Is it hard to be a CDL driver?

While truck drivers have tons of work opportunities, plus independence and flexibility, there are downsides to being a CDL driver. For example, CDL drivers tend to spend a lot of their time alone. If you like having time to yourself, truck driving is perfect.

However, if being alone is not for you or away from your family for an extended period, then truck driving may not be for you.

CDL drivers are usually expected to work long hours. In fact, some drivers will rack up around 3000 miles each week on the job, which sometimes requires early mornings and late nights to meet deadlines.

But an upside to this is that many truck drivers get to choose their own schedules. You may clock more hours than someone at a Monday through Friday desk job, but you get to set your own pace, have a degree of financial stability, and get to see new places every day.

CDL driving can also be hard on the body. Truck drivers, in general, are more likely than other professions to experience higher rates of chronic back pain and diabetes because they are in the same position for so many hours a day (up to 16-hours sometimes).

Therefore, truck drivers need to move around and exercise as much as possible when they are not driving.