Truck driver job in USA

American Trucking Association has recently reported about an acute lack of truck drivers in the USA. Nowadays there is a big demand in the profession of a truck driver and there are the companies that are willing to pay for the training from their own pocket. The usual course to obtain a Commercial driver’s license takes about four weeks. Afterwards, they offer a pretty good salary for novices - $35,000 - $50,000 a year.

There are five major reasons that made this profession one of the most uncommon ones. Firstly, baby-boomers began to retire gradually; the average age of an actual trucker is about 60-65 years old. This group of highly experienced truckers is a great value for employers. They are well oriented on roads, they know the secrets of the profession, and they hardly ever get into road accidents (employers are afraid of the last thing most of all).

Secondly, very few young people are planning to obtain this profession and to drive trucks over long distances (for example from California to New York and from New York to Florida). Graduates want to be close to friends and parents, or they plan to enter a college.

Thirdly, truck drivers have become in demand due to high prices on fuel. Even large companies can’t afford themselves air shipping, thus freight transportation is becoming more and more popular. Many of them are investing in commercial trucks again. They know that with the help of a truck they can always earn good money.

Fourthly, the amount of freight shipping has significantly increased because of the constant moving of Americans caused by the foreclosure and the search for a new job. Every tenth truck is shipping someone’s private property.

Fifthly, over the past ten years the road infrastructure has been considerably upgraded. Parking places, fast-food restaurants and motels for truck drivers have been enlarged. As to the social side of this job, truckers used to have conflicts with each other but now they live in complete harmony. Nowadays a job of a trucker is not in the top of the list of the most dangerous professions.

An interesting fact - many truck drivers save a lot of money on rent. According to statistics, every ninth truck driver lives in the cabin, which is often equipped with a fridge, shower, toilet and air conditioning. It’s not a secret that lots of people have managed to survive during the crisis thanks to the CDL.

Overland cargo transportation industry has a good prospective. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 the number of truckers in the USA will increase by 330,000 people.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that there are a lot of myths connected to the profession of a truck driver. I’m sure you’ve noticed hundreds of times that truck drivers in the films are usually shown as fat and aggressive men, aged 45-50. In fact, this profession has become popular among women in recent years and the number of women truckers has notably run up. And according to statistics, they are more careful and attentive drivers and they are less likely to get into car accidents. As for the age of the average driver, it may fall to 30 by 2017 - 2018. That means only one thing – many of us can easily drive a huge roaring truck on the highway, what you need is a desire for it.