Light Truck Drivers
Drive a light vehicle, such as a truck or van, with a capacity of less than 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), primarily to pick up merchandise or packages from a distribution center and deliver. May load and unload vehicle.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Writing
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Transportation
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
- Mechanical
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
What the work involves
- Obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures.
- Inspect and maintain vehicle supplies and equipment, such as gas, oil, water, tires, lights, or brakes, to ensure that vehicles are in proper working condition.
- Report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles.
- Present bills and receipts and collect payments for goods delivered or loaded.
- Load and unload trucks, vans, or automobiles.
- Verify the contents of inventory loads against shipping papers.
- Maintain records, such as vehicle logs, records of cargo, or billing statements, in accordance with regulations.
- Read maps and follow written or verbal geographic directions.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (74% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (44.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (43%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Light Truck Drivers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 64% of occupations compared | 79% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 76% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 91% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 92% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 75% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 86% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 61% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 55% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 9.13%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.05%
- Contact with others most of the time: 6.86%
- Constant contact with others: 78.96%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 11.35%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 16.15%
- Very important: 13.94%
- Extremely important: 58.56%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 23.17%
- Fairly important: 1.54%
- Important: 12.79%
- Very important: 30.03%
- Extremely important: 32.47%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 17.42%
- Very little freedom: 15.61%
- Limited freedom: 10.79%
- Some freedom: 28.16%
- A lot of freedom: 28.02%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 6.54%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 1.03%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.11%
- Every day: 56.32%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 36.31%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.39%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.3%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.78%
- Every day: 11.22%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 26.01%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 14.95%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 43.37%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 4.45%
- Every day: 11.22%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 12.82%
- Fairly serious: 20.55%
- Serious: 33.99%
- Very serious: 11.26%
- Extremely serious: 21.37%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 53-3033.00 · SOC 53-3033 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8