S1B5 Trucker Gal Dairies: New Paradigms

“Change is the only constant in life. I’m sure I have read this somewhere, probably in a Buddhist mindfulness meditation book. It’s true.”

Lauren Saige the Trucker Gal, May 25th, 2021, 

Getting used to new paradigms seems to be part of all of our lives these days. The reality of a trucker's life has a few shifting personal paradigms I had not anticipated - of course, nothing unmanageable, just different. But if you're thinking of getting into trucking - these are things you need to consider. Would I go back and not be a trucker? I love trucking, and I’m glad I became a trucker. So no, I wouldn't change a thing. 

 Most truckers (especially rookies) are paid “by the part” as it were. Like a factory worker in another country, we get paid piecemeal, by the part - or in other words, “By the mile.” We don’t get paid when not driving or if we do it’s minimal. $75 per day breakdown pay. $0.44 per mile. This is a typical first-year rookie pay. At least at my company, this is the rate give or take a few cents depending on what account you're on. 

Vacations are no pay or a % of average after a certain point in time with the company. I wasn’t used to this, I came from a 30-year career where I was salaried with fully-paid vacations. Suddenly getting sick had larger monetary ramifications. Truck breakdowns also have monetary ramifications. We get down pay, but again it is minimal.

Getting a loan is no longer a piece of cake either, even though I’ve bought and sold at least five homes over a 30 or 40 year period and have an excellent credit rating. Now it’s, “you don’t know how much you will make this year? You only have an estimate? Well, we need at least one year of pay stubs before we will give you a loan” That again after 30 years years with no problem getting any loan. It’s a new world. A world where many many people live. A world I knew nothing about. A world where I don’t simply go to Starbucks anytime I want. A world where I pinch pennies and oddly enough where I actually save money while making far less money. 

Culture - coming from an office culture to a trucker culture is quite the leap. Different values, different educational levels, all of this takes some adjustment. People out here are far more direct, there is an immediacy to things, things are dealt with in the moment and moved on. Opinions are strong and often expressed with a lot of emotion behind them. Truckers are,if nothing else, a community of characters from all kinds of backgrounds. Often truckers have no filter, have opinions they seem willing to die for.  They are very “real” in the moment type people. No subtle digs. If a trucker is angry, you're going to know it. 

I think moving so often as a child inculcated me with resiliency - I adapt easily. I’m also innately curious about many things. Every time we moved to another state it was an adventure for me - I was excited. It was the opportunity to begin fresh and new, meet new people, move away from bullies. Of course there are  new bullies to meet  everywhere. There is an upside - moving gives one the opportunity to try out different strategies for dealing with bullies.

When I was in high school a friend's family invited me to go with them for vacation at a resort in the smoky mountains. We took an oil painting class. The instructor asked us what we wanted to be when we graduated from college. I told him I wanted to be an artist. He asked why. I don’t remember what I told him other than that I wanted to be happy and making art makes me happy, but he said “I think you would be happy doing just about anything”. He saw something in me that I didn’t see at the time. But he was right. I could have been happy doing almost anything.I did become a professional artist and had a successful career, a career that always kept my natural curiosity challenged and satisfied. I was able to travel to China, London, and Paris for work. It was a magical time learning about Asian culture and cuisine.  

I love change and meeting new people. Hearing others' points of view - even if I don’t agree with them - I want to know why they think the way they do. And sometimes they even change my mind on things. 

One of the big cultural differences I see in the trucking industry is a no-nonsense attitude that is very direct. There are a lot less passive-aggressive politics going on in trucking compared to what I experienced in office settings. You're not going to see Sally or Scott tomorrow, you may never see them again. No time to form alliances, or worry over how someone is going to affect your career with all the behind-the-back chatter. You have one main point of contact in the company - your fleet manager. You either get along with them or you don’t. I’ve had very good fleet managers. So I’ve been lucky. 

There is a lot less stress in this job, believe it or not. The first six months I was stressed beyond measure, getting into pickles, having to get out of pickles, feeling frightened at night or in heavy traffic, or driving through small towns, maneuvering in difficult situations. But over time it becomes like breathing and if you're not in a hurry if you're not competing against the cowboys out there on the road, it becomes wonderfully comfortable. After eight months I feel comfortable, I love rolling. And now when I come to a difficult backing situation I see it as a fun challenge, I look forward to difficult backs. I don’t panic. 

In the beginning, I must have seemed like a crazy person calling my fleet manager, saying “who the hell can back in a situation like this? Do you realize the dock is right in front of the store, and that you have to back through a zillion people and cars to the Dock!!!!!” I remember my FM (fleet manager). raising his voice “I can’t drive your truck for you!” Nope, I had to do it myself.  I had daily freakouts for the first five or six months.

Every docking situation was different. 

Thinking back on it I imagine I must have sounded like some ditzy crazed bitch.  A hundred other truckers had done it before. But it was my first time and “emotionally” I “felt” no one else had ever been given this dock! How fucking silly! It was as if I was a young teen again. Learning something completely new in a sixty-year-old body. I was a child again. Where had all that maturity gone? lol! 

Now I smile at myself thinking back on it. I was hyper, scared, and at times silly. But it also makes me more compassionate for those other rookie drivers out there. Am I the only silly person out there? The only hyper newbie out there? Probably not. Even at 60 I’m like that little kid in a new situation learning how to walk, learning how to run, learning how to roll. 

To my fleet manager's credit, he was very patient. Thinking back on it - very very patient! 

Now I rarely need to communicate over the phone with my fleet manager. It’s just, pick up a load from here, take it to there - done, start over. 

It’s my first trucking job. It doesn’t pay very well. But I’ve been told that once I have a year or two, those higher-paying trucker jobs will be available. So I’m checking the landscape out while I ride out my first two years. 

I love the company. Werner is considered a training and starter company so the pay is never going to be where the higher-paying jobs are in the industry. There is something to be said for peace of mind though, and working with nice people. And I have to say there are a lot of nice people at Werner. It’s still mostly a male company, but 12% of the fleet are women. It’s a pro-positive company for women. 

The industry is male-dominated but changing. Drivers are in demand. If you want to become a trucker - you can. 

I always feel safe should something happen out on the road, I know there is help coming. Werner has an excellent roadside assistant and safety department.

So for now, I’ll keep rolling with Werner. And today I sit waiting for a repair. 

If you have ever dreamed of becoming a trucker and long for the open road - girl, don’t be afraid. Come on out. The water is warm. 

You will be challenged. There will be days when you think, “OMG! I’m not cut out for this.” But then it will come, you will become comfortable, good at what you do and have an interesting career, and meet lots of new faces out on the road. 

And if you're not interested in trucking but are a curious soul, come along for the ride on my blog. Leave a comment or a question and I’ll try to accommodate and respond as I can. 

Happy trucking! Keep on rolling.

Lauren the Trucker Gal.