truck driver pays better than cargo pilot
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truck driver pays better than cargo pilot
Trading 9 to 5 for a big 10-4
Solid pay and the romance of the open road are luring boomers away from their cubicles and into the truck driver's seat
PATRICK WHITE
Globe and Mail Update http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... eWork/home
September 10, 2007 at 8:12 AM EDT
Hauling a trailer full of wooden spindles along a tedious stretch of Iowa cow-and-corn country, Birgit Johnston can't help but admire the view from her new office.
"I'm surrounded by windows and sunshine, looking at some of the most beautiful countryside in the world," says Ms. Johnston, who earned a trucker's licence in April and now drives for Challenger, one of Canada's biggest trucking firms. "What could be better?"
Less than a year ago, the 49-year-old Simcoe, Ont., resident was staring at cubicle walls and withering under fluorescent lights. As an engineering technician for Stelco, she worked in a windowless office for eight hours a day.
The last of her four grown children had recently left for college. After work, she'd bring a gloomy mixture of stress and tedium home to her husband.
But last year, Ms. Johnston caught a break: She got laid off.
With her experience, it would have been easy enough to find technician work elsewhere, but Ms. Johnston was ready for a big career change. A big-rig career change.
Across North America, baby boomers are abandoning office chairs and climbing into truck cabs. The number of drivers 50 and over at Schneider National, North America's biggest trucking firm, has increased by 46 per cent since 2005, and they now make up one-third of the company's 15,000 drivers. In a report last month, the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council found that two-thirds of new truck drivers are 35 or older and taking up trucking as a second career.
"If you look at the demographics of a perfect driver, it's someone who's close to 50," says Brian Danjaw, head of recruiting for Schneider National's Canadian fleet. "Young people with families, we can't take them away from home for very long. With baby boomers, you're more likely to get someone with an empty nest and a strong constitution."
What's driving these former desk jockeys to pursue second careers on the open road? Ever since Burt Reynolds first donned a cowboy hat for Smokey and the Bandit, the 1977 comedy centred on a tractor-trailer delivering bootleg beer, a certain romance has cloaked the life of the rough-and-tumble trucker.
A few things have changed since then. The wages, for one: Today, a new driver can earn up to $80,000 a year - no bootlegging needed. Depending on the work, truckers can earn anywhere from 25 to 95 cents for each mile of road they cover.
"The pay is definitely decent," says Tom Nock, 47, who went from managing supply and distribution at Rogers Communications to a second career behind the wheel two years ago. "For someone willing to put in a lot of long-haul miles, there's no end to what you could make."
And with a range of gizmos such as fridges, televisions, microwaves, satellite radios and GPS units being made especially for trucks, the life of cab and sleeper is a lot cozier than it used to be.
But most important to these recovering office drones is the independence.
"You're given an assignment and it's up to you to get to where you're going on time," Ms. Johnston says. "There's nobody looking over your shoulder all the time. That could get lonely down the road, but I'm a bit of a loner anyway."
Many firms now allow drivers some companionship. Ms. Johnston keeps a constant co-pilot in her schnauzer Rudy and sometimes has her husband ride shotgun.
"It was his idea that we'd both get our licences and spend the next 10 or 15 years riding around," she says. "My kids thought we'd lost our minds. They were embarrassed that I was going to be some truck-driving momma, but now that they see I'm happy they don't mind so much."
Husband-and-wife teams can double-shift a single truck and bring in $150,000 annually combined. "We're seeing a number of empty-nester couples signing up for classes," says John Beaudry, president of Transport Training Centres of Canada based in Sudbury. "Between the two of them they can put away a nice-sized nest egg."
While Mr. Johnston has yet to earn his licence - the course takes as little as three weeks and costs about $2,000 - his wife won't have to worry about gainful employment for the next decade or more. The industry's labour force is running on fumes, needing an extra 35,000 drivers this year and a quarter of a million by 2028, according to the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council. Some firms are offering signing bonuses of up to $4,000 for new recruits.
But life behind the wheel isn't all open highway and easy money.
In his first week driving, Mr. Nock made a drop in a particularly shady part of Pennsylvania. "I got this feeling I was going to be killed in some little U.S. town."
"That first week on your own is the worst. I was ready to quit."
He stuck with it, but is more cautious than he was as a rookie. "When I stop at night, I take a good look to see what type of people are around. And I never leave the tractor unlocked."
And despite new electronic conveniences, life on the road requires a hardy disposition. Long-haul trips can keep drivers from their families for up to two weeks at a stretch. Truck stops encourage a steady diet of fast food and coffee. Cleanliness comes second to a good night's sleep.
"If you're used to showering every day, well, that's not going to happen out here," says Ms. Johnston. "It's definitely not a luxurious lifestyle."
Solid pay and the romance of the open road are luring boomers away from their cubicles and into the truck driver's seat
PATRICK WHITE
Globe and Mail Update http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... eWork/home
September 10, 2007 at 8:12 AM EDT
Hauling a trailer full of wooden spindles along a tedious stretch of Iowa cow-and-corn country, Birgit Johnston can't help but admire the view from her new office.
"I'm surrounded by windows and sunshine, looking at some of the most beautiful countryside in the world," says Ms. Johnston, who earned a trucker's licence in April and now drives for Challenger, one of Canada's biggest trucking firms. "What could be better?"
Less than a year ago, the 49-year-old Simcoe, Ont., resident was staring at cubicle walls and withering under fluorescent lights. As an engineering technician for Stelco, she worked in a windowless office for eight hours a day.
The last of her four grown children had recently left for college. After work, she'd bring a gloomy mixture of stress and tedium home to her husband.
But last year, Ms. Johnston caught a break: She got laid off.
With her experience, it would have been easy enough to find technician work elsewhere, but Ms. Johnston was ready for a big career change. A big-rig career change.
Across North America, baby boomers are abandoning office chairs and climbing into truck cabs. The number of drivers 50 and over at Schneider National, North America's biggest trucking firm, has increased by 46 per cent since 2005, and they now make up one-third of the company's 15,000 drivers. In a report last month, the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council found that two-thirds of new truck drivers are 35 or older and taking up trucking as a second career.
"If you look at the demographics of a perfect driver, it's someone who's close to 50," says Brian Danjaw, head of recruiting for Schneider National's Canadian fleet. "Young people with families, we can't take them away from home for very long. With baby boomers, you're more likely to get someone with an empty nest and a strong constitution."
What's driving these former desk jockeys to pursue second careers on the open road? Ever since Burt Reynolds first donned a cowboy hat for Smokey and the Bandit, the 1977 comedy centred on a tractor-trailer delivering bootleg beer, a certain romance has cloaked the life of the rough-and-tumble trucker.
A few things have changed since then. The wages, for one: Today, a new driver can earn up to $80,000 a year - no bootlegging needed. Depending on the work, truckers can earn anywhere from 25 to 95 cents for each mile of road they cover.
"The pay is definitely decent," says Tom Nock, 47, who went from managing supply and distribution at Rogers Communications to a second career behind the wheel two years ago. "For someone willing to put in a lot of long-haul miles, there's no end to what you could make."
And with a range of gizmos such as fridges, televisions, microwaves, satellite radios and GPS units being made especially for trucks, the life of cab and sleeper is a lot cozier than it used to be.
But most important to these recovering office drones is the independence.
"You're given an assignment and it's up to you to get to where you're going on time," Ms. Johnston says. "There's nobody looking over your shoulder all the time. That could get lonely down the road, but I'm a bit of a loner anyway."
Many firms now allow drivers some companionship. Ms. Johnston keeps a constant co-pilot in her schnauzer Rudy and sometimes has her husband ride shotgun.
"It was his idea that we'd both get our licences and spend the next 10 or 15 years riding around," she says. "My kids thought we'd lost our minds. They were embarrassed that I was going to be some truck-driving momma, but now that they see I'm happy they don't mind so much."
Husband-and-wife teams can double-shift a single truck and bring in $150,000 annually combined. "We're seeing a number of empty-nester couples signing up for classes," says John Beaudry, president of Transport Training Centres of Canada based in Sudbury. "Between the two of them they can put away a nice-sized nest egg."
While Mr. Johnston has yet to earn his licence - the course takes as little as three weeks and costs about $2,000 - his wife won't have to worry about gainful employment for the next decade or more. The industry's labour force is running on fumes, needing an extra 35,000 drivers this year and a quarter of a million by 2028, according to the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council. Some firms are offering signing bonuses of up to $4,000 for new recruits.
But life behind the wheel isn't all open highway and easy money.
In his first week driving, Mr. Nock made a drop in a particularly shady part of Pennsylvania. "I got this feeling I was going to be killed in some little U.S. town."
"That first week on your own is the worst. I was ready to quit."
He stuck with it, but is more cautious than he was as a rookie. "When I stop at night, I take a good look to see what type of people are around. And I never leave the tractor unlocked."
And despite new electronic conveniences, life on the road requires a hardy disposition. Long-haul trips can keep drivers from their families for up to two weeks at a stretch. Truck stops encourage a steady diet of fast food and coffee. Cleanliness comes second to a good night's sleep.
"If you're used to showering every day, well, that's not going to happen out here," says Ms. Johnston. "It's definitely not a luxurious lifestyle."
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- Rank 2
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- Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 8:45 am
Man!! I just gotta git me a chain drive wallet and a big ol' set of double cluchin' boots and hit the road Jack!!
Except now I will have to listen to all those ol' truck drivin songs and learn to 10-4 good buddy on the ol' CB.
Except now I will have to listen to all those ol' truck drivin songs and learn to 10-4 good buddy on the ol' CB.
The average pilot, despite the somewhat swaggering exterior, is very much capable of such feelings as love, affection, intimacy and caring.
These feelings just don't involve anyone else.
These feelings just don't involve anyone else.
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I don't know if I'm the only one who went from truck driver to pilot but here's what I do know: after 12 years in aviation, I've never worked as hard or worked as many hours as I did when I was driving trucks. I made more money then, but I was never home. One day at home each week was considered a pretty good schedule. It's not as great as the article makes it out to be.
Not all truck driving is long-haul low pay. I make over $10,000 per month in the six winter months driving in the oil-field out of Grande Prairie. I make way more doing this than flying. I'm home almost every night, and work about 13 to 15 hours per day. It supports my flying-habit. Probably one more good winter driving before I make the switch to full time flying (and a 55% pay cut
). I just like flying more, that's all. It's about the quality of life I think...

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Agreed, " trucking " covers alot of different jobs, the long-haul one is the one most referrred to as it's got the most romantic appeal...
Took my turn on that one, and I have to say, the romance only goes so far.
But, I guess like flying, if your bent that way and thats your passion, then no one is going to be able to tell you differently.
If I recall correctly, its also one of the most dangerous jobs in North America. When you couple that to the fact that the pay ceiling in trucking ( unless you graduate into being an owner, not an owner-operator, which in my books is no longer " trucking ", but rather being an entreprenuer ) is not one that would convince me to spend 20+ years in it as a career.
ah but the romance.......of crouching under your tires on the blueberry paulson wrestling your rusty chains onto bald tires, while the ice-dirt chunks drip down your back. Dont forget to grab yer brake-buddy and lie on your back in the mud and adjust those brakes!
More fun than working at Timmys I guess, but....
5400
Took my turn on that one, and I have to say, the romance only goes so far.
But, I guess like flying, if your bent that way and thats your passion, then no one is going to be able to tell you differently.
If I recall correctly, its also one of the most dangerous jobs in North America. When you couple that to the fact that the pay ceiling in trucking ( unless you graduate into being an owner, not an owner-operator, which in my books is no longer " trucking ", but rather being an entreprenuer ) is not one that would convince me to spend 20+ years in it as a career.
ah but the romance.......of crouching under your tires on the blueberry paulson wrestling your rusty chains onto bald tires, while the ice-dirt chunks drip down your back. Dont forget to grab yer brake-buddy and lie on your back in the mud and adjust those brakes!
More fun than working at Timmys I guess, but....
5400
- complexintentions
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heheh I wonder how many people here even know where or what the blueberry paulson is? Your description of chaining up fits to a "t".
Good old CYCG....I miss flying in there...especially the "Arrow Lakes 1" arrival. (Contact approach from 50 miles out on those many low-fog days). Does anyone do a bag-run into there anymore?
Good old CYCG....I miss flying in there...especially the "Arrow Lakes 1" arrival. (Contact approach from 50 miles out on those many low-fog days). Does anyone do a bag-run into there anymore?
I’m still waiting for my white male privilege membership card. Must have gotten lost in the mail.
I grew up in a family were my dad was always on the road as a long haul truck driver. For a kid it sucked to not have him around to take me to soccer or work on my dirt bike. On the other hand my father made a good living as an owner/operator and did some things that most pilots can't do, like choosing the town we lived in and making enough money to let my mother stay at home with us.
My father and now brother still drive truck and both have what I think could be the best driving jobs around. They each work for carriers that haul new cars from the factory to another depot or the dealer, scheduled run that is done daily. My brothers run is; London to Burlington (load the cars) to Windsor/Detroit (unload) then back to London. Not that bad of a gig for 75 grand a year and a month off every summer for plant shut down. Plus all the perks of being an auto worker (union, paid vacation, holidays off or paid at triple time). A few of the senior guys make 120 grand a year and sleep in there own beds every night.
Driving truck has about the same difficulty level as flying a plane in most A to B flying jobs (maybe harder! gasp). No different then flying if you get the RIGHT job it can be a great lifestyle. If your going to work for a crappy operator it is a shitty way of life, pilot or trucker. I do have an A/Z license but make a living as a self employed pilot.
My father and now brother still drive truck and both have what I think could be the best driving jobs around. They each work for carriers that haul new cars from the factory to another depot or the dealer, scheduled run that is done daily. My brothers run is; London to Burlington (load the cars) to Windsor/Detroit (unload) then back to London. Not that bad of a gig for 75 grand a year and a month off every summer for plant shut down. Plus all the perks of being an auto worker (union, paid vacation, holidays off or paid at triple time). A few of the senior guys make 120 grand a year and sleep in there own beds every night.
Driving truck has about the same difficulty level as flying a plane in most A to B flying jobs (maybe harder! gasp). No different then flying if you get the RIGHT job it can be a great lifestyle. If your going to work for a crappy operator it is a shitty way of life, pilot or trucker. I do have an A/Z license but make a living as a self employed pilot.
- Axial Flow
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- critical engine
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A truck driver makes more, because it's harder work. It's way harder to keep a big rig on an icy road in the Rockies than sit, picking one's nose at FL whatever, with the auto pilot in complete control. If this job were any easier, we wouldn't get paid at all! I've actually seen monkeys do it.
- corytrevor
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I look at it this way. I could probably go to a training school and have my class one in a couple days and be on the road driving a rig. Now, how long will it take to put a semi driver left seat in an airliner? Thank you, come again. Yes, it's an easy job, if you know what you're doing, and everything's going fine and dandy, but we get paid for keeping the shit from hitting the fan if possible, and getting the shit off the fan when it does hit.
I also apply the same reasoning to FA's who think they should be on par with pilots.
I also apply the same reasoning to FA's who think they should be on par with pilots.
Truck drivers work harder than pilots. I'm sure some don't work harder, but it is a harder job. I didn't get into the training side of it. It takes longer to become a pilot. It also costs more. But it's not as hard a job. Neither is being an FA. That's not a hard job either. You can easily be an airline pilot with a grade ten education. You may not get the job....but a grade ten grad could certainly do the job. In some cases, a little less education could do the job a little better, but that's a whole other subject. And don't get into the "lives in the back" crap. A truck driver can write off a family of four just by nodding off. In the blink of an eye. Usually, it takes a while for the pilot to actually kill his cargo. And when that happens, it's most often his fault. I believe a truck driver to be worth at least as much as a pilot. Certainly a right seat pilot with Jazz etc.
Have at 'er.
Have at 'er.