Pharmaceutical Driver Delivers Life-Saving Parcels

Considered working in the transportation industry? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more.

I work for a pharmaceutical company as a driver. I have worked in this particular position for the past two years, but have more than 20 years of experience in the transportation industry. If I had to describe myself using three adjectives, I would say that I am honest, trustworthy and reliable.

I am a Caucasian male of Italian descent. I do not believe that either my gender or my ethnicity has helped or hurt me as I have never been on the receiving end of any form of discrimination.

I begin each day at the central hub where I pick up all of the prescriptions I will deliver for that day. I then plan out my route according to where I am being sent. Of course, the day doesn’t always go as planned as I often get called to another pharmacy to pick up rush deliveries for hospice patients or shut-ins.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my overall job satisfaction as an 8. I believe that this job would have the ability to satisfy me 100% if it paid enough to support a family.

The particular job position I am in does move my heart in that it makes me feel good knowing I have been able to meet a need by delivering medication some people may not have had any other way of receiving. Though I do enjoy working with people, I would prefer to do so in a more meaningful capacity, thus this job is probably not my true calling.

I first started in this line of work 23 years ago with Federal Express as a driver/courier. If I could go back and do it differently, I would have gone to college immediately following high school.

Being a driver can be a stressful occupation and one in which you may have to learn a lesson or two the hard way. One lesson I learned the hard way is to be prepared for interruptions in my schedule. Just because I try to make a schedule to keep my day running in an organized manner doesn’t mean that everyone will honor or adhere to it. Emergency situations do arise and I need to be flexible and not become flustered when that happens.

Since I deal with the public all day, I have had my share of run-ins with some interesting people. I have had instances when I have gone to a person’s home and was greeted by a scantily-clad woman. Nothing prepares you for those encounters–you just need to know how to diffuse them when they arise.

I am a husband and a father of four children. My obligation to my family is to provide for them in any way that I can. I am fortunate in this economy to have a job that correlates with my many years of experience in the field. I feel good when I go to the home of an elderly person. In some instances I am the only face they see each day–sometimes even for the entire week. I try to make the most of my encounter with these people and try to be as encouraging and friendly as I can.

Sometimes I am confronted with certain challenges throughout the day that make me want to look for another job. Some of these would include the number of hours I work, the number of miles I drive each day (up to 150) and the amount of pay with which I am compensated. My job can be very stressful at times because I am on such tight time constraints. Sometimes I will meet up with a customer who is particularly chatty. I don’t want to be rude or abrupt so I stay and talk, but then I will wind up being 20-30 minutes behind schedule.

I am paid on the lower end of the pay scale. The average salary for this position is about $25,000. It is just not enough to support a family of six. I am entitled to a week of vacation, but I cannot afford to take it.

To gain a job in this field you must at least have a high school education, a clean driver’s license, and you must enjoy working with people. If I had a friend who was considering my line of work I would encourage him to go for his CDL so that he could earn a better living.

If I could write my own ticket, I would like to continue working with people, but in the capacity of a counselor.

This is a true career story as told to DiversityJobs.com and is one of many interviews with professional transportation workers, which among others include a Truck Driver and a Courier.