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The differences between water truck drivers and cdl 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 water truck driver and a cdl driver. Additionally, a cdl driver has an average salary of $63,112, which is higher than the $50,440 average annual salary of a water truck driver.
The top three skills for a water truck driver include CDL, asphalt and post-trip inspections. The most important skills for a cdl driver are DOT, CDL-A, and customer service.
| Water Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $50,440 | $63,112 |
| Hourly rate | $24.25 | $30.34 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 860,835 | 784,044 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 50% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A CDL driver is responsible for the transportation of goods from the manufacturing warehouse to specific store locations. CDL drivers' duties include inspecting the items before and after the delivery to ensure that the orders are correct with the right quantity, providing proof of delivery from the receiving customers, following the delivery schedule and report any delays immediately, monitoring the vehicle's engine for efficiency, and escalating concerns of incorrect deliveries and defective items. A CDL driver must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills, following safety procedures and road rules at all times.
Water truck drivers and cdl drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Water Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Average salary | $50,440 | $63,112 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $70,000 | Between $41,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Diego, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Wyoming |
| Best paying company | MBI Energy Services | GCP Applied Technologies |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Retail |
There are a few differences between a water truck driver and a cdl driver in terms of educational background:
| Water Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 50% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between water truck drivers' and cdl drivers' demographics:
| Water Truck Driver | CDL Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |