For young Australians weighing up their career options, trucking is a profession that rewards responsibility and skill with salaries that outpace many other jobs.
ATA career data shows that with only a year on red Ps, a driver can start earning more than $26 per hour in a light rigid truck. By 20, with the right licences, drivers can be behind the wheel of multicombination vehicles like B-doubles and road trains, earning more than $41 per hour on long-distance runs – translating into annual incomes of $88,000 or more.
Compare this with other career paths:
- A mechanic begins at $29,500 as a first-year apprentice.
- A business professional starts at $58,000, only after three years of study and thousands in fees.
- A gym instructor with a Certificate III in Fitness earns around $40,300 when starting out.
The trucking industry is also working hard to improve training and inclusion. At the multicultural drivers’ roundtable, participants called for consistent national licensing standards and welcomed South Australia’s approach of requiring supervised hours for an MC licence.
This ensures new drivers are well-prepared for the realities of long-distance and multicombination driving, while also opening pathways for those keen to build a career quickly without lengthy university study.
ATA initiatives, supported by sponsors such as Volvo Trucks, bp, NTI, Teletrac Navman and the NHVR, are also focused on tackling racial abuse, improving driver wellbeing, and creating fairer workplaces.
For young people considering their future, trucking isn’t just a job – it’s a profession with a strong career path, competitive pay, and a growing demand for skilled operators.
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