 | $50,440 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $50,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Saint Paul, MN | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Mars | MBI Energy Services |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a truck operator and a water truck driver in terms of educational background:
| Truck Operator | Water Truck Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | High School Diploma, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between truck operators' and water truck drivers' demographics:
| Truck Operator | Water Truck Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8% | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 3.9% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 3.7% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |