What Do You Think When........

Nope does not bother me at all. I do not drive to impress anyone but my self. I'am satisfied and enjoy what I do so I really do not care about some uninformed pencil neck geek's opinion.

My life and my decisions are based on 3 priorities, God Family Country. the rest can go suck an egg...

 

I think that sometimes we bring it on ourselves. There are drivers out here who have no self-respect and it helps to shape the image of drivers as slobs and ignoramuses. We know the kind of skill our profession takes and how many different things we have to know and do well every day. We also know how important our work is to our economy and everybody's lives. I am not here to boast, but I have a Ph. D. from one of the most prestigious universities in the USA. I have been a university professor for 25 years, have written scholarly articles and books and hung out with the big names in my field. What I like about trucking is that no one is impressed with my degrees, they want to know if I can do the job with a minimum of whining. If you do that you get your fellow drivers' respect. I think any person who does a job well is deserving of respect. I get furious when I hear more white collar or intellectual workers putting down truck drivers or other people who make a living with their hands. If someone were to put me down because I was just a driver I would just laugh and ask them how many degrees they have and from where!

But I also talk to people who are really curious about my trucking life and almost envy my mobility, my stories and adventures, and my enjoyment of what I am doing. We do work every day that makes the average office workers' life look like a real snore. Hey, I have had two careers. I have been a respected university professor and I am now an OTR driver. I am as proud of the work I do on the road as I was of the work I did in the classroom! You should be too!

 

Excellent post.

I drove for a short spell way back in the '80s while attending college. Finished college and had a fulfilling career. Recently retired and returned to driving.

I understand your sentiment completely in regard to folks who would talk down to or about drivers. And you're right, -many- folks envy drivers whether they admit it or not.

I loved my career but the last few years, not so much. My industry and previous position took a serious pay cut across the board thanks to the Internet. I was a newspaper copywriter, editor and reporter and traveled the world. Now I'm traveling the states and enjoying the heck out of my job once again and just as proud as in my last position.

 

I know what you mean GOVT trucker.I don't like it when someone says you're just another driver.I fight back and tell them you're just another whatever tjob they have too.They don't like me giving them a dose of their own medicine.People that do blue collar work are'nt any better then we are.Sure some pay more but they're not any better.That's how we are treated by many as(just another driver).Well if it was'nt for us (just another driver) folks,america would stop.