Ask HN: What do you do for a living? Inspired by youtube videos asking luxury car owners "What do you do for a living" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPF6UJAP7R4) thought of asking the same to HN readers. Also if possible you can share more details about your life style since we cant see your car :) And are you happy with what you are doing? |
Yeah I like it.
I currently drive a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freightliner_Trucks
https://freightliner.com/trucks/cascadia/
White Freightliner Blues https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VrNKmCoonw4
Some people drive local or regional. I drive OTR, Over The Road, all over the lower 48.
I mostly pull 53 foot "dry vans," as opposed to a "refer" (refrigerator van). Sometimes I pull refers. 53 foot vans of either type are the most common trailer that you've seen on American roads.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-trailer
Usually I take an empty trailer to a shipper and trade it for a preloaded trailer: "drop and hook." Then I drive it to the receiver and trade the loaded for an empty.
Sometimes I have to back up to their dock for a "live load" or "live unload." I sit or sleep in the truck while a fork lift runs in and out of the trailer, moving pallets.
Most OTR drivers go home for 2 or 3 days every 2 or 3 weeks. I go home 4 or 5 days every couple of months. My adult son saves my mail.
I feel pretty comfortable living minimally and solitary in my (employer's) truck. It's a tiny house.
This truck has a microwave and coffee pot (both mine) and a refrigerator (came with the truck). There's a battery powered AC unit for the bunk area, and a diesel burning heater. (Of course there's engine AC and heat while you drive). The longish twin mattress is reasonably comfortable.
I shower at truck stops, usually free via loyalty cards. My employer tells me where to fuel.
There are many different ways and variations on how to be a truck driver. I'm a "company driver," the most common type. There are owner operators that own, rent or lease their own truck, and sometimes the trailer too. Two drivers can team drive, one sleeps while the other drives. I'm paid by the mile; some local jobs are hourly.
I used to be a sw dev, and more recently swqa. I rage-quit my last swqa job, and here I am. I make about $60k/year depending on miles driven.
You seem to be loving what you do :)