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talique
Student
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
2
Questions
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what does a typical day as trucker look like?what do you like least and the most about your job?how long have you've been doing it for
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My name is Talique estelle i'am a student at student job corps and i'm am trying get get a better insight on the career path i'am after as a driver /trucker i am 18 years old.What steps do you reccomend i take to begin.What i want to do is become a truck driver.
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2 answers
Thaddeus Mims
Marketing Operations
4
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Thaddeus’s Answer
Truck drivers typically have a long workday that starts early and ends late. In the middle, they are on the road most of the time, up to a maximum of 11 hours a day. Their workday consists of tight schedules that must be met, with an ever-present risk of delay due to a variety of events.
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
224
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
My dad was a trucker, so this is second-hand information, and from the other side of "the pond", so things might be different where you are. However:
He typically did mid-distance (think state-wide but not interstate) shop stock deliveries, so a typical day for him was up at 02:00 so he'd be at the destination to unload before the shops open to the public, returning to the depot and then home mid-afternoon. Obviously, work schedules vary depending on the job - for example inter-state long haul will have different hours, and will require many nights away from home in truckstops and motels; other types of job can be overnight driving, or a standard 9-5 day.
One thing he definitely enjoyed about the job was the freedom of being out there on the road on your own, without management breathing down your neck all the time. He had a fairly regular "round" of shops, and got on well with the store workers unloading the truck, and enjoyed some of the camaraderie there. I think later in his career he also liked being given responsibility to go out with younger truckers on training and inspection rides.
On the flip side, some of the things he liked least were: the stress of the job at times, with the way other vehicles on the road behave and don't leave enough room for a big vehicle that takes longer to slow down or accelerate up to speed; the unsociable hours - although as kids we benefited from dad often being home earlier than if he had a 9-5 job, getting up so early was a big drain, and he missed out on a lot by needed to go to bed a lot earlier than most people; and finally, the risks of the job - driving is hazardous - even though he was lucky to get through to retirement with no major accidents, any minor accident is a huge problem, even if it's totally someone else's fault, he'd still get it in the neck from management about any damage and the delays, and his job security depended on his license - if he did anything wrong on the road, like getting caught speeding, he could have been out of a job.
As to the career path, I'm not sure how it works over there. Obviously your car license will be first, and getting road experience will be good. I think you can learn to drive at an earlier age than we can over here, so you've probably already got started on that. After that, you'll need a HGV (truck) license - I think it's called a Commercial Driving License over there. I think requirements will also differ state by state, so you should look into exactly what the requirements are for you, and whether you need any other special endorsements - for example for hazardous goods. Some companies will provide training and help you through the license process, but I think a lot expect you to sort that all out yourself, and will only be interested once you're fully qualified and licensed.
He typically did mid-distance (think state-wide but not interstate) shop stock deliveries, so a typical day for him was up at 02:00 so he'd be at the destination to unload before the shops open to the public, returning to the depot and then home mid-afternoon. Obviously, work schedules vary depending on the job - for example inter-state long haul will have different hours, and will require many nights away from home in truckstops and motels; other types of job can be overnight driving, or a standard 9-5 day.
One thing he definitely enjoyed about the job was the freedom of being out there on the road on your own, without management breathing down your neck all the time. He had a fairly regular "round" of shops, and got on well with the store workers unloading the truck, and enjoyed some of the camaraderie there. I think later in his career he also liked being given responsibility to go out with younger truckers on training and inspection rides.
On the flip side, some of the things he liked least were: the stress of the job at times, with the way other vehicles on the road behave and don't leave enough room for a big vehicle that takes longer to slow down or accelerate up to speed; the unsociable hours - although as kids we benefited from dad often being home earlier than if he had a 9-5 job, getting up so early was a big drain, and he missed out on a lot by needed to go to bed a lot earlier than most people; and finally, the risks of the job - driving is hazardous - even though he was lucky to get through to retirement with no major accidents, any minor accident is a huge problem, even if it's totally someone else's fault, he'd still get it in the neck from management about any damage and the delays, and his job security depended on his license - if he did anything wrong on the road, like getting caught speeding, he could have been out of a job.
As to the career path, I'm not sure how it works over there. Obviously your car license will be first, and getting road experience will be good. I think you can learn to drive at an earlier age than we can over here, so you've probably already got started on that. After that, you'll need a HGV (truck) license - I think it's called a Commercial Driving License over there. I think requirements will also differ state by state, so you should look into exactly what the requirements are for you, and whether you need any other special endorsements - for example for hazardous goods. Some companies will provide training and help you through the license process, but I think a lot expect you to sort that all out yourself, and will only be interested once you're fully qualified and licensed.