Kaitlynn Aikin’s high-school self probably would be surprised if she had been able to look into the future and see the confident 20-year-old diesel technician working on heavy-duty trucks and acting as an inspiration to bring other young women into the field.

“If I look back. I don't think I'd ever expect myself to be where I am today. But it’s so amazing how far I've come,” she said in an HDT Talks Trucking video podcast interview.

Aikin is a diesel technician at Southeastern Freight Lines' Fort Worth service center. Her journey is not just about fixing trucks and engines, but also driven by her desire to break stereotypes and inspire the next generation of female technicians.

How Many Women Are Diesel Technicians?

The American Trucking Associations projects the industry will need about 200,000 diesel technicians over the next 10 years just to keep up with current truck maintenance demands. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently approximately 242,200 technicians employed.

Yet, according to the Women in Trucking Association, U.S. technical schools only train about 3,500 diesel techs each year.

A gaping hole in the new-diesel technician pipeline is the lack of women in this field.

Only 4% of technicians are female among respondents to Women in Trucking’s latest WIT Index survey. Nearly half, approximately 47%, of respondents said they have no women in technician roles. Only 23% report that between 1% and 4% of their technicians are women.

Aikin originally planned to go into law enforcement. She decided to study automotive maintenance and repair in high school as something she could fall back on. But once she got her hands on big trucks, excavators and other heavy-duty equipment, it quickly became her first career choice.

Her trade-school studies resulted in a summer job that had a diesel shop.

“I thought it was so cool that I got to work on boats, excavators, tractors and all the heavy-duty equipment,” she says. “I gravitated towards it, and I fell in love.”

She couldn’t be happier with her choice, she says.

Aikin’s Journey From High School to Star Technician

While in her high school vocational program, Aikin participated in a SkillsUSA competition and placed seventh.

Perhaps more importantly, the competition gave her a chance to talk with representatives from Universal Technical Institute. The next step for the Alabama native was moving to Texas and completing UTI’s diesel technician training program.

Her very first job interview after completing the UTI program was with Southeastern Freight Lines.

“I knew this was the job I wanted, that this is where I wanted to work,” she says. “And I didn't care what I was doing at the company. I just wanted to work here, because it's a great company.”

She was impressed by SEFL’s culture, its values, its focus on quality, and its attention to “internal customers” – the drivers, technicians, and all the other people who make it possible to provide quality service to the external customers.

Viewing Every Challenge as a Chance to Test Herself

Some people might be intimidated being a young, petite woman in a field dominated by men. Not Aikin. She views every challenge as a competition, a chance to test herself and prove herself.

A little over a year ago, SEFL’s Columbia shop hosted 14 technicians for its Professional Technician Development Training, a four-day event focused on topics such as basic electrical theory, fifth wheel and wheel-end maintenance, transmissions, and collision mitigation systems. 

Along the way, technicians were tested on each module before moving on to the next, and Aikin was one of two participants named “Top Techs” in the class.

“I saw it as a challenge and a competition, and so I just wanted to do the best that I could and put my best foot forward in showing that I am doing well in the shop and that this is a field for women to succeed in,” Aikin says.

At her first job, she says, “A lot of the guys would see me come out to work on their tractors or excavators” and be surprised or skeptical. “But I also had other people that were so thrilled and excited that I was doing this.”

When faced with skepticism, she says, she responds in a positive way.

“I would explain, ‘Well, I know this isn't like typically what a woman would do, but I would show them how it works, and just explain that I am just as capable, it's a very enjoyable job, and I'm just as good as a man is.”

Mind Over Muscle is Key in the Shop

It’s no secret that men typically possess more strength to take on tough fixes. Aikin, however, uses critical thinking to overcome those challenges – and sometimes finds that her slight frame can even be an advantage.

“You might have to do things a little differently, but there’s a way for you to do everything that a man does in this job,” she says.

For instance, when lifting heavy objects, she might have to get someone else to help.

“But I've also found with other tasks, like when we do transmissions, some of the connectors are hard to get to, but I can fit up in there and lay on top of the transmission.”

Her primary job is performing DPMs, the preventive maintenance service that comes at the half-life of the vehicle, she explains.

“Ours are at 500,000, half a million miles, and we basically tear down the entire truck and then rebuild it.”

These rebuilds typically take a team of technicians two or three days to complete.

“In between, sometimes we can have a week, sometimes we have a day, and so we'll have other trucks that come in that we also get to work on,” she says.

She enjoys using the latest computer diagnostics and welcomes the challenge of keeping up with the fast-changing technology in today’s trucks and how technicians diagnose and work on them.

“The industry is constantly changing and growing, and transforming in such significant ways,” she says. “And so keeping up with all the technology and the diagnostics, our trucks have gotten so much more technologically advanced, there's so many wires running through the truck, that electrical diagnostics is a big part of what we do.”

She says it’s important for today’s techs to have a good foundation for electrical diagnostics and the latest emissions aftertreatment systems.

One of the favorite parts of her job is interacting with the drivers of the trucks she’s worked on, whether it’s letting them know that a problem they’ve been complaining about is now fixed, or handing over the newly refurbished truck after a DPM.

“Whenever we finish the DPM, the truck looks almost brand new. Just being able to see how happy and joyful they are at seeing this truck that's had a full transformation” is a highlight of her job.

Looking Ahead at a Technician Career Path

She may only be 20, but Aikin already has eyes on where she wants to be in the future.

“Right now I'm really happy on the floor, but I hope at some point I can move into management and then have a wider reach on helping others as well. Maybe one day I'll be able to help teach other techs.”

To trucking companies looking to get more female technicians (or techs overall), she says, “Right now, I think we’re still in the mindset that college is the first and foremost. But you can get so much further with the skill and have something to stand on in the future. I feel like showing that trades are required and a foundation of our country would be very helpful.”

Her advice for other women who might be interested in following in her footsteps?

“Just go for it. You’re going to feel like you jumped in the deep end at first, but it gets better after you figure out ways to do things that suit you and figure out what your better skills are.”