Courier driver & driver jobs - a whacky profession!

Jobs as a courier or driver are very popular as part-time second jobs, as you usually only need a B-class driver's license to get started - and you can hit the road! 

That's exactly what a courier driver is: they transport goods from A to B. However, a job as a full-time driver, especially for parcel services, is also conceivable. There are also many different jobs that offer different working hours and routes, from a quarter-hour delivery job within a 20 km radius to trips lasting several days abroad. Now you know roughly what a courier driver is - so if you like driving and know your way around traffic, you've come to the right place!

These are the requirements and activities for courier driver jobs

Driver jobs are available throughout Germany in a wide variety of sectors, as the speedy transportation of goods is essential for large parts of the economy and the healthcare industry. That's why there are so many different areas in this profession, from small part-time driver jobs in the neighborhood to full-time courier drivers who drive long-distance throughout Europe, even abroad! The future prospects for a job as a courier driver are therefore quite good, as there are always many different vacancies and you can also become self-employed.

As the job opportunities are so varied, the requirements vary depending on the courier driver's activities. For example, as a courier driver for international trips abroad, candidates with English language skills are often sought, which is usually not necessary for a pizza driver who does their job close to home. For an even better picture of what a courier driver is, we explain in the following section what other skills a driver or courier driver should have.

Requirements - What you should be able to do as a driver

To be able to work as a courier driver, you should have a class B driver's license or a bicycle, as well as various additional skills and soft skills depending on the field of work or industry. 

The most important thing: As a driver, you should have very good driving skills and ideally you should already have some experience at the wheel or in handling your means of transportation. It also makes sense to have a good sense of direction and good local knowledge so that you don't have to rely solely on the navigation system. Above all, speed and working quickly are necessary to deliver your goods on time. Whether it's a hot pizza or vital medicines, punctuality is a top priority in this job!

With a certain service orientation and friendliness towards your customers, you can usually even earn some extra tips. Other skills that will help you as a courier driver are reliability, problem-solving ability, organizational talent, physical resilience and stress resistance. 

Additional driving license classes such as C1 are also welcome, as is initial experience as a driver or delivery driver, for example at the post office. In some companies, your tasks overlap with those of a production assistant when loading and unloading. Candidates with a forklift driver's license (forklift license) or with knowledge of operating machines are also welcome, as this enables the driver to independently prepare heavy loads for transport, and large companies with heavy deliveries in particular are happy to have such employees!

This is what your job salary as a driver depends on

Thesalary of courier drivers can vary greatly and depends on various factors such as the federal state, industry, size of the company, position and level of professional experience or training. Less experience therefore also means a lower salary: the average first salary for full-time courier drivers is €2,400 gross per month, according to Stepstone. After more than 5 years of professional experience as a courier driver, earnings can rise to an average of around €2,500 gross per month. This results in a general hourly wage of around €12.50 to €17 gross for courier drivers, unless they do the job as a mini-job or part-time (source: Stepstone).

You can find more information about the salary as a driver - whether bus driver, truck driver or chauffeur - here in our article on the salary as a driver. 

These tasks await you as a courier driver 

What exactly a courier driver does can be answered very quickly, because drivers usually do exactly what they are designated to do: Driving. Whether in a car or a delivery van, a courier driver should not let himself be distracted on the road. After all, he transports valuable freight to the destination or customer and is the one who makes the handover and thus also accepts any criticism! So you should have no problem talking to customers you've never met before. 

In addition to customer contact, the following tasks are part of the daily work routine:

• Delivery of goods to a recipient on behalf of the employer
• Partly regular operations with the same goal
• Collecting goods and loading the delivery vehicle
• Secure goods for transport
• Sorting the goods / shipments
• Planning the routes
• Keep a logbook
• Maintain and clean delivery vehicle

‍Depending on the job, your tasks may also include obtaining transport documents/confirmation of receipt, accepting payment from the customer or putting goods into the warehouse or clearing them out.

These interesting jobs are available for drivers

There are many ways for courier drivers to organize their job the way they want, as working hours and sectors can vary greatly. Many courier drivers only work at weekends, for example, or only work as a mini-job or part-time job. Nevertheless, they usually have to be very flexible. Courier drivers for the pharmaceutical industry, for example, often have to work night shifts, as the fast delivery of medical samples or medication within a certain time frame can even be vital. That can be stressful!

In addition to specialized logistics companies and courier services, courier drivers also have the option of becoming self-employed with their own car and driving mainly for private customers. This gives them complete freedom to decide how and when they work, but they also have to take care of attracting new customers themselves.

Driving fancy sports cars as a vehicle transfer driver

Transferring cars is particularly interesting for car enthusiasts, as this type of driving job often allows the employee to drive luxury cars and new vehicles. The job usually only requires a certain minimum age and a class B driver's license, which is why career changers often work as temporary drivers for transfers and why there are more part-time and part-time drivers or self-employed people than full-time employees. In addition, the job as a driver is often very flexible and offers a wide variety of working hours such as evenings, nights or weekends . Journeys over several days and across national borders are also possible. 

Additional tasks of a transfer driver to the usual ones as a driver are:

• Drive car to customer without damage 
• Adhere to the specified time window
• Hand over the vehicle with the customer (record the damage, give instructions)
• Looking for a ride home or overnight accommodation  

Job vacancies for transfer jobs for drivers are offered by car dealerships, rental car companies, leasing companies, car banks, car sharing providers, large fleets of companies or car repair shops, so there is always a driver job in the immediate vicinity. Drivers with a truck driver's license can also work for haulage companies. However, the easiest place for drivers to find jobs and assignments is with a vehicle logistics company, as such a service company specializes in transfers for various customers and is always looking for new drivers.

On the move: courier drivers for laboratories, pharmacies & co. 

Courier drivers in the medical sector have a very responsible job, as they sometimes transportvital and very sensitive medicines, medical samples or even organic material such as blood reserves, plasma, tissue, stem cells or donor organs to their destination. As this is very valuable freight, the laboratory driver must observe special regulations and be very careful. At the same time, speed and flexibility are particularly important, as donor organs, for example, have to reach the patient as quickly as possible. More rarely, the police also look for courier drivers to transport evidence, for example.

Requirements for a job as a courier driver in the medical sector are at least a class B driver's license and a certain amount of driving experience, and preferably experience as a delivery driver. For some transports, a driver with a C1 license is also required.

Additional tasks of a courier driver in the medical field are:

• Transport of medical material in specially compacted packaging
• Before the journey: Check after professional transport preparation
• Flexibly take over spontaneous trips, e.g. in case of medical emergency
• Transport medical personnel, if applicable
• Partially assumes simple medical tasks such as measuring blood pressure or processing blood units
• Complete training courses and driver safety training courses

With them, everyone gets their package: Driver for delivery of mail and parcels‍

Post and parcel driver is a systemically relevant profession that defies all digitalization and is always looking for new staff. Thanks to the internet, we are sending more parcels than ever before and parcel deliverers have their hands full. In addition to the rather unknown two-year apprenticeship , there are therefore also many career changers or part-time workers who take advantage of the low requirements, which usually only consist of a B driving license.

The most important tasks of a parcel deliverer / mail carrier are 

• Deliver letters and parcels, by car, bike or truck
• Transport shipments between postal centers
• Empty mailboxes
• Preparing deliveries before dispatch and sorting consignments
• Complete and forward delivery bills, receipts, etc.
• Plan delivery sequence
• Pick up and receive shipments
• Billing and documenting shipments
• Process undeliverable shipments
• Receive complaints
• Protect data privacy and postal secrecy 

Most job vacancies for courier drivers for post and parcels can be found with letter and parcel services, courier and express services, freight forwarders and internal services.

‍FAQ

Courier driver - what is it?‍

The meaning of "courier" is messenger, so by definition a courier driver is someone who transports and delivers things by vehicle for a customer, usually on behalf of a courier service.‍

Are there any driver jobs near me?‍

Drivers for overpass jobs or for the courier service of the post office or for laboratories are wanted almost everywhere. In larger cities such as Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart or Berlin, there are actually always open jobs for drivers. Particularly for delivery jobs, drivers sometimes even have to travel to cities in neighboring countries, such as Zurich in Switzerland or Vienna in Austria.

‍Whatis the salary of a driver?‍

The salary level depends on the industry, the location and size of the employer and on your own training (if available) and professional experience. Drivers normally receive a starting salary of around 2,330 gross per month in their first year (source: Stepstone).