Hitting the road for better pay

The problem wasn't about finding a job for Reynaldo Germosen, it had more to do with gaining employment that would allow him to live on his own.

Germosen, 26, of Gastonia, started truck driving school at Gastonia's Transenergy CDL Academy in August. A native of the Dominican Republic, Germosen said he has spent the past few years working in warehouses, earning between $16 and $20 an hour.

"A job like that, you can hardly keep up with your bills," Germosen said. "You can't save anything. You can't live by yourself."

So on a recent Monday, Germosen was behind the wheel of a 35,000-pound, empty, tractor-trailer practicing his backing up maneuvers between a set of orange traffic cones in the parking lot of the Eastridge Mall, near the Food Court and Dillard's entrance.

A few of the plastic cones were crushed underneath one of the 18 wheels on his vehicle.

He had just started driving the week before after spending a week in the classroom of Transenergy CDL Academy, so neither him nor his instructor were too bothered.

"Driving a car is completely different," Germosen said. "The engine, the gears. Even the way you hold the steering wheel."

Workers young and older say while the tight labor market has made finding a job easy, getting a higher paying job remains the carrot they're striving for.

Easier on the body

Jose Trejo, a native of Mexico now living in Lincolnton, has spent years basically digging ditches for underground pipes.

He has some trouble speaking English, which made learning how to drive a truck more difficult, but has already earned his Class A commercial driver's license through Transenergy CDL Academy.

He'll soon get behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer, which can weigh up to 80,000 pounds fully loaded, and drive for a living, he said.

"The heat, cold, rain, too hard," Trejo said of his former job.

"I think this is better for me. I'm getting older," said the 51-year-old Trejo.

Supply chain issues

Josh Binkley considers himself a motorcycle mechanic by trade. But supply chain issues ruined his motorcycle shop near his home in East Bend in Yadkin County.

He's come to Gastonia to learn to drive a truck at age 43.

"This is something that's always there," Binkley said, "and there's such a shortage of drivers this seems like a logical step."

Road adventure

Kintrell Porter turned 21 in July, and he'll take his CDL exam Aug. 31.

"I've never seen anything outside the southeast. Just North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida," said the Charlotte resident. "I want to see the whole country."

And Porter wants to see it outside the windshield of an 18-wheeler while getting paid, he said.

His dad also drives a tractor-trailer, so he knows something about the profession. He figures he can earn $40,000-plus a year just starting out, enough to live on with better pay than many of his friends.

He does worry about his safety, knowing that driving a truck in heavy traffic and in different weather can be dangerous.

For his safety, he relies on his faith.

"I do believe in God. I know he has my back," Porter said.

"My grandmother said a prayer every time we'd go on a trip, 'Lord protect us on the highways and byways,'" Porter said. "I've got to say that prayer every time."

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016 or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia truck driving school cashing in on workers looking for pay