When planning your career as a truck driver, having a good idea of your options is essential. While some truck drivers opt for shorter routes, plenty of operators still get excited about the call of the open road. Do you know why you should consider a career in over-the-road trucking?
What Is Over-the-Road Trucking?
Every truck driver operates a vehicle, but that doesn’t mean every truck driver’s career is the same. One of the most significant differences between types of truck drivers is the sort of driving they do:
- Local truck drivers specialize in making shorter trips with smaller vehicles. These drivers spend their workday making multiple deliveries in a smaller geographic area and tend to return home at the end of their workday.
- Regional truck drivers cover a larger geographic area, usually within a set thousand miles. They work multiple days at a time and then take time off between deliveries to compensate.
- Over-the-road truck drivers cover the largest geographic area and drive large trucks to make significant deliveries. Deliveries typically happen across multiple state lines and may even include international travel. Over-the-road truck drivers can be on the job for days or weeks at a time.
Is Over-The-Road Trucking the Career for Me?
One of the great things about trucking is that there are career opportunities for every kind of truck driver. If you enjoy travel and freedom, over-the-road trucking has real advantages:
- Over-the-road trucking involves plenty of travel, making it an excellent opportunity to see the world. New trips provide new routes and new areas to explore. If you love adventure, over-the-road trucking might be perfect for you.
- If you don’t like being micromanaged, you’ll thrive in the freedom over-the-road trucking provides. These truckers can set their schedule and structure their workdays around completing a single delivery. You can drive when you want to and rest when you need to. Over-the-road trucking can be a great career fit for independent workers who are comfortable managing themselves and motivating themselves to get things done.
- Some people love having co-workers, but others prefer solitude when they’re on the job. If you’re in the second group, you’ll appreciate the peace of mind that over-the-road trucking provides. Drivers can fill their time with music or audiobooks, chat with other drivers over the radio, or relax and enjoy the scenery.
- If you’re in trucking for the money, over-the-road trucking is an option you should consider. Over-the-road truckers drive longer routes than their counterparts, so the compensation is higher. According to Indeed, an over-the-road truck driver can earn thousands more annually than local or regional drivers.
- Over-the-road trucking can be challenging, but working for the right company can make it much more manageable. BLC Transportation’s over-the-road truck drivers benefit from our partnership with Carlisle and Prime Inc., which provides places to get laundry done, rest, and enjoy some leisure time while on the road. We also have resources to support our over-the-road drivers, like pet-friendly vehicle policies and modern, comfortable truck cabs that make long journeys a breeze.
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Now that you know why you should consider a career in over-the-road trucking, are you ready to shift gears? Contact BLC Transportation to learn how we can help you get started.
Are you searching for a company where you can succeed professionally, with a culture that is prepared to support you? Are you hoping to start a new career as a truck driver? BLC Transportation can help. We have opportunities for both company drivers and lease-purchase drivers. With our lease-purchase program, you can make 90 percent of the line haul while driving new trucks that provide comfort, fuel efficiency, and reliability. Plus, we offer bonuses and incentives, a health insurance subsidy, a friendly passenger/pet policy, assistance registering for an LLC, and more. Contact us today!