37 Best Driving Jobs [For People Who Love Driving]
For some of us, there’s nothing like being on the open road, visiting new locations, and being free from the confines of a cubicle. If that sounds like you, you may be wondering what are the best jobs for people who love driving.
We all know the obvious ones. You can find those all over the internet - things like taxi drivers, truck drivers, and mail carriers. But what else is out there?
Well, it turns out there’s quite a bit out there including some very professional-level jobs that pay pretty darn well. Let’s explore some of them.
Best Paying Driving Jobs
If you love driving, here are some of the best-paying jobs we could find that involve a fair amount of driving. I’ll also include the average salary for each based on our review of current job listings nationwide. Keep in mind that those numbers can vary quite a bit based on location, size of the organization, and many other factors.
Automotive Marketer | $80,000 per year
Automotive marketers can be responsible for many different marketing tasks, just like any other marketer. The difference is that they also get to participate in some pretty cool campaigns that involve them being out of the office with cars.
You know those commercials with vehicles driving in rugged terrain. These people are the ones that put all that together and that sometimes includes being on set for the filming and choosing locations.
Pay for this role can vary greatly. Specialists typically earn around $60,000 per year, while managers make closer to $80,000. Specialty automotive marketing consultants can make over $102,000 based on the jobs we found online.
Retail District and Regional Manager | $80,000 per year
Both district and regional managers have a lot of travel involved in their jobs. It’s usually centralized to a specific territory, but some travel 50% of the time to visit the retail locations they oversee.
Regional managers typically make more than district managers because their territories and responsibilities are greater in scope; however, both enjoy competitive salaries with some regional managers easily earning over $125,000 per year.
Account Manager | $78,000 per year
Account managers are responsible for growing sales at their assigned stores and territories. For example, an account manager at Pepsico may travel to several stores within their territory to ensure proper stock levels, resolve issues, and maintain relationships with store staff.
Depending on the organization, there can be a lot of travel and driving involved. Also, keep in mind that the salary number reflects base pay and often these jobs include commission as well, pushing the total earnings much higher.
Fleet Manager | $68,000 per year
Vehicle fleet managers oversee and manage a company’s fleet of vehicles, just like the job title indicates. This includes everything from purchasing and leasing, registering and licensing, developing schedules, and monitoring driver performance to name a few.
Usually, there is some travel and driving involved with the job, although significantly less than many of the others listed in this article. But if you need to get out of the office every now and then, this is still a good job for people who love driving.
Race Car Driver | $64,000 per year
Most people know what a race car driver does, but if you’re unfamiliar with the race car world (or you didn’t grow up in Indiana), you should know there are many kinds. There are Formula 1 drivers, Nascar drivers, and Indycar drivers to name a few. And obviously, it involves driving.
Insurance Claims Adjuster | $58,000 per year
Depending on what type of claims you are doing, there may be more or less travel. If you are an independent adjuster handling catastrophe claims like hurricanes and wildfire-based claims, you may travel extensively. Staff and company adjusters are typically more localized and don’t travel as much.
Outside Sales Representative | $55,000 per year
Outside sales representatives or business development managers often travel to new businesses within a territory to solicit products and services and create new business relationships. Some sell services like staffing; others may sell products such as food and beverage to restaurants.
This role also is heavy commission-based so your total compensation may be much higher than the base listed here. When I was in outside sales, I spent about 50% of my time on the road and made close to $90,000 in my first year.
Private Investigator | $52,000 per year
Many PIs travel a lot to investigate possible kidnappings, and runaways, or perform surveillance. Some travel locally, but others travel across multiple states.
Car Rental Agency Manager | $50,000 per year
There’s not a lot of travel involved as a car rental agency manager, but you may get out of the branch sometimes to pick people up from body shops, visit partners, and coordinate car movements.
Tanker Driver | $50,000 per year
Tanker drivers are road warriors just like any other truck driver. These are the people who deliver fuel to gas stations and other hazardous liquids. I can think of few jobs where you would drive more than this one.
Courier | $50,000 per year
Couriers deliver all kinds of things. They pick up and deliver packages, documents, and all kinds of stuff from businesses and residences. You will spend a majority of your time on the road with this job. However, unlike a tanker driver, you’ll probably stay more local.
Automotive Sales | $50,000 per year
Almost everyone has been to a dealership to buy a car. In this job, you’ll spend a lot of time in the retail office, but you’ll also have plenty of opportunities to test drive cars with customers and move vehicles around the lot or in between lots.
Service Technician | $50,000 per year
If you absolutely hate reporting to one location all day for work, this could be a good alternative. You’ll spend your time driving to and from client locations for installations and service repairs. Not only do you get to spend quite a bit of time driving, but you may also get to see some cool homes and backyards.
Automotive Journalist | $47,000 per year
What a fun job. You’ll spend your time test-driving cars for a few weeks at a time and then writing reviews. While the majority of your time won’t be spent driving, you’ll get to drive some of the latest and greatest vehicles out there.
Construction Worker | $46,000 per year
Depending on what type of job you are doing, you could spend your days traveling between worksites and picking up materials, making this a great job for people who love to be outdoors and have a fairly consistent change of scenery.
Vehicle Provided Jobs
This is a tricky one to answer, “What jobs have a company provided vehicle?” The jobs I’m listing here often have a vehicle provided by the company, but not always. Some companies choose to do car allowances, mileage reimbursement, or both in lieu of a company vehicle. But if you want a company-provided vehicle, here are some jobs I would look at.
Keep in mind as you read these that when a company provides a vehicle to an employee, they don’t always allow them to use it for anything. Oftentimes, these vehicles can only be used for commuting to and from work locations or for official company use. Be mindful that different employers have different policies.
Automotive Marketer
If you work at a marketing agency, you most likely won’t have a car provided. But if you work for a vehicle manufacturer or dealership group, there’s a good chance they will give you a company vehicle to test drive and travel for work-related activities.
Retail Regional Manager
This is a bit of a toss-up. I’ve seen larger retail chains provide a company vehicle to regional managers because they travel a lot within their home territory and it’s more affordable than rental cars. I’ve also seen other companies do car allowances and mileage reimbursements.
Outside Sales Representative
Most companies won’t provide a company vehicle to outside sales reps and account managers; however, some industries are more likely to do it. If you work in construction for example, the chances of having a vehicle provided increase significantly. Most companies will do a mileage reimbursement instead.
Insurance Claims Adjuster
Most field insurance adjusters receive a company vehicle and a gas card to cover fuel expenses. It is a very common perk for this role.
Automotive Sales
I know many automotive salespeople who have a vehicle provided. Not everyone has this perk. It’s more common with managers. But there are some companies like Enterprise that provide a vehicle to every salesperson in their branches for limited use. This often lets salespeople test drive cars as they drive to and from work.
Automotive Journalist
Many automotive journalists test cars and publish reviews to inform buyers. This often involves fleet management companies coordinating with automakers to deliver cars to journalists for a few days to a week. While it’s not exactly a company vehicle, they still have the opportunity to drive multiple different cars that aren’t their own.
Car Rental Agency Manager
Many car rental agencies allow their managers to take home a vehicle each day so they can test drive multiple cars. Usually, this involves limited use, but some companies have a low-cost plan that managers can opt into that allows them to take different vehicles and use them for everyday driving outside of just to and from work.
Automotive Technician
Most automotive technicians don’t have a company car, especially if they work at one location. But there are some jobs that do provide a company vehicle. I spoke with a technician who worked with automotive software updates and he has a company vehicle provided so that he can travel throughout his territory to different dealerships and work on cars. So it’s possible.
Service Technician
This job almost always has a company-provided vehicle. When the AC repair shows up at your house or AT&T comes to install your new internet, they will almost always arrive in a company vehicle.
Other Careers for Car Lovers
If you love cars, but don’t love driving all day, here’s a list of jobs for you to explore. Don’t worry car enthusiast, I’ve got your career path covered as well. And no, you don’t have to work at a car wash or have one of those driver jobs.
Automotive Concept Designer | $83,000 per year
Automotive Engineer | $80,000 per year
Automotive Quality Testing Engineer | $78,000 per year
Automotive Museum Curator | $50,000 per year
Car Detailer | $47,000 per year
Service Advisor | $47,000 per year
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | $44,000 per year
Taxi Driver | $43,000 per year
Auto Mechanic | $42,000 per year
Mail Carrier | $42,000 per year
Bus Driver | $41,000 per year
Driving Instructor | $40,000 per year
Chauffeur | $40,000 per year
Tow Truck Driver | $40,000 per year
Party Bus Driver | $40,000 per year
Limo Driver | $40,000 per year
Rideshare Driver | $35,000 per year
Automobile Transporter | $34,000 per year
Delivery Driver | $33,000 per year
Shuttle Driver | $33,000 per year
Uber/Lyft Driver | $33,000 per year
Valet Parking Attendant | $31,000 per year
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Cole Sperry has been a recruiter and resume writer since 2015, working with tens of thousands of job seekers, and hundreds of employers. Today Cole runs a boutique advisory firm consulting with dozens of recruiting firms and is the Managing Editor at OptimCareers.com.
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