Moving to non-driving jobs within a company

I know the company my husband works for sometimes one of the driver's has to do dispatch for a while then goes back to driving and visa versa. I'm assuming the pay would stay the same. How about mechanic? If you have the training that is.

 

It all depends on the company. I moved up and out of the truck and was running the terminal but not all companies do that. You'll find that most want their management people to have degrees. The days of promoting within are getting less and less. In my opinion it's not right because you can never have enough book smarts to drive a truck and be successful.

 

Ask yourself why you are getting tired of driving...

is it the driving - or the conditions surrounding your driving?


more often than not the answer lies in that a driver gets tired of the OTR "lifestyle" that has been forced upon many drivers.

you may find what you want and "need" in another company that has a different set up for drivers.

(local / regional) (hotel rooms over sleepercabs) (hourly pay vs. mileage and sitting unpaid for hours and in some cases days...)

think about why you want to get out of your CURRENT truck...

then ask if it is driving - or your environment

 

formal education helps - but practical experience is still valued in this industry

 

Then you have a start that should work in your favor. Talk with the company before you hire on and ask what type of positions you could move up into. I know my company would take you from driving into a salary position as soon as you proved yourself to be a valued employee. And there's many positions you could do that is related to transportation. The only drawback I can see is your degree is not in business but once you establish yourself companies make allowances.

One importatnt factor I feel you need to look at is a company that does not make their revenue from the truck. That would be a company that uses trucks to move their own product to market. I believe any driver has a better future with a company like this than to go with a company that's dependent on moving goods.

 

In the past, drivers earned more than entry level safety, dock, dispatch, claims, sales, etc. Of course, any management position has a career ladder leading to higher income. Drivers hit their peak earnings early.

I was offered an entry level job with safety. It would have amounted to a cut in pay, plus more time away from home riding with drivers who had accidents or tickets. You won't believe this: since Chippewa did not have passenger seats, I would have carried my own portable seat.

Can you conduct a safety meeting or make sales calls? Drivers are introverts, managers are extroverts.