MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Young adults are turning to truck driving careers as the industry faces a shortage and offers starting salaries of $60,000 to $70,000.
- Young adults, including Gen Z, are increasingly pursuing careers in truck driving
- The trucking industry is facing a shortage of drivers as older workers retire
- Students cite financial freedom and opportunity to travel as key motivations
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Young adults are finding new opportunities in the trucking industry as companies face a shortage of drivers and offer competitive starting salaries.
After four years in the Marine Corps, 23-year-old Alexis Gonzales decided to get behind the wheel and earn his CDL license.
"I was thinking about going to school, but I just know it's not going to be for me, I was going to waste my time, so I decided to come here, and it's the best route for me," said Gonzales.
He's not alone. An increasing number of Gen Z students are signing up for the four-week course at ACE Driving Academy.
"I'd like to see the world, there's not a lot of people out there from where I come from don't get to drive and see the world," Easi Equivel said.
Roy Burke told me this trend should help address the current shortage of truck drivers in the industry.
"The industry is getting older, so we need that new generation to come in, it's just we don't seem to have enough of them at the moment coming in, to replace the ones that are trying to go out," said Burke.
When COVID-19 hit, the school averaged one student a month, but now they've seen a significant increase to about 8-10 students every two weeks.
"I think it's really picking up at the other schools as well," said Burke.
When asked what interests him about this profession as such a young adult, Equivel was straightforward about his motivation.
"Of course, the money, financial, I work in a warehouse, and I hear truck drivers are financially free," said Equivel.
Truck drivers can start out making salaries of $60,000-$70,000 — an honorable profession, these students say, is necessary to keep America moving forward.
"Without trucks, nothing moves, with nothing moving, there's no groceries in the grocery stores, amenities anyone wants during the day, it's not going to be there in the store," said Gonzales.
You can find more statistics on the national truck driver shortage from the American Trucking Association.
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