Annual Average Salary Information
Annual Average Salary: $41,340
What does a Transportation earn?
Transportation professionals, on average, earn $41,340 per year in the U.S.. They help people and businesses move their goods and services from one destination to another. Specialised roles in the transportation industry include flight technicians, logistics analysts, and port operators. Each of these roles play a key part in connecting customers with their desired goods and services.
How to earn more as a Transportation
To become a transportation professional, you will need a degree in logistics, transportation management, civil engineering, or economics. Alternatively, you can go through a degree apprenticeship. To increase your earning potential, you can consider specialising in one particular area, such as logistics planning or transport safety, or move into management. You may also consider self-employment or setting up your own transportation business.
Transportation responsibilities
The average transportation salary for company jobs varies and may depend on whether you work in one of the highest-paying cities and the responsibilities of the job title. The job title could be for an entry-level position or a senior or management role, such as Light Truck Driver, Airline Pilot, Pump Operator, Rail Yard Engineer, and Ship Captain.
Most transportation department careers secure average salaries and a good base salary for completing responsibilities and duties such as driving to other locations, overseeing transport logistics, providing customer service, loading vehicles, and fixing or maintaining trucks, ships, or planes.
Transportation Department Leaders earn higher salaries focusing on delegating tasks, measuring employee performance, hiring employees and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Skills and education level
Your education level will also affect your pay and average rate per hour. Most transportation companies will expect you to have a high school diploma for entry-level jobs. You should be paid higher salaries and compensation for job openings where employers request a high school, associate, bachelor's degree, or master’s.
If you do not have a USA high school diploma, you can take the General Education Development (GED) test to show you have high school graduate-level knowledge. You can take the GED test within America or from 90 countries around the world.
The top skills for transportation professionals include knowledge of road law and safety, attention to detail, geographical knowledge, physical fitness, good time management, organization, teamwork, basic computer proficiency, and good customer service skills.
What to expect from Transportation careers
You can start your transportation career as a trainee or junior Driver, Material Mover, Ship Loader, or Vehicle Cleaner. Graduate-level jobs are also available, with the average salary reflecting the education attained. You will most likely be expected to work in a vehicle or logistics office. Your workload and variety of tasks may be dictated by the company size and industry. Smaller companies often prefer professionals who have broader knowledge and are able to complete a wide variety of tasks. Larger companies and warehouses may see you specialize in one or two core tasks, responsibilities, or duties.
While hours might vary across industries, you could drive, load, or service vehicles and passengers during the day, night, or at weekends. You will be expected to be adaptable and efficient, handle private client and customer data, and follow company policies, guidelines, and state or U.S. regulations.
The working day often follows a similar routine but you will need to leverage your expertise and initiative to handle vehicle breakdowns, service issues, customer complaints, and rush orders.
Transportation job title
There are numerous job titles within the transportation industry. Examples of transportation-related job titles include Ship Engineer, Refuse Collector, Taxi Driver, Crane Operator, and Order Filler. Specialized roles requiring industry knowledge and a more significant experience level command higher salaries and pay.
You can search for transportation vacancies and salaries on Checkasalary.com for positions including Motorboat Operator, Packers, Machine Feeder, and Ambulance Driver.
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Highest-paying locations for Transportation jobs
Transportation jobs in America can offer varying pay depending on location. Use our Salary Calculator to compare salaries for different locations such as California, Colorado, Virginia, Denver, and more. Relocating to a higher-paying area may be an option, but even staying in your current location can potentially result in better pay by working for an inner-city employer or having a shorter commute. Use our salary data to determine if employers in rural or urban areas are offering above, below, or average compensation for transportation jobs.
Transportation professional development
Earning potential in a profession can vary based on an individual’s career level and experience. Entry-level positions offer lower pay, while experienced workers, senior staff, and management earn more. Graduates with relevant qualifications may start with a higher salary. To improve your earning potential, consider taking training opportunities such as workshops or online courses. Our salary data provides an understanding of the hourly and annual wages for junior, intermediate, and senior-level positions in the industry.
Transportation work experience
Obtaining prior work experience in your chosen career path can significantly enhance your chances of getting hired and earning a competitive salary. Practical experiences such as internships, apprenticeships, shadowing, and vacation work can provide valuable skills and knowledge in the field. If it is not possible to find work experience directly for your prospective job, showcasing transferable skills gained from other experiences can also be beneficial to potential employers and demonstrate your experience level.
Transportation working hours
Working hours for your transportation job and career can have an impact on monthly pay and salaries. Companies of different sizes may offer higher overtime pay or additional compensation for working non-traditional hours, such as evenings, weekends, or holidays. The type of employment, such as part-time, full-time, permanent, temporary, or contract, can also affect the salary received and should be considered when evaluating compensation fairness.
Transportation salary negotiations
To be well-prepared for salary negotiations with transportation employers, it’s crucial to research and understand the typical salaries and other compensation factors, such as average bonus, for prospective positions. Use our salary comparison tool and perform searches for different job titles and locations to determine your worth.
Keep in mind that compensation is not only limited to financial benefits and performance-related commission, and consider other benefits such as the ability to work from home, additional paid vacation, gym membership, or private healthcare.
Annual salary, median salary, and taxes
When you review the median salary or transportation annual salary for a role, it is vital to remember that you will pay taxes on salaries paid. When you receive your pay, you may be liable for various employment taxes, either deducted by your employer or required by self-payment. U.S. government taxes can include Federal Income Tax, Federal and State Unemployment Tax, Social Security and Medicare Tax, and Additional Medicare Taxes.
Transportation Job search
If you are seeking a better salary, start your transportation occupation job search today. You can search for jobs by job title and set up job alerts to get notified as soon as an employer posts their vacancy.