5 Reasons To Consider A Truck Driving Career

With summer winding down, there are young people all across America who have just finished high school but have no plans to go on to college. They are faced with the proposition of finding a job in a tight economy that tends to reward college graduates over those who never went on to higher education. Still, all is not lost. There are numerous industries – including trucking – that welcome young people right out of high school.

If you are among the growing number of young Americans electing not to go to college, the trucking industry has a place for you. Truck driving is an excellent career choice you really should consider. Here are five reasons truck driving is worth thinking about:

1. Get to Work Quickly

Young people who choose to go to college before entering the working world have made a legitimate choice. But their decision means at least 2 to 4 years of schooling before they are ready to start working. During that time, they are also racking up debt that will eventually have to be paid off.

Truck drivers can complete their training in just a couple of months and at a fraction of what it costs to go to college. They can be working in less time than it takes to complete just one college semester. And at the end of their training, they have considerably less debt to repay.

2. Unparalleled Job Stability

The logistics industry is currently short tens of thousands of drivers. It is a situation that will only get worse before it gets better. Therefore, the simple law of supply and demand guarantees truck drivers unparalleled job stability as long as they work hard and follow all company policies. Do your job as expected and you will not have to worry about being laid off.

3. Relatively Good Pay

The median pay for truck drivers in 2015 was $40,260 annually, according to the BLS. By comparison, the median wage for Americans was just over $28,000, according to the Social Security Administration. Yes, some jobs pay better than truck driving. But there are plenty of others that pay substantially less.

4. Relatively Good Benefits

In order to compete for the best talent out there, trucking companies are having to increase benefits packages capable of luring new drivers into the company fold. It is not unheard of for carriers to offer full medical insurance, retirement packages, paid sick days, paid holidays, and other perks. Obviously, every trucking company has to determine the kinds of benefits it is comfortable offering.

5. Relative Day-To-Day Freedom

Finances aside, one of the things truck drivers say they love most about their jobs is the day-to-day freedom they enjoy. They do have to deal with dispatchers and delivery schedules as a matter of course. But truck drivers are not confined to a cubicle or workstation with supervisors constantly looking over their shoulders and checking their work.

As long as the truck driver is a motivated self-starter, he or she can go about a typical work day with very little interference. And, of course, the freedom of the open road is much too hard to resist for career truckers who would rather do nothing else.

Truck driving is a viable and honorable profession that young people should consider before deciding on a career path. It is not a ‘career of last resort’ as it has been described for so long. Just think of what our economy would be like if it were not for the millions of dedicated drivers crisscrossing America every single day.