Trucking is a job that is necessary all over the world. But there’s something about it that conjures up a distinct American flavor. Maybe it’s the amount of classic American songs and movies that make reference to it. Maybe it’s the sheer size of the American road network, which makes truck driving jobs so necessary. (It’s the biggest in the world – 6,586,610km!) Whatever it is, it seems that “trucking” and “America” are two concepts that are hard to separate.
Despite so many careers changing drastically over the last decade, the trucking solutions industry remains largely untouched. Heck, it’s one of the very few jobs where you can still smoke while you’re working! (Not that you should smoke, of course.) The need for truckers – teamsters, as they’re otherwise known – has not dwindled at all. In addition, if you need a custom vacuum trailer for your trucking services, you should consider looking at options from a local custom vacuum trailer dealer.
Here are some things you should keep in mind about this job, should you find yourself considering it.
You need to go to school!
There’s a misconception that anyone who has a driving license can become a trucker. Sure, we understand that driving a truck is a lot different to driving a regular car. But many people don’t understand how big a difference it really is. And you need to be really good with a truck to be a trucker!
So you need to go to a truck driving school. And you should ensure you go to a good one! Don’t assume the one closest to you has the best results.
It’s lonely
Me, I like being by myself. (Most of the time.) But for a lot of people, spending more than a few hours in your own company sounds very uncomfortable.
It’s nice not having a boss looking over your shoulder, for sure. But you could potentially have entire days where you don’t communicate with anyone else. It’s not a total horror show, though! There are several benefits to being alone. You just need to prepare yourself for it.
It’s not as dangerous as you think
Driving a car is operating heavy machinery. Driving a truck is operating really heavy machinery. “Heavy machinery” often conjures up thoughts of danger and compromised worker safety to a lot of people, view more about this.
But with tests for sleeping disorders and mandatory breaks becoming more widespread, it’s not as bad as you may think. And if something does go wrong, you’re not alone. You can always contact the truck accident attorney who saved livelihoods.
The Internet of Things is going to alter the field… eventually
So trucking hasn’t changed that much in the last few decades. But, as you’ve probably noticed, we now seem to be allowing driverless cars onto the roads. What does that mean for the teamsters?
Like in most career paths, technology is probably not going to make people obsolete. Truckers won’t all be replaced by robots. But substantial changes are on the way. In a decade or so, the autonomous truck is going to be on the road. They’re going to be expensive, so don’t expect all truck companies to make a sudden switch. But when you consider that 90% of all road accidents are caused by human error, it’s not exactly an unattractive prospect to many.
