Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Skills & Knowledge
Most Important Skills for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
- Operating Equipment—Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Monitoring Equipment—Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Listening—Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Managing Time—Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Monitoring Performance—Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Speaking—Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Thinking Critically—Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Solving Complex Problems—Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Controlling Quality—Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Most Important Knowledge Areas for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
- Transportation—Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Customer and Personal Service—Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Public Safety and Security—Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Mechanical—Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Geography—Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Administration and Management—Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Law and Government—Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Interests
Different careers may be a good fit for your personality or interests. This career is:
- Realistic—Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
- Conventional—Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Learn more about your interests. Take the MnCareers Interest Assessment.
Describe Your Skills
People who have worked in this career typically perform the following tasks.
These statements can help a prospective employer understand what you can do, on a resume or during an interview.
- Operating vehicles or equipment.
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to find or fix problems.
- Collecting information from different sources.
- Identifying information by categorizing, comparing, or detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Controlling machines and processes.
- Communicating with supervisors, co-workers, or people that work under you.
- Making decisions or solving problems.
- Documenting or recording information.
Careers that Use Similar Skills
The following careers use skills, knowledge, and abilities that are similar to those used for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
View more careers in the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics cluster
View more careers in the Transportation Operations pathway
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 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.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
