By the time you have a few months of experience, you know this career tests you. Over-the-road drivers live out of trucks headed far from home. Many times they sit through long stretches of heavy traffic and less-than-memorable scenery. In the end, however, trucking can be a remarkably rewarding career. So, if you’ve committed to being a professional driver, then why not make the most money possible? Follow the four-step strategy below to become one of the highest-paid truck drivers.

1. Know Which Markets Hire the Highest-Paid Truck Drivers

The fewer drivers who can do your job, the more money and respect you earn.

If ANY commercial driver can perform a job — and EVERY driver wants it — then recruiters don’t need to look far to fill it. Their inboxes overflow with messages from people who’ll take it on for entry-level pay.

On the other hand, if a truck driving job requires enhanced and highly specialized skills, then the applicant pool shrinks dramatically. Only the member of a small, elite team qualifies to take on such a tough assignment, so it commands premium pay.

A Google search yields plenty of articles about the highest-paid truck drivers, all of which include:

• Heavy haul drivers and others carrying oversize specialty loads
• Ice road truckers
• Hazmat haulers
• Dump truck drivers working in the mining industry
• Tanker drivers

Of course, these jobs demand much more than the average trucking job in terms of experience, skill, dedication, professionalism and risk-taking. That’s why they pay the big bucks!

2. Find Your Niche

It’s easy to figure out where the highest paid truck driver jobs are, but it’s much harder to make a career of one. Which niche you pursue and how far up the chain you travel is a highly personal choice.

Start with an honest assessment of your personality and preferences, including what sort of lifestyle you enjoy.

• How much time do you want to spend on the road, and how often do you need to be home?
• Do you prefer a routine or a challenge? In other words, are you most comfortable doing the same thing every day, or do you find that boring? Do you enjoy always learning and becoming proficient at something new, or is that stressful?
• Where’s your “tipping point” between risk and reward? How much personal responsibility are you willing to assume on the job?

Now dig into that list of highest-paid truck driver jobs. Research the most appealing ones to see which best fits you and the future you imagine for yourself.

3. Sharpen Your Skills

If you accept the challenge of becoming an elite driver, then it’s time to ramp up your career.

1. Start by getting training and miles under your belt. If you just earned your CDL, become the best and safest professional truck driver you can be. Learn the ropes and get used to the lifestyle.
2. Once you’ve been driving over the road for at least a year, look for a company that provides training and experience in your chosen niche. Here at Lone Star, we highly recommend an OTR flatbed driver job, as it offers a path to advancement that stretches to super heavy haul trucking.
3. Work on leveling up, one step at a time, until you bump against the limits of your comfort zone.

If you’re an aspiring heavy haul driver, then this is what advancement might look like:

• After orientation and securement training, get used to keeping an eye on and adjusting tarped loads of building materials on a standard flatbed.
• As you gain experience, tackle the challenge of hauling taller and wider freight on different open-deck trailers.
• Take on increasingly complex loads, together with more demanding federal, state and local regulations. In the process, learn how to deal with routing permits and partner with escorts: first, a flag car, then, as your loads grow larger and heavier, the highway patrol.
• Ultimately, master the challenge of driving heavy haul loads in a specialty market, like highly-sensitive, high-dollar aviation equipment or wind turbines.

4. Become a True Professional

Always make it clear that you care about your job and try to do it well.

• No matter your current level, be sure you’re working for a carrier that does things the right way, and then learn everything you can about doing the same. Carefully follow the direction of managers and mentors to master your job, and then ask what you need to know to move up.
• Guard your safety record. Protecting the public, your load, your equipment and the roadways are among the top priorities of the highest-paid truck drivers and all other transportation professionals. Increasing your earnings involves driving large, valuable or sensitive loads, so earn the rating you’ll need to be entrusted with these.
• Demonstrate that you carefully manage your carrier’s resources. Begin by taking care of your equipment. Earn as many carrier bonuses as possible, and always wisely allocate your time on the job. Respect terminal common spaces, too. Finally, don’t forget your carrier’s most valuable asset: its reputation. You help build or break it whenever you interact with customers or the public.
• Picture yourself down the road, at the peak of your career. How do you look? What attitude and work habits does that “future you” have? As in any field, your managers are more likely to give you a job if you already appear suited to it.

One More Credential for Higher-Paid Truck Drivers

Once you decide which career path to travel, consider broadening your opportunities by adding an endorsement to your CDL.

Endorsements certify that you’ve trained for specific commercial driving jobs. They give you the authority to transport heavy, sensitive, demanding or potentially hazardous cargo and include the following:

• T – Double/Triple Trailers
• H – Hazardous Materials
• N – Tank Vehicles
• X – Tank Vehicle/ Hazardous Materials

When added to your CDL, these additional endorsements demonstrate that you can haul more complex loads than most other truck drivers. As a result, you have a leg up at both getting hired by the carrier of your choice and hauling higher-paying loads.

How Long Does It Take to Become One of the Highest-Paid Truck Drivers?

The answer to “How long does it take to earn more?” is “Not long.” Our beginning Level 1 flatbed drivers have the opportunity to begin advancing immediately.

However, working up to our best super heavy haul truck driving jobs takes years. But it’s worth your while in terms of both earning power and pride.

So, if you’d like your next step to be a high-paying flatbed company driver job, then apply for one of ours now!