According to a report from CNN Money, there are as many as 200,000 job openings for
long-haul truckers
in the U.S. However, companies are having a hard time filling the positions despite an economic climate in which the unemployed often go months fruitlessly searching for jobs.
One of the major hurdles to filling the positions is the rigorous training and certification standards required for operating heavy trucks. These can include up to eight weeks of training and a course costing as much as $6000. For those without prior commercial driving experience, that can be a daunting prospect.
Those that are willing to put in the effort are likely to find a job with higher-than-average pay. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the median wage for truckers is $37,930, about $4000 more than the national median wage, and the top 10 percent of truck drivers can earn more than $58,000 a year. The downsides, of course, are the long hours on the road, time away from families, and cramped living quarters, which quickly take their toll on drivers, leaving the industry with a persistently-high turnover rate.