Imagine this, you are sitting comfortably in your seat holding the wheel at arm’s length looking towards the road on a breezy night with the moon shining over the road ahead. You listen to your favorite music playing on the stereo, smiling softly and humming with it. You watch as you pass by intersections and signs; for miles and miles, all you see are various sceneries from endless sand, to green pastures, to forests, to the seaside. When you finally get to that place you take a break and meet with your fellow drivers, you grab a drink with them and chatter away through the day. This is only a sneak peek to what your life could be if you were a truck driver; this is, of course, among all the other advantages you could get out of this kind of work.
Working as a driver in the trucking industry in America does have a lot of things you would also take note of. Being such would become more of a lifestyle rather than just a simple job, it would have a lot of things that would be added, subtracted, and enhanced. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your current situation. If you see a truck transporting goods passing you by on the highway, you will simply assume that it is just another truck—but in fact, these trucks differ in so many ways. There are different types of employment, job categories, and even licenses depending on what load and how heavy the load will be.
TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT
Owner-operators (O/O or “doublestuffs”) – these are individuals who own their own trucks which they drive themselves or they can lease to companies through a contract; they can also be independent contractors who haul loads for several companies.
Company drivers – these are individuals who, by their titles, are hired by companies to drive trucks that they provide.
Independent owner-operators – these are the ones who actually own several trucks, as few as two and as many as 10, and own their own authority in hauling loads.
JOB CATEGORIES
Household goods – these are household items that drivers haul for families moving from one place to another.
Dry van – these are perishable or non-perishable goods that drivers haul over highways in large trailers.
Reefers – drivers haul frozen, refrigerated, or temperature sensitive goods.
Tankers – also used in truck driver slang, tanker yankers haul liquids in tanks—examples of liquids are gasoline, crude oil; they also haul dry bulks such as sugar, flour, and cement in tanks.
Auto hauls – drivers also haul cars on specially built trailers.
Boat hauls – hauling boats ranging in size use specialized trailers to accommodate different heights and widths.
Dry bulk pneumatic – specialized trailers that pressurize air in unloading products such as sand, salt, and cement are used by truck drivers as well.
Bullrack – this is used when hauling livestock locally or regionally.
Flatbed – drivers using this haul various large bulky items such as tanks, steel pipes, and lumber.
Driving large quantities of items comes with a large responsibility, but this also comes with a lot of freedom. If you are considering on living life on the road, this could be an ideal career for you; imagine you are an American truck driver, here are only a few of the things you will find pleasing.
1. THE JOYS OF DRIVING
The number one thing on your checklist when considering working as a truck driver is, “Do you love driving?” For obvious reasons, this line of work will require enormous amounts of time driving on the road. What you will love about this is that, once you are on that seat so highly placed, you will feel grand and almost as if you are on top of the world—and once you drive your truck on the highway, you will be enjoying the solitude. This would be especially great if you are an introvert; listening to music, feeling the air brush against your face, singing along to the songs playing. This would also be fun if you are taking turns with another driver—every job would be a road trip.
You will also be enjoying the flexibility that working as a truck driver has considering that your job will depend if you are local driver who works within the limits of your local areas, a regional driver who works over several states near your own state, or an interstate driver (also called an over-the-road or long-haul driver) who hauls goods over long distances that cover thousands of miles. Depending on your own choice, you can always opt for your own preference.
Driving can somewhat ease your mind especially since you have a lot of time for yourself.
2. TRAVEL
Travel will already be a given once you work as a truck driver, you will be able to visit different places—it can be as close as finding a convenience store a few miles from your own home to as far as getting to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, among others. This can be especially enjoyable if you are an interstate driver; say, you have always been on Midwest and when you become an interstate truck driver, you will find that you can now reach as far as the West Coast. This will allow you to do a whole range of activities especially when you are on your break—being away from home for weeks to months, admittedly, can be lonesome; but you will find that you will always have something to take home.
3. HOURS OF SERVICE
You will have already established that this is not your typical 9 – 5 work; but this will still be regulated, in part, to avoid any sort of sleep deprivation. This is well avoided especially by companies to keep drivers from experiencing fatigue that could possibly lead to traffic fatalities. Because of this, you will be allowed to drive for only a number of time where you will be required to rest as much as you can; this is also to avoid any vehicular accidents caused by sleep deprivation. The good thing about this is that you will always have an adequate amount of rest and relaxation when you need.
4. COMPENSATION
In part with keeping track of your work and rest periods through a logbook, this will also be the basis upon which you will be paid. There are different methods of payment, depending on the company or client: you can be paid by the mile, by the load, or by the hour. Of course, there are pluses and minuses about each option but this arrangement will depend on either regulation or even the type of job you have. There are also additional arrangements like the incentive-based or productivity pay which, not only gears towards predetermined and precise activities throughout a job but also, gears towards giving a fair day’s pay for you. Through all these, you will be sure that working as a truck driver in America will have a lot of returns for you not only through compensation.
5. Coming Home
What is much better than finally getting off your truck, going home, walking into the door of your house finding your family there to greet you? You smell the waft of something good cooking from the kitchen, your children eager to have you sit on your couch to talk about everything that happened to them in school, and there you feel eager to give them the gifts that you have bought from different places. Despite the joys of traveling and driving long miles in enjoyable silence and solitude, there is still nothing much better than coming home to your well-missed family.
Whether you are someone considering to work as a truck driver or are already working as one, it is important to always remind yourself of the little things to enjoy in this line of work. Being a truck driver, like other jobs, have its downsides—but, for certain, there are the great things to appreciate as one.
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