Career in Transportation, Transportation Jobs

Is Transportation a Good Career Path? – Outlook Explained

We all need to get somewhere in the world, and no one would be able to move at all if it wasn’t for transportation jobs.

When you need to visit your family in another part of the country or go on a honeymoon with your spouse or take the family to Disneyland, you need transportation professionals to get you there.

From taxi drivers to bus drivers to airport pilots to cruise ship captains and so many other people, the movement of people all over the world relies on the transportation industry.

But transportation is responsible for so much more than just that. When you buy something online, it arrives at your door in a few days, sometimes in just a matter of hours.

And that is only possible because of the hard-working truck drivers and transportation professionals who work their job day in and day out and make sure that your item gets from point A to point B without any sort of hiccups.

So many people think that transportation jobs are just positions like pilots and drivers, but there are so many other professions that fit the bill because there are truly so many tasks done by the transportation industry.

For this reason, a career path in transportation is incredibly smart, especially now. More than ever before, the transportation industry is welcoming, rewarding, and ready for you.

What Are The Best Transportation Jobs?

As you can see, the impact that transportation jobs have on the world is immense and ever-growing. That is why people should certainly think hard about taking on a job in that field. They will have plenty of opportunities and chances to land a job because there are many to pick from.

But which one is the best? Which transportation job is the one that offers the most, beyond just a hefty and steady paycheck?

Truck Drivers

Truck driving

Throughout your life, you have seen truck drivers traveling the roads and doing their jobs. You have seen them so often, in fact, that you might have forgotten just how important they are. Truck drivers are the people who get goods from one location to another.

Whether it be grocery store items, products purchased online, livestock, or any other number of goods that need to quickly get to their destinations, truck drivers make it happen.

There are countless companies that use truck drivers every single day. That is why it is such a beneficial and popular transportation job. You will simply never be out of work if you pursue this path and do it well.

There are multiple truck drivers jobs that you can take on if you decide this path is right for you.

From delivery driver to flat-bed driver to CDL driver, truck driver supervisor, and more, this is a position that has plenty of opportunities and plenty of ways to grow, experience new sides of the industry, and always be busy.

Air Transportation

Air Transportation, airplane

The entire air transportation industry is a very exciting one.

This is the type of industry that is never going to go away because people and products are always on the move. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, the air transportation industry is always going strong and providing people with careers that pay well and quite literally take them all over the globe.

From people to freight, there are so many things that need to travel via the air in a plane. Some of the jobs that you can take on as an air transportation professional are commercial pilot, gate agent, flight attendant, operations crew member, flight instructor, air transportation pilot, and many more.

Of course, you will need extensive education and training for some of these jobs. But that will be well worth it because each of the professions listed above pays quite well and can promise a lot of reliable job security.

Railroad Transportation

They might not be thought of as often as planes or considered as glamorous, but the world still needs trains every day. Railroad transportation is a vital part of the economy and plenty of industries.

Trains are incredibly reliable and can travel all over the country. They can also carry huge loads of stuff and are ideal for handling cars, heavy machinery, and more. These are the things that keep entire businesses and industries thriving.

The commercial construction industry, for example, wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for railroad transportation. For that reason alone, trains are never going out of style.

But the railroads of the country need people to run them. Jobs like conductors and yardmasters, and rail car repair operations are always required. They are high-paying, and all training is provided by the companies that hire.

Material Movement

Delivery Men talking with each other

While we have talked about truck drivers and the purpose they have, they wouldn’t be able to do their job if it weren’t for the material movement professionals who make it all possible.

When a truck arrives where it needs to go, it drops off products and supplies for a number of businesses. And the material movement workers are the ones who load and unload the items onboard the truck.

From forklift operations to expeditors to logisticians, packaging engineers, materials handlers, and more, material movement workers will carry materials, wrap and unwrap products, and use heavy equipment to get everything ready to be loaded up and shipped away.

In many ways, these people are truly the backbone of the entire transportation industry.

Why Should You Get A Job In Transportation?

Obviously, there are many jobs related to transportation that you could pursue, but why? What is it about these jobs that attract so many people?

More than perhaps any other industry, transportation jobs keep people employed for decades. There are many who start these jobs as young people and then retire with them years later.

Opportunities

The jobs listed above are just a few of the many that exist if you want to pursue a profession in transportation. The number of opportunities before you are seemingly endless, which means that you are sure to find something that suits you.

The great thing about working in transportation is that many jobs lend themselves to others. Therefore, if you stop working in one position, you can start a job in another with ease.

There are many skills and features that you will learn when you are working in transportation that will follow you from one job to another.

Experience will get you everywhere in transportation, and nearly every job in the field will provide you with a chance to climb up the ladder, get a promotion, and secure a bigger paycheck. There are also many transport jobs available in the Civil Service, which provide great security and benefits.

Good Pay

Many of the jobs in transportation will pay you handsomely. But the work is hard, and there is no doubt about that.

Take a truck driver, for example, who has to commit to many long hours and put in plenty of miles in just a single day. That is difficult work. But it is well compensated, often paying a certain wage per mile driven.

Airline pilots, forklift operators at a loading dock, railroad employees, and many other jobs in transportation provide a very nice paycheck. They also come with benefits and usually involvement in a local union that will protect your tenure at the job.

Job Security

We will never live in a world where things don’t need transportation. From people to products, movement is mandatory.

That is actually more true than ever before. Because of online retailers, there are products being shipped all over the world all the time. Meanwhile, airlines have never been so popular, with more routes and competition than in the past. This means that there are just so many jobs and so much security in them.

There are many jobs in the world that seem to be at risk of being minimized. And while there are certainly some positions in transportation that could rise and fall based on the economy, the good news is that you can easily move from one transportation job to another based on the experience that you have.

The world will always need to move things around, and that means that transportation jobs are here to stay.

What Do They Pay?

A Person Counting Us Dollars

Of course, pay matters. As mentioned, many transportation jobs will compensate you quite well for your hard work. But it is important that you know which positions pay the best before you start to pursue them.

An airline pilot generally makes about $107,000 a year, which makes it one of the highest-paying transportation professions in the world. Of course, this job demands long hours, intense pressure, and a lot of time away from home, so the high pay comes at a cost.

A supply chain analyst is someone who will run the logistics behind shipping and transportation, and they are paid about $65,000 a year. Meanwhile, airplane mechanics can get upward of $50,000 a year as they make sure transportation planes are fit to fly.

All of those jobs require education and training, which means they sometimes take years to get. But there are other entry-level jobs in transportation that can be pursued too.

For example, a bus driver is needed in just about every city across the world. This transportation expert can get paid about $37,000 a year and can work for companies such as Greyhound or local bus companies that are paid by the city.

A transportation security officer is needed at practically every single airport on Earth. They are typically paid about $33,000 a year, and they will be tasked with jobs such as checking tickets, running baggage through security machines, and interacting with customers too.

Being a flight attendant is a hard job, but it is still one of the most romanticized when it comes to transportation. For about $30,000 a year, you can fly all over the globe and help passengers.

You will meet a lot of great people, make close friends with those you work with, and also see parts of the globe you have never visited before.

Conclusion

Now more than ever, there is a seemingly endless stream of transportation jobs that need filling.

It doesn’t matter if you’re moving passengers from one city to another or products from a warehouse to a house’s front steps, transportation is an essential part of the world we live in. And that will always be the case.

This is why getting a job in transportation is a very smart choice that will provide you with good pay, great experiences, and job security that is steadfast, even in the world of times.

It doesn’t matter if you want to be working on the railroad, checking bags in the airport, loading products onto a truck, or driving your haul to its final destination. Transportation jobs are a requirement for the modern world and can bring so many benefits into your life.