Snow Plow Drivers May Be In Short Supply In West Michigan This Winter

If you've ever considered being a hero by getting snow covered roads open in the winter during big storms, here's your chance!!

Local municipalities have begun their winter preparations, and several communities say they may be short of snow plow drivers this coming winter.

And while Kent County is looking good, off to the west, retirements have hit the Muskegon County Road Commission hard.

The MCRC maintenance superintendent Andrew Nichols says they've started hiring drivers for the coming snow months, and have found the return rate lower than normal.

"The issue that we are personally seeing is a lot of retirement," he told FOX 17 News. 

While it's not as bad as some counties in the eastern part of the state have been reporting, Musekgon is in the market for a few new drivers. You can apply for driver and other seasonal openings now at the MCRC web site. 

Ottawa County is also looking to fill four openings for plow drivers. Ron Kemppainen told WZZM-13 On Your Side that qualified drivers have been scarce.

"One of the main reasons we're seeing a shortage in Commercial Driver's License (CDL) drivers right now is because they're more CDL jobs available than actual drivers in the market so it's making for a real competitive job market," Kemppainen said.

Both counties say they have some incentives in place for drivers, and have upped the pay grade a bit as well.

In the meantime, both Indeed and Zip Recruiter have long listings for Michigan snow plow drivers, both public and private for the coming winter. Pay runs at anywhere from $38k-58k depending on the job. Hourly rates for part timers can run as high as $75 per hour.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a snow plow driver, here's a look.

And then there's always the added joy of being a menace to kids like in the movie 'Snow Day'....