Truck Driver Stories: Charles, Over the Road Driver
As part of Ike’s analysis of the impact of automation on truck driving jobs, we’re profiling a few real truck drivers and exploring how their work may change in the future.
Charles has one important rule that helps him cope with the long hours and changing schedules of a long-distance company truck driver. At the end of each day, wherever he is, he always buys himself a hot meal — preferably fried chicken with a salad. It makes him feel a little more like he’s living a normal life.
“This is an unusual lifestyle,” he says. “You have to try to keep a routine.”
Charles, 31, has spent more than four years as a 48-state driver for a firm based in Springfield, Missouri. He previously worked as a manager of a convenience store.
He says he likes driving for a company, since he doesn’t have to worry about health insurance, truck maintenance, or planning his trips. Still, the job is extraordinarily demanding. Charles gets only one day off each week and didn’t get any paid vacation until he had worked for a year. He sleeps most nights in a bed in the back of his truck, scrounging time to keep in touch by phone with friends and his two beloved nephews.
“Trucking is a 24/7 industry, and the customer is Number One,” he says. “If they need their delivery at 3 a.m., that’s when it has to arrive.”
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I believe in the mission and purpose of trucking. I remember one time I dropped off a load of chicken at a distribution center that served homeless people. It gave me a great feeling to be part of that.
Q: What’s the hardest part of what you do?
A: The hardest part is being away from my family, not getting that regular routine of working 9-to-5, where I can go out with my friends at night. That lifestyle is put aside for the permanent lifestyle of being a professional driver.
Q: What do you think most people misunderstand about truck driving?
A: I think the biggest misconception is you’re automatically going to make big money. If you don’t have the mental state, you won’t make that money. It takes a lot of sacrifice and most people don’t understand that until they do the job.
Q: How do you see your job changing in the future?
A: This is like any career. I got a bachelor’s degree in recreation in 2006 when it was very popular. Now there aren’t so many jobs in recreation. You have to be flexible. I’m definitely in favor of the new mandates on safety, the requirements to log in and take breaks. A lot of the older drivers don’t want to change, so they might try to avoid them. But I’m 100 percent behind anything that makes the job safer. It could be my nephew in the car next to me.
How we see Charles’s job changing
In the future, Charles may have more opportunities to work 9 to 5 and stay close to family and friends. His role may shift to local driving, handing off loads to automated trucks for the long haul.
Meet more truck drivers:
