Career Change

Welcome to trucking!

The regulatory environment for trucking is similar to what happened to the airline business. Deregulation in trucking has caused a steady cycle of bankruptcies and takeovers, low wages and high turnover. The employee turnover in trucking is now similar to fast food. Where the airline industry has access to an endless supply of pilots (and a few Temporary Foreign Worker pilots) who keep wages down just because young pilots want to fly at any cost, the trucking industry has access to an endless supply of Temporary Foreign Workers (especially in Alberta) to keep wages low. Compared to flying Q400's or 737's or whatever for a regional airline, trucking pays about half as much for working twice as many hours. The good news is that a truck driver can work four times as many hours as a pilot (especially on Alberta Provincial Hours of Service regulations).

Very few truck drivers work on schedules, especially in Alberta. The scheduled truck driving tends to occur in general freight, where wages are abominably low. There are several sectors of trucking that are truly sweatshops on wheels. There are oil-industry related trucking jobs in Fort Saskatchewan. Some pay reasonably well but regular hours are out of the question. The glamor and prestige that you have enjoyed as a pilot will be a thing of the past in trucking. If you think there was no glamor and prestige being a pilot you will when you see what goes on in trucking.

 

being a pilot I expect your health should be reasonably good, you are familar with following proceedures, are technically savvy, with proper deportment required to present the face your company wants its customers to see - you might find doors opening in law enforcement ( if you can stomach the narcissitic personas that we are beginning to see )