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Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers

Also called: Truck Driver, Driver, Over the Road Driver (OTR Driver), Line Haul Driver

Where in the military? In the military: see titles from the Air Force, Army, or Marine Corps.

What they do:
Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). May be required to unload truck. Requires commercial drivers' license.
On the job, you would:
  • Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
  • Maneuver trucks into loading or unloading positions, following signals from loading crew and checking that vehicle and loading equipment are properly positioned.
  • Collect delivery instructions from appropriate sources, verifying instructions and routes.

Knowledge

Transportation
  • movement of people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road
Safety and Government
  • public safety and security
Engineering and Technology
  • mechanical
Business
  • customer service

Skills

Basic Skills
  • keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Abilities

Controlled Movement
  • quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat
  • use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down
Vision
  • see details that are far away
  • decide which thing is closer or farther away from you or decide how far away it is from you
Spatial
  • know where things are around you
  • imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed
Hand and Finger Use
  • keep your arm or hand steady

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Self Control
  • Independence
  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Dependability
  • Stress Tolerance

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Data base user interface and query software
  • Easy Trucker software
  • Fog Line Software Truckn2004
Route navigation software
  • ALK Technologies PC*Miler
  • MarcoSoft Quo Vadis
Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
  • PeopleNet

Education

Education: (rated 2 of 5)
high school diploma or
some college
usually needed

Get started on your career:

Find Training Find Certifications Registered Apprenticeship Eligible for the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program

Job Outlook

Bright Outlook
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
Salary
$37,930
per year, on average
Check out my state Local Salary Info Find Jobs
Green
This work is part of the green economy.

Explore More

See more details at O*NET OnLine about heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.