I work in trucking safety, so the concerns of drivers are obviously a major deal to me. So unlike most subjects I post to on the SDMB, I actually know something about this one.
First of all, it depends what kind of carrier you work for. (“Carrier” is the industry term for a company that operates trucks.) There are a number of different considerations in terms of selecting an employer:
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Do you want to work for a long haul firm, doing overnight and cross-country work, or a small local carrier? Long haul driving is typically exhausting, involving very long hours (see below about Hours of Work) and you can be away from your family for days or even weeks. Short local driving can get you home every night, but you won’t make as much money, in all likelihood.
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What kind of company do you want to work for? You can work for a for-hire carrier, a trucking company that is paid by other companies to haul their goods, or you can work for a PRIVATE carrier, a company that operates a fleet of trucks to carry their own goods (Coca-Cola is a private carrier.) Or you can buy your own truck and become an Owner/Operator, which gives you freedom and a chance to grow your own business, but running your own business is really hard.
Some things to consider are:
1. You need to get trained. A modern truck is a very complex vehicle to drive. It’s not like driving a car, plus you need to learn a lot about the legal obligations of a truck driver, how to inspect your truck, how weights and loads affect driving, and the various mechanical idiosynchracies of a modern rig. Just learning how to use the air brake system is a big deal.
Truck driving courses are typically quite expensive. Technically, most jurisdictions do not require you take a course before passing your test, but you want to take one anyway, and they can range from $500-1000 for cruddy ones to $5000 for good ones.
Plus, you will need to be trained in industry-specific things. Driving a general frieght truck is one thing, but driving tankers, hoppers, flatbeds and the like all have their own skills involved. Many drivers have loading-specific duties; for instance, I worked with a company that picked up and delivered milk from the farms, and the drivers had to know how to test the milk. Most big companies today use onboard computers, satellite tracking systems and satellite comms for up-to-the-minute control of their fleet, and it helps to know that stuff too.
2. You will work long hours, especially if you’re a long haul driver. How long you are allowed to be on duty and drive depends what kind of driver you are and where you are, but the basic rule in the U.S. is sixty hours of driving time in every seven day period, which you MUST log on a daily basis or else face a huge fine. You will be pressured to drive more than this, either by your employer or just by yourself. Most truck drivers exceed their legal limits and either fudge their logs, keep two logs, or just hope for the best. In any case, even 60 hours of driving plus your other duty hours (getting to work, inspections, waiting at loading docks) is a lot of work, pal.
3. Some employers suck, and some are great. There is a really wide spread of employer attitudes in the trucking industry. Some trucking companies care about their employees’ safety and welfare and will pay a good rate and not expect you to drive like a maniac or make unreasonable demands. Some are poorly managed and will ask you to drive from Detroit to New Orleans in one day. You have to shop around. New drivers tend to be at a disadvantage, though, because the good companies scoop up experienced drivers.
4. You will be away from your family a lot. IF you do overnight stuff, which is where the good money is, you’ll be sleeping in your truck a lot (new sleeper cabs are getting pretty luxurious, mind you) and eating at a lot of truck stops and not seeing your family.
In summary:
Good Things
- You’ll see the country. If you always wanted to see a lot of the U.S., this is your chance.
- Truck drivers are in huge demand and their salaries will probably increase. The trucking industry is desperately short of drivers; I don’t know what the figure is today, but 18 months ago the U.S. trucking industry was short 200,000 drivers. It wasn’t getting any better. Big companies have trucks sitting with nobody to drive them. You can command a good salary at a good company if you’re a good driver.
- You make good money.
- Some people just enjoy the freedom of the open road.
- Smart, educated people can advance from driver status to management. Trucking companies are pretty complex businesses, and a savvy driver with education and some business skills can eventually become a boss, or even start her/his own company. Vertical progression is a real possibility.
- A lot of trucking companies, especially big private carriers like Coca-Cola or Pepsi or what have you, and the larger family-owned carriers, are really nice places to work. Today’s trucking industry is less of a macho beefy-hairy-guy thing and more of a real business.
- Trucking is a growth industry. Jobs are plentiful and a good driver will never be unemployed for longer than about 48 hours.
- Although the initial training can cost you $$$, it’s not like to have to invest 2 years in college.
Bad Things
- Driving a truck involves long, tiring hours. 70-90 hour work weeks are not uncommon.
- Driving long hauls, which are the ones that make you good money, take you away from your family a lot.
- Getting properly training to drive a commercial vehicle can cost a good chunk of money.
- Rookie drivers sometimes find it hard to get plum jobs.
- Driving a truck, to be quite honest, is not an intellectually stimulating or fun profession. You will spend most of your time sitting in a truck looking at one highway after another. When you aren’t driving you’re usually inspecting your truck, dealing with government people, or loading your truck. You will not be staying at nice hotels, you will be wearing crappy denim company uniforms, and you’ll be eating a lot of hamburgers.
- As to that, there’s often a lot of physical labour involved in loading your truck, depending what kind of stuff you’re hauling.
