I feel stuck, like everything I’ve worked for amounts to a zero sum game. I’m 41, been trucking OTR for almost 5 years and it’s just not worth the sacrifices vs the pay. I’m rarely home, I’m stressed to the brink usually, it’s a dangerous job, you have people praising you for the job yet no one wants to do it. Some in the industry would like to put our foot down and demand better wages, better benefits but then it’s always, “but if the food and fuel and medicine stop moving, people will die” well then logically shouldn’t we be paid more if we’re so damn important?
When I was a in high school, people asked why the CEO and the c level managers and execs were paid so much. “Well, they have high stress jobs, barely see their families, and they’re very important to the running of society” ok so… doesn’t that also describe trucking?
I went to college, got a degree, kept sending out resumes with barely any calls back. When I did get an interview, I researched the company, the position, everything. During the interview, I get stressed out and stutter, pausing for 5-15 seconds and I get this look like, “oh my god what is up with this guy? We aren’t hiring him!” So, I get whatever I can to survive. Janitor, sign maker, caretaker, very underpaid manager, now trucking. I just feel like I could do more, I should be doing more.
Am I just stuck?