The Average Salaries of Truck Drivers Who Pick Up Scrap Metal by the Load

Scrap metal truck drivers earn more in some East and West coast states.
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The scrap metal business has created jobs for many entrepreneurs, as they can take these metals to scrap yards and earn money with them. Truck drivers then pick up scrap metal by the load and transport it to recycling centers or ship loading docks for export. These drivers usually are employed by scrap processing companies or trucking firms. If you can picture yourself driving a large rig and transporting bulky scrap metal, you might enjoy working as a scrap metal load truck driver. Your salary will vary depending on the state or district in which you work.

Salary at $30,000

    The average annual salary for a scrap metal load truck driver was $30,000 as of 2013, according to the job site Simply Hired. To get a job as a scrap metal load truck driver, you need a commercial driver's license, or CDL, as you likely will drive a larger tractor-trailer truck. To obtain a CDL license, you need to pass both a knowledge and driver's test, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most tractor-trailer truck drivers have at least high school diplomas and two or more years of related job experience. Other essential qualifications are hand-eye coordination, physical stamina and good overall health.

Top Pay in D.C.

    Average salaries for scrap metal load truck drivers varied the most in the South region in 2013, according to Simply Hired, where they earned the highest salaries of $47,000 in Washington, D.C., and the lowest of $23,000 in Mississippi. If you worked as a scrap metal load truck driver in Maine or Massachusetts, you'd earn an average of $27,000 or $36,000 per year, respectively -- the lowest and highest salaries in the Northeast. In the Midwest, you would make $23,000 to $32,000 in South Dakota or Minnesota, respectively. These truck drivers earned $24,000 in Montana and $34,000 in both Alaska and California, which were the lowest and highest salaries in the West.

Earn Less Than Other Truck Drivers

    While Simply Hired reported salaries of $30,000 for scrap metal load truck drivers in 2013, average annual salaries for all tractor-trailer truck drivers were $40,360 as of May 2012, according to the BLS. Top earners made more than $58,910 annually. Tractor-trailer truck drivers earned some of their highest salaries in the couriers and express delivery services industry at $58,140. Those in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry made $56,770 per year.

Excellent Job Growth

    The BLS estimates a 21 percent increase in employment for all heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, including scrap metal load drivers, from 2010 to 2020, which is faster than the 14 percent national rate for all occupations. Jobs for all tractor-trailer truck drivers will increase as the economy grows because domestic and foreign companies may recycle more scrap metal and use it to produce new products.

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