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"I like the independence, love to drive, and I guess it just gets in your blood,” says Pat Rauschnot, a 36-year veteran truck driver. She even helped her sister, Carol Ann Schlussler, get into the business more than 20 years ago. Rauschnot's father, son and husband are also truck drivers.
Rauschnot, 60, and Schlussler, 62, are two of the approximately 170,000 women in the US who have chosen truck driving as a career. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women hold 5 percent of all US trucking jobs. Trucking presents special challenges for women, particularly in terms of safety and work/life balance, but it also holds unique appeal for those with a sense of wanderlust.
Good Wages, Plenty of Opportunities
Salaries for nontraditional jobs for women, such as , are often 20 percent to 30 percent higher than for jobs women traditionally enter. According to the Department of Labor, median hourly earnings in 2000 for heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers were $15.25 compared to $7.43 for child-care workers.
In addition, truck driving consistently ranks at the top the occupational list for number of job openings available each year in the United States.
It's in the Blood
For Rauschnot and Schlussler, pay was not the deciding factor in their career choice.
Rauschnot began her career driving buses and charter coaches. For more than 30 years, she was a long-haul truck driver. “I think I've been on just about every road in the United States,” she says.
In 2003, she ended her long-haul driving career to work as a dedicated (short-distance) driver, shuttling trailers between Bayport, Minnesota, and Menominee, Wisconsin -- about 120 miles round-trip.
Schlussler delivers freight in the lower 48 states. “I think it's the best job in the world,” she says. In 2002, Schlussler was named “Independent Contractor of the Year” by the Truckload Carriers Association. The designation was given for business success, service to the community and trucking industry, and her outstanding safety record.
Challenges on the Job
Although working conditions for women truckers have improved over the last decade -- most loading docks now have separate bathrooms for women, for instance -- the job has its hurdles.
Proving yourself almost seems to be a rite of passage for women entering a male-dominated field, and trucking is no different. “When I first started out as a truck driver, I was given the hardest dock to back into,” recalls Rauschnot. “However, I've found that if you prove you can do the job, you are treated well.”
The freedom of the open road comes at a price. Many long-haul drivers may not see their families for days or weeks at a time. As in other male-dominated industries, women in trucking sometimes face discrimination and sexual harassment.
Schlussler and Rauschnot caution women drivers to be aware of their safety. Rauschnot urges new women truck drivers to be careful when talking on a CB. “Don't let on that you are driving alone,” she warns. “Be sure to tell others you have a co-driver. [And] rest stops can be very dangerous for women truckers. Only use rest stops during the daytime hours; otherwise never go alone. Don't stay overnight at truck stops unless there are other trucks around you.”
Career Options
Being a trucker doesn't necessarily mean long-distance driving. A light or delivery service driver delivers or picks up merchandise and packages within a specific area. “One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is the independence it offers,” says Meili Hansen, a medical supply delivery driver for a St. Paul-based company. “I also enjoy the challenge of finding faster alternate routes to the customer by avoiding major congested highways.”
Another possibility is driver/sales worker or route driver, which involves delivering and selling a firm's products over established routes. Employers seek drivers with good verbal skills, self-confidence, initiative, tact and a neat appearance. Driver/sales workers earn an average of $9.74 per hour.
Learn more about becoming a truck driver and nontraditional careers for women.
