Profile For bubbarolls

I tried my hand at hazmat chemical tanker job as my first trucking job. This company I was with is a company with a tanker division that hauls a lot of acids and hazardous materials. I realized halfway through orientation and during my first few days of training that this job wouldn't be a great fit for me.

I have nothing negative to say about the company. They treated me great. I got to spend a week in Florida for orientation and I was able to do my training locally.

What I Did Not Like About Hauling Chemical Tankers

• wearing hazmat PPE (personal protective equipment) and sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat in making you prone to dehydration and heat exhaustion. It feels like you're wearing an extra 20 lbs and it didn't fit right in certain places even with a bigger size suit.
• chemical plants - "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"... some were clean, but many were dirty, dusty, and a maze to get through with very tight turns. you will get dirty.
• the added responsibilities of making sure the paper work is correct and that you have the right placards due to HAZMAT regulations
• driving a loaded tanker with front & backward surge, and slosh pulling the tanker in all different directions.
• remembering to stop at all railroad crossing.

Even as a tanker driver you do quite a bit of backing in tight spaces in the unloading areas of chemical plants.

What I Did Like About Hauling Chemical Tankers:

• automatic trucks
• driving (lots of fun pulling a tanker down the road).
• decent hotel stay with microwave/fridge, wifi, and even a pool and within walking distance to stores and places to eat.
• orientation was very, very informative and the daily lunch was delicious.
• company personnel and were nice and treated you like a decent human being.
• trainer was professional and easy to get along with.

I realized that there were certain elements of the job that I would never like, such as wearing that ill fitting dehydrating hazmat PPE, so I decided to cut my losses short. I informed both my trainer and terminal manager and they were understanding. I cleaned and returned the hazmat PPE and my first and last check should be in the mail in a couple of weeks.

As a newbie, my next truck driving job will just be pulling dry van for a long while before deviating into any other division.

Thanks for the encouragement. The one thing that I have always done is to find the positive in any negative. I guess that comes from having had so many years working with technology. Positive and negatives abound everywhere and it is our job(s) to find a way around or through the negatives. If you don't you will just end up a basket case with a plethora of physical and mental problems to deal with. There is ALWAYS a way through or around the negatives.

Be safe and happy

That's some great advice for meandering the path of life. Congrats on your one year.

Congrats Amanda. I'm happy that it's all working out for you.

After 9 years, I traded the cubicle for a rolling closet...and never looked back...I'd have lost my sanity, and been one of those "gone postal" people they show on tv....I hated the office politics...loved my job...hated the politics.

I worked for a call center cubicle for the last four years. I quit several months ago because I couldn't take the stress of the calls nor the office politics any longer. I'm looking forward to my first solo truck driving job.