A commercial driver’s licence (CDL) could be your key to a range of potentially lucrative career opportunities.
In each year of the last decade, there were more than 200,000 openings for heavy-duty tractor-trailer operators in the U.S. alone, but a CDL won’t limit you to being a truck driver in the logistics industry.
Explore some of the diverse career paths a CDL can open for you.
CDL: A CLOSER LOOK
Commercial vehicles are divided into three classes: Class A, Class B, and Class C. A different type of CDL is required for each class.
If you get a Class A CDL, you can operate a commercial vehicle with a gross combination weight rating (GVWR) or 26,001 or more, as long as the towed weight of the vehicle or vehicles is at least 10,000 pounds. In most cases, this would be an 18-wheeler semi-truck allowed to haul trailers such as dry van, refrigerated, tanker, flatbed, double and triple combination, and livestock trailers.
A Class B CDL allows you to drive vehicles with a GVWR of 26,001 or more, as long as the towed weight of the vehicle or vehicles is less than 10,000. Provided you have the required endorsements, you can drive vehicles such as straight trucks, city or tour buses, school buses, refrigerated trucks, small vans, and dump trucks.
With a Class C CDL, you may operate any vehicle or combination of vehicles designed to transport 16 or more passengers or feature signage for hazardous materials that do not fit the definition of Class A or Class B vehicles. These vehicles must have a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds, and any vehicle towing a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. Examples of Class C vehicles include small trucks towing a trailer, passenger vans, and small HAZMAT trucks.
With this in mind, let’s delve into some of the diverse career paths that you can consider if you have a CDL.
COMMERCIAL TRUCK DRIVER
Whether you work as a commercial truck driver for a trucking company, a manufacturer, a retailer, or another business, the job description is more or less the same. You will transport goods around your city or within state lines.
Some commercial drivers also haul goods across the country, although this is usually the job of long-haul cargo drivers. Working as a commercial truck driver, especially if you are limited to driving within your state, means you can spend more time at home than long-haul drivers do. The average truck driver salary in the U.S. is $63,613 per year.
LONG-HAUL CARGO DRIVER
A CLD-A allows you to become a long-haul cargo driver who specializes in transporting cargo across long distances. This could mean driving across the country or even across the border into Canada.
While this does mean being away from home for long periods, long-haul cargo drivers are in high demand and typically earn higher wages than commercial truck drivers. Long-haul drivers in the U.S. earn an average salary of $71,196 per year.
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR
Getting your CDL could be your first step toward becoming a driving instructor. You will need to complete further training, but once you have those qualifications, you can instruct adults, adolescents, seniors, and people with disabilities and help them obtain their driver’s licence.
Being a driving instructor means you have flexible working hours, which allows you to work other jobs as well. For example, you could be an owner-operator and transport cargo when you’re not giving driving lessons. Driving instructors in the U.S. earn an average of $38,658 per year, although the salary range usually falls between $34,321 and $44,802.
EMERGENCY VEHICLE DRIVER
You can put your CDL to life-saving use by becoming an emergency vehicle driver. In this role, you will transport patients or medical professionals and health workers between locations in emergency situations.
In addition to using the knowledge gained when you trained for and obtained your CDL, you will need to know the local traffic laws and any other regulations relating to emergency vehicles, as well as the various safety protocols for transporting patients and medical workers. The average annual salary of emergency vehicle drivers in the U.S. depends on a variety of factors. Ambulance drivers earn an average salary of $34,988.
TOW TRUCK DRIVER
The right class of CDL can open the door to you becoming a tow truck driver. This would allow you to tow cars or trucks that have broken down or been involved in an accident to a repair facility, the owner’s home, or another location. You could work for a towing company or independently.
In addition to the driving skills needed to maneuver your vehicle as well as the vehicle you are towing without damaging other vehicles, you also need good problem-solving skills so you can figure out the best way of towing vehicles with damage that does not allow them to be towed the usual way. The average tow truck driver salary in the U.S. is $44,664.
HAZMAT DRIVER
You can combine your CDL with special certification to become a hazmat truck driver, which allows you to transport potentially hazardous materials. This can include materials that are corrosive, explosive, or flammable, as well as medical waste.
There’s no getting away from the fact that being a hazmat driver is a potentially dangerous job in which you need to use various protocols when transporting various materials. You may also have to undergo state-mandated training that addresses the transportation and management of hazardous loads and what to do when there’s a chemical spill in an accident.
However, the potential dangers of the job are compensated for by higher wages than other drivers receive. The average annual salary of hazmat truck drivers in the U.S. is $62,400 or $30 per hour, although experienced drivers can earn as much as $96,019 per year.
BUS DRIVER
If you enjoy working with people, you could use your CDL to become a bus driver. You can seek employment as a city bus driver and transport passengers around a metropolitan area or with a private company, which gives you opportunities to transport people to other cities or states. You could also be employed as a school bus driver.
Whether you work as a driver for a city’s public transportation department, for a private company, or as a school bus driver, you will fulfil an important function. It’s thanks to your hard work that people are reunited with loved ones, able to enjoy their first vacation in years, gain an education, or travel to new places where they can find new opportunities to make their dreams a reality. The average bus driver salary is $45,290 per year.
If you are looking for career opportunities, a CDL is about more than driving trucks and transporting cargo. Your CDL could pave the way to new revenue streams and experiences that you hadn’t previously considered.