Post trucking career journeys.

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by bentstrider83, Apr 19, 2015.

  1. bentstrider83

    bentstrider83 Road Train Member

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    I'll start out and say while my current driving job has its issues, I feel as though it feels enough like a "regular job" that I've stuck with the company for over two years now.
    Anywho, nothing negative meant by this thread and it's only speculating and "wondering about the future", sort-of-thing.

    So we've got people who've been in the industry for awhile that sense it's time to hang it up and move on.
    Then there's those who've caught some bad breaks and another career change is a necessity.
    Has anyone been through, and/or witnessed heard of a successful switch-over to an entirely different educational/vocational set after finishing up a driving career?

    I'm only asking this because I've heard all the ridicule stories(ie,. fast-food,. etc).
    But I think it would be interesting to hear about some one who drove trucks for x-amount of years.
    And now after 5-15 years after getting out from behind the wheel, they're a heart surgeon, or a bridge/tunnel engineer.

    Only think close I could think of in my recent tale-trading is a doctor I'm currently going to.
    He seemed like one of those guys at first that followed in their parents foot-steps, but then he told me his own dad was a lifelong trucker!!
     
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  3. Mike2633

    Mike2633 Road Train Member

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    At Home on The West Side
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    You know, I'm glad you brought this up it's something I think about a lot, been having a little bit of a hard time trying to find a good fit for myself, however I think I'm getting closer. I think if and it's always a possibility if I were to go back to school I would get training in grounds and turf management and go and work on a grounds keeping crew at like one of the real big time golf courses. Ohio State (I couldn't care less about there athletics) has a grounds and turf school in Wooster, Ohio and I would be interested to see what that programs about and get into a program like learning how to grow and maintain grass and other landscapes for you know a big time golf course like Augusta or who ever take you're pick. I would really have a ball working on a grounds crew at a big time golf course like that, getting to cut all that grass and drive the little dump truck golf carts around and operate all the other cool equipment and running the sprinkler system. Then having a CDL would be an added bonus because if the course has there own dump truck or what ever now you could drive it. It would be a win win for everyone.

    Plus being a truck driver would certainly help in a sense of having a job like that working in grounds and turf you will probably at one point in time have to drive a dump truck or something of that nature. Really I try and think of non traditional and more creative ways I can use my CDL to my advantage, even the Class B CDL guys, if you get a little creative and start thinking about things, there's plenty you can do with a Class B CDL. Dump trucks, Cement Trucks, moving vans, air freight, buses my friend is a city transit bus driver and he hasn't been doing it all that long either and really he likes it a lot, makes good money, has good benefits that don't cost to much, the city he is in is smaller to so there aren't as many crazies has plenty of opportunity for over time the buses don't run all night long they all get back to the central garage around 2am or so. A normal work week is 40 hours and then you can work all the over time on top of that if you like and some of those over time runs can be easy runs like taking the highway bus to the big city grabbing the commuters and then taking them back down to the park-n-ride lot. Actually I was like hey man whens the next hiring session sign me up! Ha-ha! He said the jobs not bad work in the morning do you're route take a 3 hour break then depending on where you pick you're bus up at you can take a bus to the end of the line bus station grab you're bus there run you're afternoon route then hit the off duty light and drive the bus back to the central garage. It's really not a bad life. He was like yeah I run my morning route then get back to the garage drive home (he lives close to the main bus garage) have a cup of coffee read the paper get back in my car go back to the bus garage shoot the breeze with the other bus drivers for a little while. He's real calm everything is nice and peaceful he said the police monitor the buses and that at the end of line bus station the police and sheriff both have fully staffed offices and the town he's in is smaller and if there's a problem the police come right away.


    There's a wide variety of work out there and having a CDL doesn't hurt you at all, you'll need other education/experience and training as well, but having that license is always good too.
     
  4. 315wheelbase

    315wheelbase Heavy Load Member

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    In the first 30 years on the road only got flashed once,,a few years ago a buddy and I hauled 2 loads together from Calif to Penn,,He was infront and going thru Reno he got flashed ( I missed it) and as we drove thru Ohio he got flashed again and I missed it too..
     
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  5. CargoWahgo

    CargoWahgo Road Train Member

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    I just left trucking a couple months ago.

    Was bored to death the first month.

    Bought a pressure washer and started washing trucks. Made more than I would have all weekend trucking in 4 hours of work.

    Started a used car lot for tax season.

    Drove to Houston nonstop with no logbook to worry about. No scales...it was nice.

    So far so good. Making more than I ever did trucking while working 10 hours a week at most.

    I know it will slow down and that's why I've been going to auctioneer school this past week.
     
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  6. NewbiusErectus

    NewbiusErectus Medium Load Member

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    I'm sure quite a few have made the transition. My backup plan was originally saving for re-education, but now I'm leaning more toward self employment. I was really interested in geographic information systems and my background/interest lends itself to that, but with this wage stagnation thing, I'm not sure the investment would be worthwhile.

    Me personally, I like driving at the moment,, the money is good for the hours I put in, the job is easy and nobody bothers me. My main concern is the FMCSA/DOT's/insurance co.'s fetish with turning us into robots.

    I'm just gonna continue on and keep saving. If/when things get bad, I'll either have the cash to retire or start/buy a business. I'm thinking super drive-thru,, trade the work boots in on a pair of flip flops and a tie-die t-shirt and take advantage of people's laziness. Sell beer, bottled water, potato chips and other stuff for ridiculous money. I've never seen a drive-thru close due to lack of business, and theyre always asking 500k-1mil+ to sell
     
  7. Starboyjim

    Starboyjim Road Train Member

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    I think they go into dispatch for Swift and CR England.
     
  8. Voyager1968

    Voyager1968 Road Train Member

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    I worked on a golf course for 5 years before I got my CDL and started driving trucks. It was definitely a fun job most of the time. Even as a worker not in management, there are some nice perks, like free golf. Of course, unless you have an education, like you mentioned, you really can't earn a good living as a golf course worker. To make the "big bucks" you need to be the head superintendent or the Director of Agronomy. Even as an assistant superintendent, the pay can be modest at best. It's one of the reasons I had to leave and pursue a driving career, otherwise I'd still be doing it.
     
  9. Starboyjim

    Starboyjim Road Train Member

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    Flashed, 315?
     
  10. Starboyjim

    Starboyjim Road Train Member

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    I'm working on becoming a bigger trucking company, 5 trucks should do it, (only me now, my most trusted help) maybe get a broker ticket. I believe quite a few of us have gone this route.
     
  11. ShallowDOF

    ShallowDOF Light Load Member

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    I walked away from 10 years of driving about a year ago and went back to doing stagehand work, something I did as a side job before trucking. I was a bit rusty, but it didn't take long to land a spot on a tour. After several months I moved up to the lead spot on the tour. Then this year the company decided to bring the driving in-house.

    So a year after I walked away from driving, I'm driving again, but it's just a very small part of what I do, only about 13k miles a year. In between driving I spend two weeks at a time on some of the country's nicest golf courses with no boss looking over my shoulder. It's by far the best job I've ever had and the company I work for is amazing. Working 7 months a year and making a full years pay is just icing on the cake.
     
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