Trucking News

Trucking and Stress

By David A. Kolman

Trucking is a stressful job. There are the constant time pressures; steady, heavy traffic; knucklehead drivers; unreasonable shippers, receivers, dispatchers and fleet managers; and many more causes of aggravations and anxiety.

If there was a ranking of the most stressful jobs, I would bet trucking would be in the top 10.
Well, there is such a ranking. And, to my astonishment, trucking didn’t even make the cut. Glad I’m not a betting man.

The ranking, done by Internet career site CareerCast.com, had as the top five most stressful jobs:
1. firefighter
2. senior corporate executive
3. taxi driver
4. surgeon
5. police officer

Next came, in order: commercial pilot, highway patrol officer, public relations officer, advertising account executive and real estate agent.

Granted, many of these professions can be demanding. However, I believe being a trucker is way more stressful than being an advertising account executive, real estate agent or public relations officer – unless you’re with an organization that has to deal with a crisis situation like BP.

In case you’re wondering, the 10 least stressful jobs, according to another CareerCast.com ranking, are:
1. musical instrument repairer
2. medical records technician
3. actuary
4. forklift operator
5. appliance repairer
6. medical secretary
7. librarian
8. bookkeeper
9. piano tuner
10. janitor.