Despite the traditionally male-dominated trucking industry, a wave of determined women are driving change and taking their rightful place on the roads across America. These female forces behind the wheel ensure that essential supplies keep travelling from coast to coast keeping our nation going.
Jamie Vance, a student at National Tractor Trailer School in Buffalo, NY shows off her skills in a virtual driving simulation at the school.
“I love pulling the brakes. I love operating the huge vehicle. A semi is nothing to play with,” she said as she hit the virtual road.
Vance is a few months into her CDL training and ready to get on the road of her new career.
“Put me in the real truck, please,” she laughed.
What’s her primary motivation for this career path?
“I have a one-year-old daughter,” she said. “And now that I’m a mom, I need mom money.”
Vance is part of a growing trend of women entering this profession.
“I was like, ‘it’s a truck. If someone else can do it, I can do it,’” she said. “Women are just as good.”
The number of women in truck transportation has been on the rise hitting a record high of 1.6 million last October according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. They now make up 18% of the industry, mostly in driving roles.
Rosemarie De Jesus, a current truck driver who was in Vance’s shows not that long ago, was a certified nursing assistant before shifting gears into trucking and essentially doubling her pay.
“Money was a big factor in it,” De Jesus “Then the amount of time for schooling [played a big role too].”
She admits the job is hard, but for her, the payoff was worth it.
“It’s not easy,” she said. “But everything comes with its challenges, everything comes with pros and cons. Just give it a shot.”
In her class, she was one of just two women.
“They kind of just think that oh, you know, ‘here comes a woman,’ ” said De Jesus. “I think they think that you’re gonna mess up, so they’re on you about certain things and it’s just like, ‘give me a chance and I’ll show you what I can do.’ ”
De Jesus admits she would like to eventually go back to school to get her nursing degree one day; however, for Vance, this is her long-term chosen career path. She plans to drive locally to start before going any further.
“That will make it able so I can drop my kid to school, I can be home to her every day, I can still make my money, and make everybody happy,” Vance said.
She hopes to see more women like herself and De Jesus stepping up and getting behind the wheel.
“Women are starting to be the go-getters, the motivated ones,” she said. “I feel like truck driving is something a woman can do if they put their mind to it.”
Source: Spectrum News 1
