Andrew LaFrance doesn't have a carpet-walled cubicle, an ergonomic swivel chair, a stack of papers filling an inbox or a boss hovering over his shoulder. Rather, he has what he has always wanted: a semi truck decked out with Green Bay Packers adornments, a cellular phone and the open road. LaFrance, a long-haul truck driver from River Falls, Wis., is one of more than 3 million truck drivers in the United States - and the industry needs more. "I've seen every state in the country," says LaFrance, an owner-operator. "You get a lot of freedom in this job."

Freedom
Long-haul truck driving is especially appealing to those who want autonomy in their careers. Those who rely on trucking to move goods hope for more people who crave that freedom and are willing to drive. The American Trucking Association projects a shipping increase of 71.2 percent over the next 10 years, but anticipates a shortage of 539,000 drivers. "These are jobs that will be posted but not filled," says Bill Nicolo, transportation training coordinator for Dakota County Technical College (DCTC).

DCTC, located in Rosemount, offers a comprehensive driver training program, including training on driving single- and double-axle tractors, five types of trailers, four types of transmissions, day and night driving, and heavy traffic training. "We even train on triple trailers, which aren't legal in Minnesota, but they are in North Dakota," says Nicolo. "Drivers have to be ready for any kind of equipment."

The face of long-haul truck drivers is changing. "The demographics are a little different these days," says Nicolo. "We're seeing a lot more immigrants and English as a second language students. For them, it's an instant ticket to the middle class. They can start making $50,000 right out the door."
Work For Someone Or For Yourself Long-haul driving gives a person the opportunity to work either for a trucking company or for himself or herself.

Owner-operators have the freedom of being able to pick and choose which runs they want. The benefit, of course, is flexibility. The downside is that the business can be sporadic.
Since May, LaFrance has enjoyed a dedicated route between the Twin Cities and Chicago. He travels back and forth about three times per week and is able to be home on the weekends.
"It's nice because you know what you're doing. You know where you've got to go. You know how much you're going to get paid," says LaFrance. But being an owner-operator may not be for everyone. In addition to driving, the individual must also manage a business.

"We advise our students to become a company driver first without having to be a business operator," says Nicolo. "Owner-operators can make $220,000 a year, but they have their own expenses."
Being an owner-operator brings its own set of challenges - not the least of which, in recent months, has been the high price of fuel.

No matter where a driver is employed, the career is booming. It pays well and gives what people in cubicle farms can only dream about - freedom. YOUR FIRST STEP TO BECOMING A TRUCKING PROFESSIONAL IS TO ENROLL IN THE RIGHT TRUCK DRIVER TRAINING SCHOOL.