I recently got a question from a visitor asking about finding part time work in the trucking industry with a company that would have to give him the flexibility to run loads according to his schedule and lifestyle. He has a full time job already that he will likely retire from, but thought it might be an interesting endeavor to haul a few loads on the side when he could. As great as that idea sounds, it is very rare that you can find something like that. In fact, the idea reminded me of the fact that one of the biggest problems new drivers face in the trucking industry is having the wrong expectations of the job, the industry, life on the road, and the trucking company they work for. Fortunately, this recent visitor was diligent enough to ask the right questions before making a commitment to getting into the industry, but not everyone does. So I’m going to set a few things straight for those who are considering becoming a truck driver, so that a lot of pain and trouble can be avoided.
Truck Driving Is A Very Dynamic Job
For most truck drivers, every day is completely new and different from the previous day, and you generally have no idea what’s in store for you an hour from now, let alone tomorrow or next week. Most of us have worked in factories, warehouses, and retail shops before every getting into trucking, and we know what it’s like to do the same thing at the same place at the same time day in and day out. Wow…. I just bored myself to tears just writing that sentence! But that’s the normal day to day life for most people outside of the trucking industry. Everyday is pretty much the same.
Not so in trucking. Everything constantly changes – the weather, the traffic, where you are, where you’re going, along with a million different variables inside your own company which will affect your life dramatically. Trucking is an incredibly competitive industry with tight profit margins and cut throat tactics executed by companies trying to survive. Whatever a company has to do to survive they will do, and the drivers will have to go along with them, or move on to another company, where they will more than likely be faced with the same situations again. So let’s take a look at what trucking companies are faced with.
Trucking Is A Cut-Throat Industry With Tight Profit Margins
Trucking companies do everything they can to survive. They change personnel, software packages, pricing, customers, trucks, policies, and routing just to try to save a nickel or gain a nickel in revenues. I was once told by a trustworthy manager at a large company I worked for that if everything goes just right, the company averages about a $50 profit from a 500 mile load. If that truck blows a tire, breaks down, or the company gets fined by DOT after a truck inspection, there goes all the profit from that load, and the next few after that. If you doubt what I’m saying, go through the financial statements of publicly traded trucking companies and you’ll see that most of them barely break even over a period of several years. They’ll make $10 million one year, lose $12 million the next, make $5 million the next, etc, etc. But in the end, they’re lucky just to stay alive. It’s a cut-throat, commodity-type industry, meaning that only the price matters most of the time to their customers, and they’ll leave you in a heartbeat to save a dime.
Most Of The Time It’s The Driver’s Fault
It was amazing throughout the years how many times I would have a driver complain to me that he/she worked for a lousy company and wasn’t being treated the way he/she deserved. I tried avoiding the rest of the conversation most of the time because after a while I knew what was coming, and almost every time it was the same thing – it was the driver’s fault. Now keep in mind I drove for over 15 years and I never worked in the office of a trucking company. So if anything, my opinion should be biased toward the driver’s perspective, but I understand the realities that trucking companies face for survival, and the drivers have to do their part to keep the company afloat. But most drivers don’t understand this at all. They think all trucking companies are making a fortune and should bend over backwards for their drivers. In reality, most trucking companies do bend over backwards for their drivers, but many driver’s expectations of whom should be sacrificing what for whom is often skewed. continue to page 2 –>
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Very well said Brett. When most people think about truck driving, I think they picture going down a long open road with mountains in the distance and the wind blowing in their hair. Yes, this is a reality from time to time. But also picture yourself living in a walk in closet for 4 weeks or more at a time, then seeing your family for 4 days before heading back out. Picture yourself trying to pull a 53ft trailer through the city streets of Chicago, Boston, Dallas, or God forbid, New York City. Picture that long open road as an 8 lane expressway packed with cars and the constant flow of them cutting you off. Picture trying to back into a real tight dock while taking up 2 lanes of traffic on a busy street. Picture rushing to your customer with a load, then being told to sit around and wait for 4 to 8 hours until they can get to you, all the while not being paid and being treated like garbage (“no driver, we don’t have a public restroom”). These things are also reality.
As Brett said, this can be the best job in the world. But there’s more to it than looking at beautiful scenery all day while cruisin down the open road. This is a tough job. Do your research, this site is a great start. Then decide, is this really a job and a lifestyle you want for yourself? I decided it was, and I’m glad I did!
Very well said. Yes, there are complaints about every company which are legit. But many drivers also bring the problems on being the way they act/not act.
The companies I worked for really do their best and do succeed at getting driver home for your needed time for the event you requested. If its a weekend event, getting home would be like any other weekend home except you may get there a few hours early.
Now if you need to get home for something almost every month, you are going to have problems with that and will need to decide which of those things are needed and the ones that could wait for normal get home time.
The profits companies make is slim on each load. Like Brett said, equipment break downs, there goes any profit made. It could take 2 weeks to get that money back. Accident–major one–it will take a year or two to get that money back. So this is money that could have been used to PAY THE DRIVER and other staff. Money that could have been used for newer equipment. Many drivers do not get (maybe care) that it is YOU THE DRIVER who will see that your company succeeds.
But that will only work if you work for a legit company. You drive crappy equipment, employer won’t fix and etc… there is nothing you can do except to leave that employer and work at a place that will treat you better.
You make some excellent points Rhonda.
I’d like to emphasize how important her one point is:
“Many drivers do not get (maybe care) that it is YOU THE DRIVER who will see that your company succeeds.”
You’re dead on! Many drivers do not seem to understand that they are indeed responsible for the success or failure of their company. So many times I see drivers act as if it is the company’s privilege to have them as a driver – and that may be true. But as a driver, you’re getting paid well, driving beautiful equipment, being handed your freight, have good benefits, and a whole list of other great things – because there are a lot of people behind the scenes at your company that are doing a great job every day to keep the ship sailing ahead. You’re part of a system – an important part – but far from the only person who is doing something incredibly important.
Appreciate what you have. I’m telling you right now – truckers are not appreciated much by the general public because people do not understand what drivers go through day in and day out. You have to accept this, appreciate what you have, and continue to do your part to support your company, your country’s economy, and your career.
You’re a tremendous asset to your company, and you won’t hear this very often. But so are a lot of other people, and neither will they. So keep your head up, keep working hard, and keep doing your part to keep things moving forward for everyone. You may not hear too many “thank you”s, but that’s not why you got into trucking in the first place. Enjoy it – it would be a shame if you didn’t.
That was a great article Brett. If you want to enjoy trucking and life in general the way Brett does, he will always tell you it is all about attitude, attitude, attitude! Soon hopefully Brett will take some time and write the summary of his years on the road. It is absolutely amazing and will teach new drivers a great deal.
Thanks ma! Hey, meet my ma everyone!
Ma get to listen to me for 15 years about trucking – the adventures, the hardships, the exciting times, and the times I was ready to choke someone! She’s heard it all and has learned a ton about the trucking industry just by being there for me to talk to throughout the years – and she nailed the key point right on the nose – there’s nothing more important than a driver’s attitude when it comes to the enjoyment and success you’ll have in your trucking career. You hear a ton of drivers out there on the message boards blaming the “horrible companies” and “lousy dispatchers” for the lack of satisfaction they have with their job and their career – but in the end, it almost always comes down to the driver.
Of course there are lousy dispatchers out there, and I’ve had a couple. There are lousy load planners, and of course I’ve stumbled upon a few of those. But for the most part, every driver can find a good dispatcher, good equipment, good miles, and predictable home time at pretty much any of the large carriers out there once you understand how the industry works, you know what to expect of the people around you, and you know what it takes from you to get the job done in a way that you’ll be rewarded with respect, miles, and home time.
But it takes a lot of time to get to that point, and no rookie is going to understand the industry very well. It takes a couple of years at least. So expect to pay your dues and learn the ropes, and even then things won’t always go your way – not even close. Trucking wasn’t a great career because it was easy – in fact, quite the opposite. It was great because it was almost never easy.
As Tom Hanks famously said in the movie “A League Of Their Own” – “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”
If you don’t agree, then trucking may not be for you, because I’m telling you – it’s hard. It’s very hard.
Thanks ma!