Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited

Return to career-consulting-limited.com
Managing
People
Managing Your Career
CV Examples
Coaching
Cover Letter Examples
Pre-Employment Tests


Driver Team Solo Positions: The Nitty Gritty On Truck Driving Jobs


Trucks and truck drivers are a constant presence on US highways and interstates. A person on even the shortest drive is likely to pass by a truck or two transporting goods, and even merchandise that travels by ship, train, or airplane travels on a truck for some phase of the journey to the customer. Because trucks are such a major part of industry, truck driving jobs are important positions and good paying jobs.

Truck drivers have many responsibilities. Before leaving the terminal or warehouse, truck drivers make routine checks of their vehicles, checking fuel and oil levels. They inspect the tires, brakes, and windshield wipers, and make sure that all safety equipment is loaded and functional. They report any problems to the dispatcher, who keeps track of all of these small details. Once they start driving, truck drivers must be constantly alert. They can see quite a long distance along the highway because they sit higher than most other vehicles. This puts them in a position of power on the road, as well as heightened responsibility.

Delivery requirements vary according to the type of merchandise, the driving assignment, and the final destination. Local drivers provide daily service along a specific route, while other drivers must make intercity and interstate deliveries based on specific orders. The driver's responsibilities and salary change based on the time spent on the road, the type of product transported, and vehicle size.

New technologies are revolutionizing the way that truck drivers work. Long distance truck drivers now have satellites and global positioning systems (GPS) to link them with company headquarters. Information, directions, and weather reports can be delivered to the truck instantly no matter where it is. Company headquarters can track the truck's location, fuel consumption, and engine performance. Inventory tracking equipment is now computerized, allowing the producer, warehouse, and customer to all check in on the products on the road. New technology is making truck driving an easier job, as seats become more comfortable, trucks have better ventilation, and cabs are better designed.

Some routes are very, very long, and these usually employ heavy truck or tractor-trailer drivers. On the longest routes, companies will hire two drivers for sleeper runs. Sleeper runs can last from days to weeks and the truck only stops for fuel, food, loading and unloading. The drivers switch off driving and sleeping in the truck.

Truck driving can be a demanding job. Some self-employed long-distance truck drivers who own and operate their own trucks spend most of the year away from home. The government restricts long distance drivers to no more than 60 hours a week as well as requiring 10 hours rest for every 11 hours driving. Many drivers work very close to this max time permitted because they are compensated according to the number of miles or hours they've put in. The difficulty of truck driving is well compensated, which makes it a popular job. In 2002, there were 3.2 million truck drivers.

Many trucking operations have higher standards than the Federal minimum requirements. Drivers are often required to be at least 22 years old, able to lift heavy objects, and have 3-5 years driving experience. Companies want to hire good drivers who work efficiently and cost less to insure. They like drivers who have enrolled in driver-training courses. New drivers might begin on small straight trucks and graduate to larger trucks and finally to tractor-trailers. A few truck drivers advance high enough to become dispatchers, managers, or traffic workers.

Heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers earned an average of $16 per hour in 2002. The highest 10% of this group earned more than $24 an hour. Driving a truck is a great career with lots of room for promotion and advancement. After moving all the way up the chain of promotion within a company, truck drivers often strike out on their own and open successful transport businesses.

Air Liquide is a major international company and is also a private carrier. This means it maintains its own truck fleet and hires truck drivers. Because Air Liquide is such successful company, driving jobs with Air Liquide are stable, well supported positions. Solo Air Liquide drivers can expect to be home 80-90% of the time and make between $50,000 and $70,000 a year depending on the type of run and work performance. Air Liquide provides benefits like medical and life insurance, performance benefits, ample vacation time, flexible spending accounts, and quarterly profit sharing. As Air Liquide grows and succeeds, so do each of its employees! If you are interested in a truck driving job, you should apply here to drive for Air Liquide. Find out more about Air Liquide!


MORE RESOURCES:



Careers | Career Opportunities  West Virginia University






Jobs  City of Rochester (.gov)

Careers at TWU  Texas Woman's University







City of Tampa Careers  City of Tampa

Job Seekers  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


Nursing jobs  VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs




Careers  Washington State University




Working for ICE  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom



UF Health Careers  UF Health - University of Florida Health




Careers at Prairie View A&M University  Prairie View A&M University

Job Search Results  UnitedHealth Group

UN COMMON CAREERS  VCU Health

Work With Us  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Career Opportunities  Gilead Sciences

Careers  Medline




Jobs and internships  Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Job Opportunities  Bellevue School District


How to Apply  FEMA


Careers  Micron

Careers at Discovery Education  Discovery Education





Careers  KPMG

Join our team  FHI 360


Internship Opportunities | Careers  Boston Consulting Group



Careers in  A&O Shearman

Work At Chess.com  Chess.com

Students and graduates  JPMorgan Chase

Career Paths  FEMA

Careers at Balfour Beatty  Balfour Beatty

Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024  University of North Dakota






Mental health at work  World Health Organization



Why Employees Quit  HBR.org Daily

JobFeed  NSW Department of Education


Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates  The Australian Financial Review



Careers  Turner & Townsend

Current opportunities  Turner & Townsend




Careers  City of Norfolk (.gov)



Jobs  Energy.gov

Careers at King County  King County


> Careers > Job-listings  National Reconnaissance Office

Employment Opportunities  Unity Health Toronto

Jobs  Dublin City University

Careers  City of Somerville

Careers  UTSA Today

Careers at USI  University of Southern Indiana

Careers with the City of London  City of London, Ontario

Apply for a Job -  The City of Vancouver, WA

Need More Information?
Site Home | Site Map | Links | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
© Career Consulting Limited.com 2011

tumblr visit counter