Trucking—A Job from the Past?

Out here on the mountainous western edge of this great country, 661 truck driving jobs remain vacant.

Why would a job that pays up to, and sometimes more than, six figures a year be so unattractive that there are so many vacancies—especially when the workforce is rapidly aging? Is it the misconception that these are predominantly long-haul jobs that take one away from home for weeks on end? Or is it the fear of technology rendering these jobs redundant within our lifetime? 

The trucking sector provides jobs of all kinds. There are parcel delivery jobs in vans or one-tonne, three-tonne, or five-tonne trucks, which can be driven with a standard driver’s license. There are jobs driving articulated trucks with one or two trailers, which requires a professional license.

There are highly-specialized heavy-haul truck driving jobs hauling construction or mining equipment. And for the really adventurous, there are log haul jobs where drivers travel on radio-controlled industrial forest roads. Add to this list the famou ice road truckers and you get an idea of this sector’s scope.

One can say with certainty that none of it is boring!

Earnings vary depending on the nature of the work. Drivers of articulated trucks typically earn $60,000-$100,000 a year, while the specialized driving jobs such as tanker work in the oil patch pay significantly more—sometimes as much as $150,000 a year.

Almost everything we own or use has been shipped by a truck at some point. Trucks are like the connective tissue that holds the world of logistics together. Without trucks and their drivers, the system would very quickly grind to a halt. The ability to move freight and resources efficiently and with flexibility is vitally important to our economy.

But what about technology and its promise of self-driving trucks? Is there any point in getting a professional class license if jobs will be taken over by bots in our lifetime? How real is this possibility?

Limited application of autonomous trucks is already a reality. Suncor Energy is engaged in a pilot project in the Alberta oil sands, and Rio Tinto deploys driverless trucks at some of its mining operations in Australia. These trucks are strictly operated on industrial property, but what about operating on public roads? The expectation is that on certain highway corridors, some application of self-driving trucks may be possible.

Industry experts believe that a mix of autonomous and driver-operated trucks will be the answer to a driver shortage in North America that is expected to number 200,000 by 2020. The introduction of a limited application of driverless trucks on public roads is seen as the only way to maintain a logistics system that, based on current trends on the availability of professional drivers, will be crippled before the next decade is over. Autonomous trucks are expected to partially fill the gap, not replace the driving workforce.

Will there be plenty of well-paying truck driving jobs in the future? Absolutely.

If you have the desire and aptitude to handle trucks and trailers, you enjoy a high degree of independence, and if you hear the call of the open road, do not hesitate. 

There’s a great job waiting for you.