How To Become A Line Driver: What It Is and Career Path

What is a line driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a line driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.84 an hour? That's $49,593 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 90,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLine DriverUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,593

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.3

Growth Rate 4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 3.69%

Black or African American 11.34%

Hispanic or Latino 21.44%

Unknown 4.70%

White 58.02%

Gender

female 13.64%

male 86.36%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress Level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.6

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

1.4

Work Life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a line driver

Explore line driver education requirements

Most common line driver degrees

High School Diploma

52.9 %

Associate

17.9 %

Diploma

13.3 %

Start to develop specific line driver skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	26.58%
DOT	18.46%
OTR	14.00%
LTL	8.36%
Unload Trailers	6.82%

Complete relevant line driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New line drivers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a line driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real line driver resumes.

Research line driver duties and responsibilities

Work in shipyard production carpenter shop building ladders stepstools cabinets and environmental enclosures for epa restrictions.
Teach students how to operate QUALCOMM and how to properly operate the refrigeration unit on the trailer.
Assist with container management and Qualcomm satellite communication systems training.
Answer commercials and general calls, also look for parts on AutoZone systems and place orders for customers.

Prepare your line driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your line driver resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a line driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Line Driver Resume templates

Build a professional Line Driver resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Line Driver resume.

Apply for line driver jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a line driver job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do line drivers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Line Driver reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2022

Pros

Seeing different areas and being left alone. Meeting new people along the way.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Cons

You can make enough money to support your family but you will not be a very big part of that family. Not family oriented, always gone. Missing out on your family's life.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019