Want to Drive for a Top-Paying Carrier? Here's What It Takes

If you've been feeling like your hard work isn't getting the pay or respect it deserves, you're not alone. Many truck drivers look at the industry's top-paying carriers and wonder what it takes to drive for them. 

Every carrier company has its own standards, and for the carriers that reward drivers best, those standards are high. But when you meet them, the payoff is worth it. 

• Safety
• Experience
• Reliability

They are required to follow Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, plus additional requirements from their customers. So, if you want to work for a carrier that values you, pays you for your experience, and invests in your career or trucking business, then you need to be the best driver you can be in each of those three areas listed above. 


Key Points for Truck Drivers to Consider

• Basic criteria (valid CDL, 21+ years of age) are required across the board.

• Your reputation, and safety record, matters. A lot. 

• Find a company that suits your personality, learn the ropes, and stick with it.

So let's get into each of these in a bit more detail and set you up with a solid understanding of what top carrier companies look for.

Meet the Basic Truck Driver Job Requirements

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But what are the basic requirements for a truck driver to get in with a top-paying carrier?

• CDL & Age: You need a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and must be at least 21-years-old to haul freight across state lines (interstate). Local-only routes may hire at 18, but most trucking carriers, especially over-the-road (OTR) companies, will not work with drivers under 21.
  
  
• Language: Drivers must read, write, and speak English well enough to understand road signs, communicate, and complete logs. A carrier may work with a driver whose first language is not English, but the driver must be proficient in English as their second language.
  

How Do Top-Paying Carriers Evaluate Your Safety and Work Record?

Carrier companies become well-respected by protecting their reputation (and their freight) through the hiring of safe, professional drivers. To ensure this, they will look over the following:

• Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS): Confirms where you've held licenses.
  
  
• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR): Lists your driving history, endorsements, accidents, and violations from the past three years.
  • Any pending MVR charges will typically prevent you from driving with top carriers.  You'll move this process along faster if you tell your recruiter about any violations you may have.
    
    
  • This includes your personal driving record, too. If you have countless speeding tickets on your personal driving record and you’ve only been driving professionally for a couple of months, a carrier may not choose to work with you.
    
    
• Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP): Details inspections, crashes, and violations on file with the FMCSA
  • Reviewing this data helps the carrier determine if you’ve kept up on your maintenance, including your pre-trip and post-trip inspections. 
    
    
• Employment Verification & Drug Screening: Confirms experience, reliability, and compliance with DOT drug and alcohol standards.
  • Work verifications must be completed for all jobs in the last 36 months, commercial truck driving or not. This gives the carrier a good idea of whether or not the driver is a job-hopper (not ideal).
    

So, if you've got good marks on all of these, that's fantastic. But before you hit the road with a carrier company, you'll need to pass a DOT physical with a DOT-certified medical examiner, which we'll get into next. 

DOT Medical Exam: What to Expect

The point of this exam, which is not unlike a regular physical, is to confirm that you're healthy enough to drive safely and legally. It follows nationwide DOT guidelines, and will check things such as:

• Blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar
• Vision and hearing
• Heart and neurological/sensory health

If any numbers come in too high, the doctor may prescribe treatment and issue a “determination pending” status until your condition improves.

Note: Some medical conditions that affect your safety behind the wheel, such as narcolepsy or Meniere's disease, automatically disqualify you.

The word safety is coming up a lot, eh? Yeah. It's important. 

Alright, so you're healthy as a horse and ready to get driving! What's next? Well, after your exam, you'll get a DOT medical card, which is valid for either 30/90 days (if ongoing monitoring is required) or 6 months/2 years (if you meet all DOT health standards).

Healthy drivers typically qualify for the 2-year card. If you need to manage a condition, shorter certifications help you stay compliant while you work toward full approval.

Ready to schedule your DOT physical or have questions about your medical card?
Contact our team — we’ll help you stay compliant and on the road.

How Do I Know If a Trucking Company Is a Good Fit for Me?

Driver orientation is a great way to not only meet other likeminded truck drivers who are going through the same process and asking themselves the same question, but it's an opportunity for you to get a sense of the company, their culture, and the expectations they have of their drivers.

It's only as useful as you make it and you get out of it what you put in, so when you show up for orientation, do just that: show up. Be on time. Be professional, respectful, and engaged. Make connections. Ask all of your questions. After all, it's your chance to interview the company, too.

Do all of those things, and you'll set yourself up for a smooth driver orientation experience.

Last Stop

The bottom line is this: every reputable carrier looks for safety, experience, and reliability. While each carrier’s guidelines vary, you can expect them to adhere to both DOT and FMCSA regulations and their customers' requirements. 

While factors like age and physical disorders are outside of your control, your experience and safety record will speak volumes to top-paying carriers. Focus on being a respectful, safe driver and you can count on getting opportunities with the best carriers in the business. 

If you’ve got the experience and a safety score to back it, Anderson Trucking Service (ATS) wants to see what you’ve got. We're a safety-minded Top Pay Certified Carrier that’s been in the business for over 70 years, and our commitment to helping drivers succeed ensures you will be respected as the most important asset on our team. 

Interested in learning more? Fill out an application today and one of our driver consultants will get you started on the process.