TRUCK DRIVING, SUPER HERO MOM! A RAINBOW OF ROLE MODELS {WEDNESDAY SERIES}
I celebrate ACHIEVEMENT EVERY DAY! WEDNESDAY’S “A Rainbow of Role Models,” I do not see race, skin color, religion, sex, attractiveness (ok, I do like beautiful ladies), age, or any other nonsense. I love learning from inspirational people that inspire me to drop MY EXCUSES and JUST DO IT! Role models who stretch my ambitions and model GIVING BACK!
There is dignity in achievement and success—in becoming a great factor in civilization.” Carter G. Woodson.
I hope you will share these short articles; perhaps a few people will be curious to learn more.
Disclaimer: Good Day, Readers. WealthBuildingPowers blog is a financial literacy/competency blog and does not provide specific investment recommendations.
STYRON’S INTRODUCTION
I like truck drivers. Just not the ones that drive like a lunatic!
My Uncle Robert drove long-distance big rig trucks. During my career, I was responsible for the safety of thousands of professional truck drivers. Most were good, hard-working people, ensuring YOU found what you wanted in your mailbox, the gas stations, and restaurants.
I love this week’s Role Model because the hero is a Mom. Despite all the woke stuff, that also makes her a woman.
In my less than humble opinion, too many young people are going into tens of thousands of dollars of debt for degrees (those lucky enough to achieve the degree as a large percentage drop out with no degree, just the debt) that fail to provide adequate earnings to live and repay the debt. While Uncle Sugar, with a possible illegal executive order, is trying to pay off $10,000.00 of that debt, no one is looking at the biggest root cause- The Universities that have been increasing tuition at two to four times average inflation. These increases have yielded ZERO additional value in the education of its students.
This Super Mom found a better road.
This 36-year-old mom of 2 brings in $144,000 a year as a professional truck driver: ‘I love my job so much – A RAINBOW OF ROLE MODELS {WEDNESDAY SERIES}
“Clarissa Rankin is challenging stereotypes.
The 36-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, resident is a professional truck driver hauling an array of goods from diapers to TVs to canned goods across the East Coast.
“People always have this image in their mind of a truck driver being a man with a big old stomach, big old beard and wearing overalls,” she says, adding, “I love to get that expression on people’s faces like, ‘Can you really drive that?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I got this, honey.’”
Rankin loves her job, and her trucking company brought in $144,208 last year. But getting there wasn’t easy. Here’s how she built her successful career and how she’s changing people’s minds about what trucking can really be.
‘I showed him how I can maneuver that big old thing’
Rankin, who’s married with two children, went to school for criminal justice but couldn’t find work in the field. Instead, she took a job as a substitute teacher making $1,900 per month. That wasn’t enough to help support her family.
Rankin’s husband had worked in the trucking industry himself and encouraged her to make the pivot. She found she loved driving a truck immediately. The job was outdoors, far preferable to an office job that would keep her indoors all day.
During the test to get her truck driving license, “I showed him how I can maneuver that big old thing,” she says about the instructor, “and I got the license the very first time.”
‘I got turned down so many times’
Despite her immediate love of the job, it was hard for Rankin to find work. “I’m not, like, your everyday truck driver,” she says. “I’m so girly. So I got turned down so many times.”
She finally got hired after her sixth interview but was making less than $50,000 per year and felt that, too, wasn’t enough.
Instead, she decided to start her own trucking business: JC Rankins Transport.
‘Having your own truck comes with a lot of freedom’
Rankin’s company has now been in business for four years.
She works sporadically throughout the week, depending on the frequency with which she finds jobs on apps like TruckLoads, which shows pickup and drop off jobs throughout the country that various companies need done. She’s driven as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Florida.“Having your own truck comes with a lot of freedom,” she says.
There are costs, though: In 2021, her truck lease was $49,200. Maintenance was $2,665. Fuel was $19,336. But, ultimately, her take-home pay was $73,007, considerably more than she’s made on other jobs.
Plus, Rankin now makes money documenting her trucker life on social media. She has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok and was able to make an additional $36,000 in 2021 from promotional videos and advertising.
‘I love being that superhero’
Even as she’s found a career she loves, Rankin still encounters challenges. Women make up less than 8% of professional drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations. Truck stops, roadside service stations for truck drivers, including restaurants, fueling stations, and sometimes showers, don’t cater to women and don’t necessarily provide items like tampons or pads. Male drivers also criticize her for what she’s wearing, like shorts over the summer. And people judge her life choices.
PIC
Rankin’s husband works from home as a videographer and stays with their boys while she’s on the road. “
Rankin wouldn’t change what she does. “I love my job so much,” she says because she gets to provide a service and ensure people get the goods they need.
“I love being that superhero.”
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ABOUT ME
I am a proud nerd (as my beautiful wife and daughter have told me) investment and finance blogger with an N.C. State, Chemical Engineering, University Rutgers, MBA and Harvard University, Advanced Management education.
I left a corporate career because I desired to make a difference as a speaker and writer. I was blessed to be coached and mentored by strong women and men in my family and professional life. It is my time to serve and give back.
DISCLAIMER
I started my first business at ~13 years of age (a small but brilliantly created plant nursery). I am a successful investor in stocks, options, and real estate and am happy to share my finance and investment lessons. I am NOT a licensed financial advisor. Please do not construe my suggestions on this blog as recommendations for your situation. As an investor, you must establish your risk/loss tolerance. Investment in any asset involves risk, including complete loss.
Please seek your licensed CPA or fiduciary financial advisors for individual financial advice.
I write this weekly blog to make an impact by reaching an audience and demonstrating the need for financial literacy. I will help you get there.
