Therefore, it is crucial to know that you are protected. The USA’s Department of Labor has the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) that works in your benefit.
Does The Hard Work Pays Off In The End?
We can go straight to the point and say that it does pay off a lot. And here are few reasons why we are so confidently saying this!
- Great life insurance and medical packages, from which your family can also benefit
- Great salary – you will be earning as a college graduate
- Peace and quiet while working
- Easy to qualify
- Retirement benefits
- Change of scenery
- Flexibility
Interesting Facts About Female Truckers
Women have been driving trucks since 1918. Luella Bates became the first woman professional truck driver with mechanic ability the same year and Lillie McGee Drennan have become the first woman commercial truck driver in 1929.
- Women make up 6% of truck drivers today. Even though this is still a “man’s job” women have proven to be great at this profession.
- Women are the answer to the drive shortage. With the constant growth of this industry, there is a bigger demand of drivers. If women get involved in trucking they will help to decrease the demand for truckers.
- Unfortunately many women do experience harassment at work by their male colleagues. This is of course something that can be addressed to the higher authorities and it’s not acceptable behavior.
- A female trucker tend to be more punctual than men trucker and with that more reliable to deliver the loads on time.
Female Trucker’s Testimonials
There are many femaletruck drivers out there. Their job does not require them to be fashionable and elegant ladies. Instead, they need to be tough and strong women. And it’s what they are indeed. The female trucker is one of the emotionally strongest ones out there.
Particularly, the story of Lisa Kelly is interesting since she’s an ice-road trucker. This is especially dangerous and difficult to do. Lisa is a women in her 30s and she works as a truck driver for several years. Surely, she’s in love with the roads, but this has its price. Especially when it’s an ice road.
It is not uncommon for ice-road truckers to slide on the road or even break the ice which is seriously dangerous. If this happens, the truck can sink in the water and they are in danger of drowning.
However, she does admit that she used to be called names by her fellow truck drivers. Even though she has several years of experience under her belt, she can’t win their respect most of the time. But, for Lisa Kelly, this is not a problem at all. It is a challenge instead.
Another everyday example of a female trucker is Leah Evans.
She got her CDL around 20 years ago, when she started team driving with her now ex-husband.
LEARN 12 SECRET STEPS HOW TO MAKE $950 MORE PER TRUCK / MONTH
Hey! I'm George J.Magoci and I will send you a FREE eBook where you can learn 12 secret steps how to make $950 more truck/month.
Leah Evans says she did not know she was going to be so passionate about truck driving.
Thus, her dreams were very different than being a truck driver. But, she says, there is something about trucking that makes you stick with it and love it. Therefore, she works for the same company for the past 16 years.
There is a female trucker out there whose passion came from family ties.
Such is the story of Andrea Prohl. She was into trucks since her early age, when her sister was an owner-operator. Today, Andrea has been working as a truck driver for over 17 years.
During the first three years of her trucking career, she was an Over the Road (OTR) trucker. So, she was spending long hours driving.
First months of trucking are not that easy for everyone. Because of her lack of experience she did not plan her route well and ended up in a restricted area of New York City. As a result, Andrea’s first road trip ended up with several fines.
Hence, today she’s planning her routes very carefully and she is using navigation. She is no longer an OTR driver but she enjoys the regional routes. Andrea and her husband are owner-operators today and they both enjoy their jobs.
Types Of Truck Driving Jobs
Are you considering a trucking career? Are you hesitating if as a female you would be able to manage your private life with this demanding career?
Let me tell you there are several different types of truck driving jobs. You can choose the one that suits your current lifestyle the best.
There are roughly nine different truck driving job types.
- Dry van drivers – This type of driving is most common for beginners. The dry van drivers have their truck loaded with dry goods and most of the time they are not required to even unload it.
- Flatbed drivers – When driving a flatbed truck you will need to know the goods you are transporting very well. Therefore, you will know how exactly to position them on the truck and how to secure them. Flatbed trucks transport oversized and odd-shaped freight. Some of the items might include military or transportation vehicles.
- Tanker drivers – This type is in the highest demand so far. Because it can be a hazardous liquid that you will transport, you have to be extra careful. Whether or not you transport hazardous liquid, as a tanker driver you must know how to act in a case of emergency.
- Refrigerated freight drivers – If you decide to work as a reefer driver, you will be transporting any kind of goods or items that need to be stored in a certain temperature. This can include food, meat, medicine etc. You will also need to know how to maintain the temperature in the truck and be checking on it regularly. This type of driving comes with more responsibility, therefore, bigger payments.
- Freight haulers – Anything that can’t be covered by the dry van drivers is covered by freight haulers. This means you can be transporting goods that can vary from hazardous liquid to oversized freight.
- LTL freight drivers – LTL or less than truckload drivers transport small freight. Mostly, they unload the trucks themselves. Also, the distance they drive is shorter and they can make several stops throughout the day.
- Local drivers – Being a local driver means you will be transporting goods in and around your city.
- Regional drivers – These drivers will be required to make shipments throughout the state.
- OTR drivers – OTR or Over the Road drivers are driving anywhere in the country. These drivers make long hour drives with less stops, therefore this is one of the hardest types of truck driving job.
Owner Operator Truck Driver
Owner operator truck driver is a person that both owns and drives a vehicle which he or she uses to earn for a living. Therefore, they would use their own truck to transport freight to companies.
