High paying transportation jobs in Tennessee with no experience

The best paid transportation occupations in Tennessee that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Tennessee run 8.1% below the national average (2024), so a Tennessee salary is worth about 1.09× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Tennessee.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find transportation jobs in Tennessee

OccupationMedian, Tennessee · Employed

1Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$58,620
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,960 – $83,28064,890
2Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$47,770
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,530 – $58,9001,970
3Transportation Workers, All Other$46,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,120 – $66,6501,330
4Light Truck Drivers$45,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,190 – $83,48033,710
5Bus Drivers, School$44,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$22,900 – $61,6007,050
6Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$43,270
No formal educational credential
$28,390 – $61,4002,550
7Driver/Sales Workers$42,220
High school diploma or equivalent
$20,800 – $51,6109,620
8Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$42,100
No formal educational credential
$35,520 – $54,66020,070
9Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$38,160
No formal educational credential
$30,230 – $48,420105,870
10Stockers and Order Fillers$36,140
No formal educational credential
$29,970 – $47,28060,130
11Packers and Packagers, Hand$35,980
No formal educational credential
$26,940 – $46,99014,030
12Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$34,950
No formal educational credential
$26,350 – $47,3308,420
13Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$33,550
No formal educational credential
$20,440 – $51,5002,310
14Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$33,450
No formal educational credential
$27,960 – $50,4503,240
15Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$31,970
No formal educational credential
$25,450 – $38,4702,840
16Parking Attendants$30,780
No formal educational credential
$16,860 – $36,0902,660

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianTennessee	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$58,620	$39,960 – $83,280	64,890
2	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,770	$39,530 – $58,900	1,970
3	Transportation Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,280	$26,120 – $66,650	1,330
4	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,050	$29,190 – $83,480	33,710
5	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,510	$22,900 – $61,600	7,050
6	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$43,270	$28,390 – $61,400	2,550
7	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,220	$20,800 – $51,610	9,620
8	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$42,100	$35,520 – $54,660	20,070
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$38,160	$30,230 – $48,420	105,870
10	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$36,140	$29,970 – $47,280	60,130
11	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$35,980	$26,940 – $46,990	14,030
12	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$34,950	$26,350 – $47,330	8,420
13	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$33,550	$20,440 – $51,500	2,310
14	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$33,450	$27,960 – $50,450	3,240
15	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$31,970	$25,450 – $38,470	2,840
16	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,780	$16,860 – $36,090	2,660

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Tennessee. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Tennessee

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Tennessee to rank honestly.

High paying transportation jobs in Tennessee with no experience

More for Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee

By field in Tennessee

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no experience