Wanna truck

Discussion in 'Canadian Truckers Forum' started by deano46, Feb 15, 2011.

  1. deano46

    deano46 Bobtail Member

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    Feb 15, 2011
    nanaimo, bc
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    Hi there everyone. I farmed in sask for 15 years and I currently work for
    the school board as a custodian. I make 40,000 a year,plus a good pension.Looking at taking my class one, I love trucks. I;m itching to drive.
    I live in Nanaimo , britsh columbia,orginally from saskatoon, sask.I;m thinking of taking a leave and try trucking.Can anyone point me in the right direction,like wages,is there benifits. Is it worth my while at my age
    47.Does anybody know of a company that will hire me , a good company.
    I have my learners already, i drove tandem grain truck before on the farm. Betting tired of pushing a broom.I just like the power and I get excited when i drive . Is that a good thing.I took my drivers last year at
    a driving school.it was a mack , no problem upshifting, but downshifting.
    It is 5 grand for 35 hours of driving.What do you think.
     
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  3. disorder

    disorder Light Load Member

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    Dec 11, 2008
    Nanaimo, BC
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    The market on the island is really hit and miss right now, still lots of experienced guys out there and tons of newbies that used to be forestry workers. I'd stick with the school board man, my cousin works for sd68 too (gas and hvac though). You most likely not gonna find a pension driving truck and will still be making roughly the same money and the benefits are probably way better at the district too.

    But in the end its your decision, keep in mind that alot of places want at least a couple years experience so to get that you might have to go through a crappy company or two. Talk to Imex on Mostar they may take on a guy with little experience, FMI was recently looking too.
     
  4. canuck in da truck

    canuck in da truck Road Train Member

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    Aug 6, 2010
    western pa
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    depending on how long till your pension--but i would stay there--then if you want try it when you have a pension--even just do it in the nice weather then take a holiday throught the winter--i have met lots that do that--keeps them busy--plus they have enough for a 4 month vacation every winter someplace warm
     
  5. Licensed to kill

    Licensed to kill Heavy Load Member

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    Dec 31, 2010
    Alberta
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    As far as worth your while at age 47, I just hired a driver that quit a job at a GM dealership and got his class 1 at age 62. He's from Kelowma and is driving for me in Ft Mcmurray right now and loving it (so he says). A far as guitting a regular job to truck goes, I had a regular job for 25 years and always wanted to go trucking but every time I talked about it my Dad, who drove truck all his life, would say "you don't want to go trucking, stay where you are, where you have a pension ect" so I would abandon the idea. In 2005 an opportunity came along to get out of my dead end job and go onto business for myself which included trucking. Best move I've ever made. Only YOU can decide if it's something you want to try. You can always go back to a regular job if you choose later. GOOD drivers are in short supply and can get all the work they can handle at good rates of pay.....unless you want to be home every night and want a 9-5 type of schedule.
     
  6. whosedog

    whosedog Medium Load Member

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    Mar 18, 2009
    fair lawn nj
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    I'm a custodian with a School Board in the US ,been paying into the pension 35 years;now they want to save $ and privatize us,that's OK cause I can retire at 56 and collect 2/3 of my salary for not working .So now they are going to pay me $2,700 every month to do nothing,plus benies. I don't know much about truckers pensions,but I think you would do well to stay at the school job,retire from that,and then go trucking if you still want to.
     
  7. TheHealthyDriver

    TheHealthyDriver Heavy Load Member

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    Jul 11, 2010
    Stony Mountain, MB
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    Plain and simple, do whatever is going to make you happiest. If you don't like the school board job, and want to go drive a truck, then do it. Will it be an easy switch? Probably not. Might it take 2-3 years before you're with a decent company, and driving the lanes you want to drive? Probably. However, that's better than spending the next 10-15 years in a job you don't care for. Working in a field you don't want to work in anymore is the same as dying a slow death.
     
  8. Johnny R

    Johnny R Light Load Member

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    May 25, 2010
    Alberta, Canada
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    I don't know what to say. A brother of mine worked as a school custodian for quite a while. He wasn't too happy, and left it. A number of months after leaving he became disabled, and unfortunately missed out on one of the greatest long-term disability benefits in the province. He died poor as a church mouse. What are the odds? No one can tell, but sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't.
     
  9. whosedog

    whosedog Medium Load Member

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    Mar 18, 2009
    fair lawn nj
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    What kind of retirement package will you get from the trucking Co.? Will they still be in business when you want to retire? The school board will be there;you are getting too close to retirement age to give up the school job.Wait till you retire from there then go trucking.Those Government jobs with a guaranteed retirement (taxpayer funded)are hard to get into,i'm sure that there are folks lined up waiting for you to leave so they can get in.I don't know how many years you have vested in the pension but look at me at age 56, retiring from the Board of Education,I will recieve $2,700 monthly till I die,then the pension goes to my wife.Plus I can collect partial Unemployment cause they are privatising us,so I will be making the same $ as if I were working,for sitting on my butt.Is there any trucking CO.that would pay you that kind of money for not working?That trucking job will still be there for you when you leave the school job.
     
  10. nate980

    nate980 Road Train Member

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    Dec 23, 2010
    Langley BC
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    I paid roughly 4 grand for my training in the lower mainland. 4 grand for 36 hours+ some courses and the airbrake course
     
  11. TheHealthyDriver

    TheHealthyDriver Heavy Load Member

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    Jul 11, 2010
    Stony Mountain, MB
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    Everyone is sooo wrapped up with this idea of "retirement". The only time people retire is when they're doing a job they hate, and can't wait to stop doing it. If you do a job you love, then there's no need to retire. If you ever look at the majority of wealthy people, they're doing something they love, and as such they decide to do it well into their golden years. Why? Because they have no desire to stop doing it.

    If you want to go trucking, go trucking. You can always go back to what you're doing if you find it's not for you. Or, better yet, you can always look for something else to do that you may love.
     
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