You might as well earn the most money possible if you’re going to pursue a career as a truck driver and make the necessary sacrifices, whether you’re doing OTR (long haul) or short haul trucking.
A career as a driver comes with a lot of sacrifices and hardships.
Given the demanding, lengthy hours spent behind the wheel and the frequent travel distances of thousands of miles, this work demands a living wage.
Typically, a “niche market” is where one can find high-paying truck driving positions. A specialized area of the trucking industry is known as a niche market.
Specialized transportation niches may require work that is a little unusual. It frequently includes pricey, sophisticated equipment and top-tier drivers who have undergone extensive training.
This is where the increased pay for driving jobs comes into play.
Various levels of risk and hazard are usually involved in these specialty niches.
For a variety of reasons, not many truckers are drawn to the high-paid truck driver positions in these specialist fields of transportation.
Before we find out what is the highest-paying truck driver job, let’s talk about the basics.
How To Get Qualified For High-Paying Truck Driver Jobs?
More skilled drivers are needed than the usual truck driver who, for instance, transports dry freight loads on a van trailer to earn a higher salary as a truck driver. These are some of the things to consider if you’re interested in the highest-paying truck driving jobs in America:
- Willingness to accept larger risks. Truck drivers who want to get paid higher should be up for the challenge that involves a higher level of risk.
- As mentioned, there is a bigger risk involved, and this carries a higher level of liability.
- A more complicated skill set is needed, tailored to the specialized niche
- Having a spotless driving record and being accident-free is a must
- Solid driving experience. Companies frequently seek out truck drivers with at least five years of successful CDL experience and again, a clean driving record.
- Working in a remote location is a requirement for truck driving jobs. If the employer requires the driver to reside in the location of the job, the cost of living for truckers in such a region may also be significantly higher.
What Is The Highest Paying Truck Driver Job
Private Fleet
The private fleet is an internal truck fleet operation that is frequently organized as a separate firm, working for a parent company whose main line of business is not trucking but rather manufacturing or retail.
For example, Walmart. One of the highest-paying truck driving jobs in the country is available well-known American retail brands. The compensation range for a business truck driver is between $70,000 and $85,000 annually.
Any company that offers a high-paid driving position, including Walmart’s private fleet, requires a clean driving history and a clean criminal check. This means that the driver should have little to no moving violations, no preventable accidents, no significant violations, etc.
The demands are greater than usual, but so is the compensation.
Ice Road Trucking Jobs
As the name suggests, the main job of ice road drivers is to transport cargo during the winter season. Normally, it’s available in places that have harsh and cold weather, such as Canada and Alaska.
Supplies are carried over ice, including frozen rivers, ocean water, lakes, or obstructed roads due to heavy snow.
For a few months of work, ice road trucking jobs can pay drivers anywhere from $20,000 and $75,000. Additionally, it is getting harder and harder to get one of these positions because the TV show glorifies them.
As mentioned, driving on ice roads involves several risks and hazards, including high temperatures, frequent winter storms, and hazardous road conditions.
Tanker/Liquid Hauling
Light, medium, and heavy-duty are the three major sizes of tanker trucks.
They are responsible for transporting dangerous goods including gasoline and a range of corrosive and explosive liquid substances. Although it is dangerous, the pay for the job is good.
Hazmat material-carrying driving jobs typically pay significantly more than the national average.
In addition to transporting hazardous materials, the driver is occasionally exposed to chemical gasses when pumping off harmful substances.
Tanker truck driving jobs can be quite profitable if you work with the right trucking company.
Oversized Loads
A load that exceeds the normal or legal size and/or weight limits for a vehicle to transport on a particular stretch of road, highway, or other transportation infrastructures, such as air freight or water freight, is referred to as an oversize load (or overweight load).
In the United States, an Oversize Load Driver makes a yearly salary of $67,626.
That’s around $32.51 per hour. Depending on the number of miles traveled, this equates to either $1,300 per week or $5,635 per month.
Specialty Car Haulers
A small number of carriers are highly skilled at transporting pricey and antique cars. This might include luxury cars, race cars, collectibles, and other expensive things, typically transported in an enclosed trailer. The high-value cargo must be handled carefully and with great patience by the driver to prevent damage.
These drivers must take extra care even when parked to prevent harm to the load from another driver’s negligence and must adhere to specific protocols to prevent theft.
The annual salary for specialty car hauler drivers is around $82,099.
Mining Industry – Dump Trucks
Trucks for the mining industry
The “behemoth dump trucks” used by some mining corporations pay well for these transportation jobs. Truck drivers employed by several mines in the US, for instance, are paid $58,862 or more yearly.
Team Driving
Some teams are quite successful financially. One of the highest-paying trucking occupations is team driving, hence it’s commonly believed that doing so is the quick and simple path to financial success.
One of the issues with teams is that even while the schedule is theoretically acceptable, the drivers frequently experience burnout and are unable to maintain the frantic, demanding schedule for longer periods.
The carrier’s suggested pay rate and mileage allowance usually sound attractive. The team’s mileage was nonetheless reduced due to loading delays and severe weather.
Couples who are both drivers can perform admirably. They have no duties for home time and can travel for extended periods if necessary.
A team’s capacity to succeed depends on a variety of factors, including how effectively the trucking firm they work for schedules its loads.
Owner Operator
A good livelihood can be made as either an independent owner-operator or an owner-operator who is leased to a trucking firm (not to be confused with a lease operator).
Although truck driving positions as owner-operator might be highly compensated, there is a lot more risk and responsibility involved.
If done properly and run like a real business, the payoff may be profitable.
Union Drivers
Truck drivers who are members of unions earn more money than ordinary drivers.
Drivers are compensated for all of the labor they perform, and unions set a uniform rate of pay.
The payment packages for union drivers typically include increases in the standard of living; as a result, their pay is higher than that of the average truck driver, whose pay is not adjusted for inflation.
