Transport is among the fields of bidding on the labor market in Europe, and many Romanians are satisfied with the salaries received as professional drivers and the opportunities of this profession. Some have reported on the “paid price” and the shortcomings accumulated with the passage of time.
Professional driver’s work involves high responsibilities. Photo: freepik.com
Many Romanians claim, however, that they have managed to obtain satisfactory monthly income, without the need for higher education. One of their most accessible trades is that of a truck driver in Europe.
The profession of professional driver is among the most sought after in the labor market, due to the shortage of truck drivers throughout Europe. The lack of truck drivers is a long -term problem in Europe and remains unresolved, a recent report of the International Road Transport (IRU) shows. According to an IRU report, published last year, the average age of European truck drivers is 47 years old, but 33 percent are over 55, while only 5 percent are under 25, highlighting a critical age difference.
“More than half of the European transport companies cannot expand their businesses, because they do not find skilled workers because of the truck driver’s shortage, according to the IRU study of 2023, who has questioned over 1,000 European road transport operators. The European Union, Norway and the United Kingdom need over 233,000 truck drivers together. It is estimated that it will exceed 745,000 until 2028, due to the drivers who retire if no significant measures are taken ”, Iru shows.
The same report indicated that in Romania, in 2023, about 23,000 jobs in transport were unoccupied.
Salaries for professional drivers start from 2,000 euros and reach 3,000 – 4,000 euros, depending on the experience requested and working conditions, it shows numerous employment announcements.
Drivers are attracted to competitive salaries, high demand on the labor market, flexible program, travel opportunities, specialization and activity diversification.
Romanians, satisfied with salaries, dissatisfied with conditions
But in their turn, some of them tell, they pay a price that at first sight seems difficult to account for.
“Tirism is paid well, if you races abroad, but there you destroy your health, even if it does not seem. To make money in this world, either you destroy your mind or destroy your back ”, Write one of the drivers on Reddit.
For many truck drivers, the job is a lifestyle, believes another Romanian, who is considered motivated by the passion for trucks, large machines, unknown and adventure.
“It is a demanding job from all points of view: many hours on the road, fatigue, narrow spaces, stupid drivers, laws that must be respected in blood, very large fines, dangerous and unpredictable situations. Many are not aware of how tiring it is to not know where and if you stop, never be safe, neither on roads nor in parking, not to access (clean), to a kitchen itself, to be alone 24 out of 7“Says one of them.
The driver’s work offers many Romanians the opportunity to see the scholar. Source: freepik.com
Another 3.5 ton truck driver tells, in turn, that he is leaving home for 4 to 5 weeks.
“If you think you can spend long periods only with yourself, then everything is fine. Loneliness in parking in dead days and weekends are the hardest. Otherwise, food, and facilities like bathrooms, showers or a microwave oven you can find on any highway in the European Union. At an exit of five weeks, you spend about 800 euros and set aside 1,400 euros, given that I am a smoker and do not remember from anything, that is, I do not buy the cheapest products and I eat at the restaurant if I want to, “ he says.
Another shows that he manages to set aside 2,000 euros a month, driving a transport truck of up to 40 tons.
“Wait for a few weeks, others even Monday, in a cabin, alone, three by two meters. There you eat, sleep, wash, laugh, cry. Many times, sleep in all kinds of places on the roadside, in all kinds of light or toilet parking and this is because the driving program is over or due to any accident on the road. You have to cook yourself, wash, face loneliness and stress, either from dispatcher, or from all kinds of controls or mistakes related to the program or to ensure the goods ”he writes.
The hardest part of the job, he adds, is the distant family. In addition, some health problems are added, caused by long driving, or nutrition. But monthly income sometimes compensates from shortcomings.
It is a dangerous job, believes another driver, and the chances of accident increase with the number of kilometers traveled. It is, he adds, monotonous and leads to sedentary lifestyle and mental fatigue, and the most affected are the drivers who leave their families in Romania.
“Some enjoy a lightweight program, good income, decent trafficking, quality machines and a slightly stressful working environment. For others, the driver’s work is a nightmare – from the working program, to the type of merchandise, to the roads and routes, to the people with whom they interact, to the money received ”he adds.
If you want a house, a car and other beautiful things, but you will lose your youth years on the highways in Europe, instead of staying with your family, there is not much business, another Romanian believes.
Less demanding but well -paid trades
The statistics of the European Union place Romania among the countries with the least graduates of higher education. Less than 23 percent of Romanians have university studies, while states like Ireland, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden exceeds 50 percent, a Eurostat report shows.
Many Romanians who say they did not need higher education claim that they have satisfactory income for them, from less demanding trades than that of a truck driver. One of them told that he is a chef and sells burgers at festivals, and during the summer he reaches monthly earnings of almost 10,000 euros.
Another Romanian was specialized in the sale of donuts, donuts and coffee. He bought a tonet and walks with her at the gates of the factories, during shift and table breaks. Get revenues of up to 40,000 lei per month.
Another Romanian reported that he is a photographer of events and receives about 1,000 euros per event, and in the case of weddings, up to 2,000 euros. A young woman specialized in making tattoos says that on some days she gets 3,200 lei, the cost of a tattoo being 800 lei.
Anything means a craftsman (installer, painter, tile, parquet) represents well paid trades, without the need for college, believes a Romanian.
Some Romanians say that the faculty helped them change the way of thinking and addressing the problems, even if they did not use them in their job.
“Life is long and changes in society can occur, which will force you to do something else. The faculty made seriously is a basis that you can build. I do not regret that I did it even if I do not work in the field that I studied ”writes another Romanian.
Another one says, however, that he regrets that he has graduated a college that did not bring him any benefit to his job.
