Writing for the NBC News’ website Better, journalist Nicole Spector sought to answer this question: “Is trucking an untapped career route for millennial women?”
She got help in her quest from Beck Ascencio, a veteran UPS driver from California. Spector donned a UPS uniform and climbed up into the cab of Ascencio’s truck for a 12-hour run from Sylmar to Fresno and back again. Along the way, Spector learned what it takes to drive a truck, and a lot more.
Writing for Better, Spector said:
My experience on the road was enlightening in so many ways. It completely transformed my perspective on what being a trucker means, and who can do the job (anyone willing to get their hands dirty, spend long hours alone in less than comfortable seating arrangements and stay alert for those endless dark stretches). Moreover, it shifted how I see trucks on the road. Often when driving, I’d viewed trucks as personal inconveniences: taking up too much room, emitting too much exhaust and ultimately slowing my own commute down. But when I was in that driver’s cabin, observing Becky expertly strategize how to move two thousand pounds of cargo at a safe speed (on inclines, you’re only going 35 mph, and you really feel the weight of the load), my perspective reversed. It wasn’t the trucks that were annoying now; it was the regular cars, zipping and zooming like they owned the highway, often failing to even signal their abrupt lane changes. I shook my head at their swift sense of entitlement while we doing such hard work.
