What do truck, bus and rail jobs pay, and how do you start?

Driving and moving freight is the widest door in our data when you count openings. BLS expects 214,500 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, who earn a median $58,640 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025], and 107,200 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] for light truck drivers, who earn $44,860 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]. No other job on these six pages has as many.

The way in is short. For truck drivers, BLS describes the typical way in as: Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]. Truck driving is licensed work, and the licence rules are set by government, not by an employer or by HighPathways. The verification note below says where to check.

Pay is the median annual wage for the whole United States. Figures last pulled October 2, 2026. Each number is followed, in brackets, by its publisher and date.

Buses, rail and the air

Bus drivers earn $59,050 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year and school bus drivers $47,920 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025], and BLS lists a high school diploma with a short period of on-the-job training for both. Rail pays more and has far fewer openings: locomotive engineers earn $81,410 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] with 2,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year, and railroad conductors and yardmasters earn $78,000 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] with 3,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035].

Commercial pilots earn $123,220 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year. BLS lists a postsecondary certificate for them, yet 58.8% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] of the people working as commercial pilots hold a bachelor's degree. The entry BLS lists is the typical one, and it is not always the one the workforce has.

Warehouses and yards

Industrial truck and tractor operators, the forklift and yard jobs, earn $46,420 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year, with 64,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year. BLS lists no formal educational credential for them. Crane and tower operators earn $68,080 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025], with 3,500 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year.

Transportation jobs, side by side

Median pay is the national median annual wage: half the people in the job earn more, half less. Openings a year is a BLS projection that counts people leaving the job as well as new jobs, so it measures turnover, not positions open today. Where we hold no verified figure it says Provisional, never an estimate.

Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers
You inspect your rig, plan the route, and drive long hauls of freight across highways, logging hours and backing trailers safely into docks.
Median pay
$58,640 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
214,500 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+3.8% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Light Truck Drivers
You load your van, follow a delivery route, and drop packages at homes and businesses, scanning parcels and collecting signatures throughout the day.
Median pay
$44,860 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
107,200 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+6.3% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
You steer a transit bus along a fixed route, keep to schedule, collect fares, and help passengers board safely through traffic and weather.
Median pay
$59,050 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
21,100 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+4.1% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Locomotive Engineers
You operate the locomotive's throttle and brakes, watch signals and track conditions, and haul freight or passengers safely across long stretches of railroad.
Median pay
$81,410 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
2,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+0.5% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · Less than 5 years work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Commercial Pilots
You run preflight checks, file flight plans, and fly charter or cargo legs, monitoring instruments and weather while communicating with air traffic control.
Median pay
$123,220 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
5,200 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+5.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
You operate a forklift to load, unload, and stack pallets in a warehouse, moving inventory between shipping docks and storage racks all shift.
Median pay
$46,420 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
64,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+1.5% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
No formal educational credential · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]

Verification required

Licences and credentials

Driving a truck or a bus, running a train and flying a plane each depend on licences or certificates set by state and federal agencies, and the rules differ by job and by state. We do not list them, and nothing on this page certifies that a school or a credential qualifies you. Verify the requirements with the agency that sets them before you pay for training.

CareerOneStop's License Finder lists licensing requirements by state.

What this page cannot tell you

These are the ten jobs we hold a verified pay figure for. First-Line Supervisors of Transportation & Material-Moving Workers is listed with pay and little else:

Ten-year outlook: BLS Employment Projections publishes no 10-year projection for this occupation: its wage code combines three occupations that BLS projects separately.
Typical way in: Provisional

What it does not include: what driving, rail or flight training costs, how drivers are paid, or pay in your state or city.

All 10 transportation jobs we cover

Ordered by median annual pay, highest first. Pay is national.
Job	Median pay	Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Commercial Pilots	$123,220 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Locomotive Engineers	$81,410 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · Less than 5 years work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters	$78,000 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Crane and Tower Operators	$68,080 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · Less than 5 years work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
First-Line Supervisors of Transportation & Material-Moving Workers	$62,890 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Provisional
Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity	$59,050 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers	$58,640 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
School Bus Drivers	$47,920 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators	$46,420 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	No formal educational credential · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Light Truck Drivers	$44,860 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · Less than 1 month on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page was published by someone other than us and is shown as published. Figures last pulled October 2, 2026. A figure we cannot source is marked Provisional, and one the publisher does not measure says so. Both appear on the page itself, not behind a tap.

Median pay CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), 2025. About this source
Projected change in jobs over ten years BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. About this source
Openings a year BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. About this source
Typical way in CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28. About this source
Education people in the job hold CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28. About this source

The provisional flag and every publisher's terms are explained on Where our numbers come from.

Found something wrong? Email hello@highpathways.com and name the page and the figure. It goes to a person at HighPathways.

Wages, time-to-entry, education levels, state licensing and local training programs sourced via CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS; BLS Employment Projections; License Finder; Local Training Finder: NCES IPEDS and US DOL ETP/WIOA), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and operated by the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development. Shown as published.

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. HighPathways has modified some of this information: we shorten O*NET’s official occupation titles so they read the way people say them; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay and cost figures are sourced separately and listed on the Data sources page.

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