We’re all career-driven these days, aren’t we? If you’re starting a career, chances are good that you have many additional resources at your disposal no matter what your occupation. Message boards, blogs, and news sites permeate for many different industries, and trucking is no different. In fact, the trucking industry may have a stronger online community than many professions.
In the old days (which is to say pre-Internet), whether we were truck drivers or factory workers, lawyers, doctors, or car salesmen, people would go to work, talk about their work with co-workers, and go home, ostensibly to forget (or fret) about their jobs until the next day.
What this causes for career-minded folk is strain on time and the risk that we think too much about our work. If you visit 3 industry blogs and news sites, and spend a few minutes on 2 or 3 different message boards, you are already in essence adding another hour to your workday.
Enter: Podcasts.
You all know podcasts, right? They’re essentially radio shows that are broadcast through, and stored on, the Internet. They generally serve one specific topic, which can be virtually anything in the world. Movies, entertainment, news, crime, self-help, whatever the topic, chances are there is a podcast about it. And yes, there are several solid podcasts devoted to truck driving:
Ask the Trucker LIVE with Allen Smith: Veteran blogger and truck driver Allen Smith focuses on driver health, career tips, driving regulations, and the other important issues facing the trucking industry. One of the top names in the industry, you can’t go wrong with this podcast.
Truck Driver 101.com: Hosted by “Big Ken,” Truck Driver 101.com has 6 years of trucking under his belt and puts his focus on helping drivers who are new to trucking. That doesn’t mean you won’t be listening to his podcast even as a seasoned veteran, though. (note: podcasts contain explicit content)
Trucking Podcast: Co-hosted by father-and-son team Buck and Don Ballard, Trucking Podcast talk both trucking and “other topics we believe interest truckers and guys in general. Mostly, anything to do with gears, a motor, and wheels. We love semi trucks, pickup trucks, rat-rods, jeeps, RVs, and nearly anything automotive.”
Trucker Dump: With topics like “Stupid Rules That Truckers Tolerate” and “Coping with Rookie Truckers,” Trucker Dump offers humor and insights on just about anything in the trucking industry. On the podcast’s home page there are also accompanying blogs of varying lengths and complexities, meaning you can read along on driving breaks if you so choose.
The Road Gunner Podcast: Hosted and produced by “The Un-Named Trucker” (who does in fact have a name—Charles “Chaz” Murray), who works a little more “blue” Than some of the other podcasters. He offers uncensored opinions about topics like why New Jersey sucks (and Alaska rules) and attending the NRA’s annual meeting in 2015.
Most of these podcasts can be accessed through iTunes or Google Play as well as at the links provided.
Podcasts are terrific tools for truck drivers, with the added advantage that they can learn more about their profession while they’re doing their job. Podcasts are free and downloadable and you can listen to them in the cab while you’re driving, which means you can plug in and listen on the go.
Archived content means you can download multiple episodes at once and binge listen, and trust me, once you’re hooked you will be binge listening. Finding podcasts that you truly love will have you avoiding the FM and AM dial and their divisive or brainless content for something with substance.
If you are a truck driver, or will be soon, you should have at least one or two of these podcasts ready to download and listen to at any given time. It’s a no-brainer, right? You listen while you’re working, meaning you can devote less time to reading trucking blogs on your break, which means more off time for finding out what the Kardashians are up to. (I kid, I kid…)
