A real day
This comes from the O*NET task lists for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (53-3032.00) and shuttle drivers and chauffeurs (53-3053.00), read October 31, 2026. For vans and package routes, see the delivery jobs guide.
Truck driver:
- Before you move. Check the truck's mechanical and safety gear, inspect the load, and read the bill of lading.
- On the road. Drive, follow route instructions, and log your hours as federal rules require.
- At the dock. Back into position while a crew signals. Couple or uncouple a trailer, connect air and electrical lines, crank landing gear. Get a signature.
- The parts people dislike. Sitting for hours. Waiting at docks. Sleeping in the truck on long-haul runs. BLS calls long-haul trucking "a lifestyle choice" because drivers can be away "for days or weeks at a time" and spend much of it alone (BLS OOH, read October 31, 2026).
Shuttle driver or chauffeur:
- Check the vehicle, then run pickups on a strict schedule. Help riders in and out, lift luggage, and operate a wheelchair lift if you have one. It is more people than miles.
- The parts people dislike. Riders. 35% report unpleasant or angry people every day, and 18% report violent or physically aggressive people every day (O*NET 53-3053.00).
The hours, in plain numbers
The federal limits for truck drivers who carry freight (FMCSA, read October 31, 2026):
Scroll horizontally to view every column.
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Driving | 11 hours, after 10 hours off duty |
| Workday window | No driving after the 14th hour on duty |
| Break | 30 minutes after 8 hours of driving |
| Week | No driving after 60 hours on duty in 7 days, or 70 in 8 days |
| Restart | 34 hours off in a row resets the week |
Those are limits, not targets, but they allow up to 70 on-duty hours in 8 days. Passenger drivers have different limits: 10 hours of driving after 8 off, and a 15-hour on-duty limit.
Share of workers who told O*NET this describes their job (read October 31, 2026):
Scroll horizontally to view every column.
| Demand | Heavy truck drivers |
|---|---|
| Sitting, continually or almost continually | 56% |
| More than 40 hours a week | 80% |
| Irregular schedule that changes with demand or weather | 61% |
| Time pressure, every day | 60% |
| Very hot or cold, every day | 46% |
Truck drivers often work nights, weekends and holidays (BLS OOH). Production workers in truck transportation averaged 40.5 hours a week in August 2026, a preliminary figure (BLS). That average mixes local and long-haul jobs, and BLS does not split them.
How long you are away depends on the job. Local, regional and over-the-road work are different lives. The side-by-side is in local vs regional vs OTR trucking. The catch for beginners: home-every-night jobs often ask for experience. Walmart's private fleet asks for 30 months of full-time Class A driving in the past 36 (read October 31, 2026).
The injury and death numbers. Truck transportation had 2.9 recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in 2024, against 2.3 for all private industry. Days-away cases ran 1.6 against 0.8, twice the average (BLS SOII, 2024). Transit and ground passenger transportation ran 3.4. BLS did not publish a rate for taxi and limousine service.
The bigger number is deaths. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers had 950 fatal work injuries in 2024, at 25.7 per 100,000 full-time workers, against 3.3 for all workers (BLS CFOI, 2024). That is almost eight times the average.
What that means: most days nothing happens. But a crash is the real risk of this job, and you share the road with every other driver. BLS points to traffic accidents (BLS OOH). If you get tired easily or have an untreated sleep problem, take that seriously before you sign anything.
What you would take home
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| Job (BLS code) | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (53-3032) | $19.30 | $28.19 | $38.17 |
| Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs (53-3053) | $13.51 | $17.93 | $26.47 |
| Taxi drivers (53-3054) | $16.66 | $20.24 | $36.44 |
| Transit and intercity bus drivers (53-3052) | $19.25 | $28.39 | $40.72 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025. For your metro, see pay benchmarks.
Overtime is the trap. Federal law exempts many drivers from overtime pay if their duties affect safety on interstate routes and their vehicle is over 10,000 pounds (U.S. DOL Fact Sheet 19, revised November 2009). So 50 hours can pay 50 hours of straight time, not time and a half. Many trucking jobs pay by the mile or a share of the load instead of by the hour. Ask for a real pay stub.
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| Example | Hours | Gross | SS and Medicare | Federal tax | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy truck, median, no overtime, $28.19 | 40 | $1,127.60 | $86.26 | $93.39 | $947.95 |
| Heavy truck, median, no overtime, $28.19 | 50 | $1,409.50 | $107.83 | $140.28 | $1,161.39 |
| Roehl stated average after one year | not stated | $1,435.00 | $109.78 | $145.89 | $1,179.33 |
| Shuttle driver, median, $17.93 | 34 | $609.62 | $46.64 | $31.23 | $531.75 |
Assumptions: single filer, standard W-4, paid weekly, using IRS Publication 15-T (2026). Social Security and Medicare at 7.65% (IRS Topic 751). No state income tax, as in Texas; most states take more. Shuttle hours follow the 33.6-hour average for transit and ground passenger transportation in August 2026, a preliminary figure (BLS). Road meals and showers are not subtracted.
Roehl says drivers with at least a year average $1,435 a week as of September 2026 (read October 31, 2026). That is the carrier's own statement. Divide it by your hours. At a 60-hour week, $1,435 is $23.92 an hour. At 70, it is $20.50. A big weekly number can hide a small hourly one.
Good fit, bad fit
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| Good fit if | Bad fit if |
|---|---|
| Long hours alone sound peaceful | You need people around, or you get restless sitting |
| You can be gone for days and your family is on board | You must be home nightly and have no experience yet |
| You can follow rules exactly: logs, inspections, limits | You have a recent DUI or serious violations |
| You can pass a DOT physical and stay well on the road | You have a health problem that could fail the physical, or poor sleep |
| Shuttle: you enjoy riders and can stay calm with difficult ones | Shuttle: you need more than $17.93 an hour to pay your bills |
How to start
This week: read your state's CDL manual, pull your driving record, and book nothing until you read one training contract line by line. Ask this first:
"What is my home time in the first year? How am I paid: hourly, by the mile, or by share? Am I paid while waiting at a dock? If I leave early, do I owe money for training?"
The real hurdles:
- A CDL. All long-haul drivers must have one (BLS OOH). Steps, time and cost are in how to get a CDL. Some carriers pay you to train: Roehl lists $616 for a full week in its three-week first phase (read October 31, 2026). Compare in paid CDL training.
- Medical card, drug test, Clearinghouse. Carriers must query the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and run a pre-employment drug test. The CDL guide has the rules.
- Age. Interstate work starts at 21 (49 CFR 391.11).
- Your record. Walmart allows no more than two moving violations in three years, with no serious violations or preventable accidents in that time. See fair chance warehouse and driving jobs if you have a conviction.
- Immigration status. Non-domiciled CDLs have narrowed sharply: the non-domiciled CDL rule.
Not ready for any of that? Start with a regular license: driver jobs that do not need a CDL.
Where it can lead
The ladder here is less about titles and more about better freight and more home time.
Scroll horizontally to view every column.
| Next step | National median | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Local or private fleet with experience | Varies | Walmart's 30-month rule shows what those fleets ask |
| Transit bus driver | $28.39 | CDL with passenger endorsement required (BLS OOH) |
| Supervisor, transportation and material moving | $30.23 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Your own truck | Could not confirm | 7% of heavy truck drivers are self-employed (BLS OOH). No BLS earnings figure was found for owner-operators, so treat any claim with care |
BLS projects heavy truck jobs to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 214,500 openings a year (BLS OOH).
Current openings
See driver jobs nationwide. By city: Dallas and Houston. Regular-license routes: delivery jobs.
Source-linked openings
Current source-linked listings could not be confirmed in this sample. Check the category search and each original posting for availability.
How to verify a listing
Every opening on JobPin links to its source posting. Open it and check the CDL class, the home time, how pay is figured, and the experience rule. "Up to" pay is a ceiling. Honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job (FTC, read October 31, 2026). Read any training contract before you sign. More: how JobPin verifies listings.
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