Career Explorer Transport and logistics
Human edge, growing
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). May be required to unload truck. Requires commercial drivers' license. Includes tow truck drivers.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 74% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.8% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $58,640
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.8%
- Openings a year
- 214,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 2.2 million
- Usual route in
- College certificate, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools
- Examine materials or documentation for accuracy or compliance
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate transportation equipment or vehicles
- Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing
- Maintain vehicles in working condition
What the work looks like
- Secure cargo for transport, using ropes, blocks, chain, binders, or covers.
- Follow appropriate safety procedures for transporting dangerous goods.
- Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
- Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
- Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as more drivers are needed to deliver components and materials to construction sites.
- Fewer of these jobs, as the industry adopts autonomous vehicles such as hauling trucks.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Aircraft service attendantsHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +5.6%
- Pump operators, except wellhead pumpersHuman edge, growing, Index 79, +4.3%
- Transportation workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 83, +4.0%
- Rail transportation workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 80, +4.4%
Also known as: Driver, Line Haul Driver, Over the Road Driver (OTR Driver), Truck Driver, CDL Driver (Commercial Driver's License Driver), Log Truck Driver, Production Truck Driver, Road Driver.
Is this career on your child's list?
Build a free Career Playbook matched to your child, or get a 90-day Action Plan with dated next steps, written for your child by name.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.