My Career: Driving 50ft in the air isn’t for everyone

Name: Sarah O’Sullivan

Age: 29

Location: CCT Ringaskiddy

Job Title: Straddle Carrier Driver (Cargo Handling Equipment Operator)

Salary Bracket: €60,000+

Education Background: I completed my Leaving Certificate at Coachford College and went on to do an Emergency Services course at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa.

Hobbies: Boxing, hiking, going to the gym, and singing.

Describe your job in 5 words: Challenging, Structured, Exciting, Rewarding, Skilful.

Describe yourself in 5 words: Determined, Outgoing, Focused, Calm, Loyal.

Is a certain personality needed for this kind of work? Not necessarily a certain personality, as many different types of people do this job, but I would say a specific mindset is crucial to perform well. You need to have 100% trust in your own abilities to operate the machinery since you spend most of the day on your own.

You also need to be level-headed, extremely focused, and comfortable working at heights. Driving around 50ft in the air all day isn’t for everyone! It can be daunting at first when you see the size and height of the machine.

How long have you been doing this job? Just over a year.

How did you get this job? I completed my Leaving Certificate when I was 17 and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. A year later, I enrolled in an Emergency Services course at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, which I absolutely loved. I gained valuable skills in first aid, fire training, and hazardous chemical training, which have stayed with me since.

After finishing the course, I was still unsure about my career path, so a friend suggested I get a security license as there was plenty of work in that industry. I completed the course and started working in a nightclub.

Shortly after, I applied for a position with a security company and was offered a job, which included some work at the port. I spent five years there and fell in love with the port from day one. 

I worked on every site in the port and gained a solid understanding of how everything operated.

When a job directly with the port became available, I applied immediately, even though there were no women in operational roles at the time. Two days after my interview, I got a call offering me the job as a Terminal Interchange Assistant. In this role, I helped check in/out containers, assisted truck drivers in the compound, and worked directly with machinery operators to solve problems, passing on information to maintenance, management, and haulage companies.

After two years, the port offered a training programme for employees interested in learning to operate machinery. I signed up right away, and when a position opened up for a Cargo Handling Equipment Operator, I interviewed and was offered the job. I’ve been in this role for just over a year now!

My biggest accomplishment so far has been becoming a Straddle Carrier Driver. I never imagined I’d be doing such a job. Ever since my time in security, I was fascinated by the Straddle Carriers and the people driving them. I looked up to them and thought they had the most exciting job. It still feels surreal at times that I’m doing it myself now.

Describe a day at work: I usually start work at 6.30am and need to be on my machine and ready to drive by 7am. After putting on my PPE, the first thing I do is a walk-around of the machine to complete a pre-driving checklist. I check the tyre pressure, look for any damage to the machine, and inspect for leaks. Then I climb the ladder to the top of the machine to check the oil levels and coolant in the engine bay. 

After that, I climb into the cab and start the machine. Most days, I work on the gate team, where we load and unload trucks entering the compound. This includes handling containers, refrigerated units, tanks, and flats.

We lift the containers off the trucks and place them into export lanes to be shipped, stacking them as high as four containers, which took some getting used to at first. We then load the trucks with import containers.

We typically work for two hours, followed by an hour break, and repeat this cycle throughout the day to ensure we remain focused and alert. I usually work until 3pm, depending on my shift, though some people do 12-hour shifts.

How many hours do you work a week? Generally, 40 hours, but I sometimes do overtime.

What do you wear to work? PPE, including cargo pants, high-visibility jackets, steel-toe cap boots, a hard hat, and gloves.

Is your industry male or female dominated? Male.

Does this affect you in any particular way? Not at all. I grew up with four brothers and no sisters, so I might have struggled more in an all-female-dominated workplace. 

That said, there is one other female driver doing the same job as me, and we get on really well and have become good friends. It’s nice to have her around for support.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10: Now that I’ve been doing it for a year, I wouldn’t say it’s overly stressful, but during training, I was quite stressed. I had never driven machinery before, and as a perfectionist, I wanted to do well right away. The compound can be really busy with a lot of machines working, so it’s not always the most relaxing environment to learn in, but in hindsight, that was a good thing. I’m now much better at handling the pressures of the job. The guys who trained me were brilliant - so patient, and even months later, they would still answer any questions I had.

Do you work with others or on your own? We work in small teams, but each of us drives our own machine, so we do all of our driving alone.

When do you plan to retire or give up working? When I stop enjoying the job, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. I’m really happy where I am right now. I’m still young, and I’m enjoying the machinery for now!

Best bits of your job: I really enjoy the freedom of being up on a machine completely on my own and the confidence it has given me to trust in my abilities. Now that I’m used to the work, I find it relaxing to have that space and make decisions myself. Operating the machine is really fun as long as you can keep your focus and attention to detail sharp!

Worst bits of your job: The 50ft climb up the ladder every few hours! That probably means I should be training more and improving my fitness levels!

Advice to those who want your job: The best way to get into an operational role at the Port of Cork Company is through experience with operating machinery such as trucks, farm machinery, cranes, and construction equipment.

Any other comments? More people should consider working in the maritime industry, both male and female. It really is such an enjoyable place to work!