Anastasia: From Ghana to Becoming a Truck Driver in the USA
Anastasia, a Ghanaian truck driver based in Columbus, Ohio, has lived in the United States for seven years. Before moving abroad, she lived in Accra, where she combined schooling with trading. She frequently traveled to Togo to buy goods, but later stopped working to focus on caring for her children.
Her journey to America began when her husband brought her over. At first, life felt boring because she stayed home most of the time. She would occasionally visit a stylist and return home before her husband arrived from work. When she expressed her desire to work, her husband asked her to wait until she enrolled in school. Truck driving was never part of her original plan.
She arrived in the U.S. in 2018 and by 2019, she returned to Ghana to see her mother and child. Initially, she considered nursing but soon realized it was not for her. Around that time, her husband’s friend, a truck driver, often spoke about the income he made. Though her husband also drove trucks, his contract prevented him from quitting without legal consequences. Anastasia, however, saw an opportunity and told him she wanted to pursue trucking.
With determination, she completed the process in about a month, teaching herself with the help of YouTube videos. Today, she has been driving trucks for five years.
According to Anastasia, trucking pays far better than nursing. She advises others not to force themselves into professions they don’t enjoy:
“If you don’t like being a nurse, don’t force yourself into it. Any job you don’t have passion for will be difficult to succeed in.”
She currently earns around $3,000 a week. While driving, especially with an automatic truck, she avoids using her phone for safety reasons. She also covers her own fuel costs, and stresses the importance of delivering goods on time. If a driver misses a delivery, another driver is sent, and the delay is deducted from their salary.
Watch The Video Below:
About The Author
