Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RC
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). May be required to unload truck. Requires commercial drivers' license. Includes tow truck drivers.
Also called: Driver, Line Haul Driver, Over the Road Driver (OTR Driver), Truck Driver, CDL Driver (Commercial Driver's License Driver), Log Truck Driver, Production Truck Driver, Road Driver.
O*NET 53-3032.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $58,640
- Middle half earn $47,960 to $69,120. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 54% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +4% · As fast as average
- 2,235,100 jobs in 2024, projected 2,324,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Secure cargo for transport, using ropes, blocks, chain, binders, or covers.
- Follow appropriate safety procedures for transporting dangerous goods.
- Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
- Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
- Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
- Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles.
- Obtain receipts or signatures for delivered goods and collect payment for services when required.
- Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
- Active Listening2.9 / 5
- Writing2.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Transportation4.0 / 5
- Public Safety and Security3.9 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service3.7 / 5
- English Language3.6 / 5
- Law and Government3.0 / 5
- Mechanical2.8 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic100
- Investigative15
- Artistic0
- Social6
- Enterprising5
- Conventional52
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- bus driver · DE Omnibusfahrer/Omnibusfahrerin · FR conducteur d’autobus/conductrice d’autobus
- cargo vehicle driver · DE Lastkraftwagenfahrer/Lastkraftwagenfahrerin · FR conducteur de poids lourd/conductrice de poids lourd
- concrete pump operator · DE Betonmischerfahrer/Betonmischerfahrerin · FR conducteur livreur de béton prêt à l’emploi/conductrice livreuse de béton prêt à l’emploi
- dangerous goods driver · DE Gefahrengutkraftfahrer/Gefahrengutkraftfahrerin · FR conducteur routier de matières dangereuses/conductrice routière de matières dangereuses
- refuse vehicle driver · DE Müllwagenfahrer/Müllwagenfahrerin · FR conducteur de benne à ordures/conductrice de benne à ordures
- land-based machinery operator · DE Maschinenbediener für die landwirtschaftliche Produktion/Maschinenbedienerin für die landwirtschaftliche Produktion · FR conducteur d'engins agricoles/conductrice d'engins agricoles
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Bus and coach drivers (8212)117,600 employed
- Street cleaners (9222)14,000 employed
- Crane drivers (8221)11,500 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “営業用大型貨物自動車運転者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥296,200
- Middle half earn ¥248,000 to ¥354,600 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 471,570
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €39,630 |
| Netherlands | €37,567 |
| Austria | €37,304 |
| Sweden | €36,005 |
| Germany | €34,433 |
| Ireland | €32,617 |
| France | €28,550 |
| Italy | €28,330 |
| Spain | €24,409 |
| Portugal | €11,309 |
| Poland | €10,259 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.15. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-3032).
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