Have you ever heard a driver say, “I’m just a trucker, what do I know?” We have all said that over the years and not only that your peers and co-workers have said it too! I can’t help you, I’m just a trucker, what do I know?” What about the operations manager who says, “Don’t worry about them they’re just truckers!” This is common language in the industry and it’s our own fault. I recently shared a panel discussion from a recent trucking conference where the human resources person on the panel said transportation has done a terrible job marketing themselves and telling people what opportunities are available as careers in the industry. Add on to that fact that very often we are so busy filling seats that we forget about the quality of people entering the industry. If you take the low hanging fruit you get you get the worst of the worst.
Much of this started because the industry started as a dumping ground for those that didn’t have the academic grades or desires for a career behind a desk. The farm kids who learned to drive tractors at the age of 12 were all perfect for a career in trucking. When I started my career in trucking dropping out of school at 17 I just happened to find a job at a moving company and enjoyed the change of scenery, the work, and the people. When I look back at many of my friends many of us had a grade ten education level in those days. We couldn’t do anything else, so lets go truck!
Fast forward 40 years and not only do I love the industry, but it has taught me so much in the way of soft skills such as dealing with people or hard skills of learning how to drive properly and navigate with a map. Still to this day when I tell people I am / was a truck driver I get a frown or even worse, “That’s a really hard job!” How they know what the job entails based on the crash on last night’s news or that long trip they took four years ago that seemed to take forever with a camper on the back of their car has given them enough information to judge my career choice. When I started my trucking career I was working at a gas station pumping gas and doing oil changes with no aspiration for the future. I told a co-worker that I had got a job at a moving company and was getting into the trucking industry. He told me that he had tried it for two years and didn’t make any money, so don’t do it! Thankfully I didn’t listen to him because 40 years later it has worked for me and people pump their own gas now anyway.
One of the reasons I started The Lead Pedal Podcast was to share tips and experiences for others so they could have a good career as I did. It started with in person presentations, then books, and now online media, but the message is still the same. You can have a good career in the trucking industry and more importantly truck drivers aren’t stupid!
This month on the podcast I talk to a female truck driver that has been trucking for decades and is now helping people who are incarcerated have a second chance at life by providing resources to help them get back into society. She did this all while still driving a truck. I also talk with a young driver successful as a content creator operating in today’s industry based on the values he learned from a long family line of truck drivers. That’s right someone under 30 that understands how to read a map! Over the last year I have talked with countless drivers who have started tech companies to track detention time, trip planning, and more.
The driver’s seat is a great starting point to understand the industry and we need to raise the bar on how easy it is to get in the industry, but also want to leave room for others that may not have direction from the start. There are many areas to grow in this industry and we have all seen it. I have many friends and colleagues that used to drive and now own successful companies within the industry. Let’s change our language from, “Just a trucker to you have to be smart to handle a truck.” If you think autonomous trucks are going to take over our jobs, then listen to my upcoming interview with an attorney from Alaska where they have brought in regulations to make sure autonomous trucks will never rule the roads there! If we’re not going to remove our drivers let’s start celebrating them!
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About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a veteran of the trucking industry with over 40 years of experience. Starting in the moving industry in his teens he spent 25 years behind the wheel before becoming a fleet supervisor and now media entrepreneur. Bruce produces and hosts The Lead Pedal Podcast focusing on business and careers for the trucking industry as well as producing live radio shows on Lead Pedal Radio focused on the music and nostalgia of the industry. You can find him performing and covering industry events in trucking under Lead Pedal Media. Did you know he is also a professional cartoonist? To learn about Bruce and his shows visit www.LeadPedalMedia.com
