My job is to make sure the truckers perform their jobs safely and in accordance with the law. I have to check the truckers’ logs and make sure they haven’t run for too many hours without breaks and make sure they have all of their safety equipment and that they keep their trucks maintained for safety. One misconception people have about safety directors is it’s a position just for show. People think trucking companies push truckers to make time at any cost, but this is definitely not the case at my company. Safety is very important because lives are at stake.
On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate my job satisfaction as a 10. I actually wouldn’t change anything about my job. I love every day of it.
This job moves my heart because I get to work so closely with the truck drivers. I get to know them so well, and they get to know me and they know I care about them and I want them to follow the rules because I want them to be safe and to have a good haul. I definitely feel like I have found my sweet spot in life.
The thing I want people to know is that it’s never too late. When I was 47 years old I got a divorce and went from being a full-time housewife to having to support myself. I never thought I could do that. I was raised to be a proper southern lady. I wasn’t raised to tell big, burly men what to do. I always thought that truck drivers were big, strong men who always knew what to do and never had a moment’s doubt. Why would they listen to me? But my boss told me to tell them they had to do x, y, and z, so I walked in there like I had the world on a string and told them they had to do it. And they did.
I got into this industry and job because my brother was leaving the company and recommended me for the job. I interviewed for it and got it. The only thing I would change is I would have had more self-confidence a lot sooner.
I learned that in a second everything can be taken away, even if you are doing exactly what you are supposed to do, so don’t put anything off and live every day like it might be your last. I learned this when a trucker had a molotov cocktail dropped onto his truck from an overpass. He came out of it alright, but it was a wakeup call for me.
The most important thing I have learned about the working world outside of school is that it isn’t the prettiest or the most popular or even the smartest one that succeeds. It’s the one that gets there every day on time and gives it his or her best shot.
The strangest thing that ever happened to me in this job was meeting my second husband and falling in love.
I get up and go to work each day because I know I’m needed and I know people would miss me if I was gone. My proudest moment was just before my first boss retired. He said that working with me was not just a journey, but an adventure. He was tearing up, and I am tearing up now just thinking about it.
My job is pretty stressful. I am responsible for the safety of a lot of people’s dads and moms and husbands and wives. It’s okay, though, and I have nevere wanted to quit my job. I maintain a comfortable work-life balance by making work a second home. I feel like those people are my family, too.
A rough salary range for the position in my area is $36,000. For me, that’s enough to live comfortably.
As for the vacation time associated with this job, I take a week at a time off a few times a year.
This job did require some specialized training, but did not require a certain degree. The job required a high school diploma, and I was sent to another city for training. People and organizational skills are the most helpful to me in my job.
I would recommend this job to any friend who was considering it.
In five years, I will be well into retirement age. So if I could write my own ticket, I would be retired by then.
This is a true career story as told to DiversityJobs.com and is one of many interviews with professional transportation workers, which among others include a Truck Driver and a Courier.
JustJobs.com is a job search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.
Transportation industry job image from Shutterstock
