Recently let go from my past career of 27 years. Not a professional truck driver but the my job had me driving 1000 to 1500 miles a week just to get to the clients. Then working my normal 40 to 60 hours. Spent many hours a day just driving, some days that was the best part of the job.

Thinking about trucking as a career.

Why are the big trucking companies always looking for people? Burnout by drivers? Or Are they just that bad to work for? Would you folks select trucking as a career if you had to do it over?

Thanks papap (pa pap recent grand father)
51 and too young to retire...

I'm a newbie so I could be wrong but...

High turnover I believe has something to do with:

• Dishonesty in the trucking industry - giving the false illusion that trucking is for everyone. The recruiters will tell you anything to get you to show up at the door, then they won't even apologize and will just say "we'll look into it" only to find out several days, weeks, months later that what you have been told was a flat out lie and your so mad you quit and go to work for someone else.
• The companies that have the highest turnover rates are the ones that take people with no experience and train them. Either the student finds that trucking is not for them and they quit a few months into the job or after about a year they get a job that pays a lot more.
• Most companies that do take people with no CDL have a bad reputation for treating their new drivers like slaves until their contract runs out and then they wonder why they can't keep us.

There are other industries like trucking. Take aviation for example. You call a flight school up and they will basically tell you they WILL get you a job when you finish training, and your training will be X amount of dollars and you will finish in X amount of time. Then after spending thousands of dollars more than they said, and months or years longer than they said, you finally realize that what you were told was a gimmick to get you in the door, and now that you have invested SO much time and money that your not going to leave until your training is done. Then they get you a job with a company that hauls freight in a little 2 engine plane that they OVERLOAD every time & expect you to fly and UNAIRWORTHY plane and sleep in hangars (try that for 2 nights and tell me if all the other planes coming and going will allow you to sleep)... So you see, trucking is not the only industry like this. I think the entire transportation industry is like this. Yes I'm a pilot and Yes I got screwed & I ran out of money.

Wasn't trying to sound negative but this just gives you an idea of what you COULD run into. There are people in aviation and trucking that go to the right school and get hired by the right company and have a wonderful stress free career.

You just have to find the school and company that best fits YOU. Sometimes not all of us have the luxury of going to the school we want or getting into the company we want. Unfortunately thats where the driver mills (the companies that train you) come in.

And I just learned most of this stuff (about the trucking industry) within the last few weeks.

Is it worth it? YES
Is there going to be a lot of BS to put up with your first year? ABSOLUTELY

I have traveled a lot between TN and MI & driving down the highways for long periods of time has allowed me to clear my mind and relax. I have also always been courteous to truckers. If I see that they may need to get over I let them in front (like when they are coming down an on ramp). If they pass me I give them the signal when its clear for them to get over. I don't tailgate and when I pass I leave plenty of room between us (For my sake more than theirs).

I know trucking is good for me because I'm not married, have no kids, and my closest family member is 300 miles away & I have the patience. I think trucking would actually allow me to be with my family more than I have. I have family in Michigan, West Virginia, Florida, Utah, North Carolina, Knoxville TN, and St Louis.

Ok I got a little long winded on this post but I hope I have given you some information to answer your questions.

Maybe a more experienced driver can chime in on the turnover rates.

__________________

Kevin

Sorry to hear that, Papap. Hmmmmmm
You sir, just might be Big truck truckin' material.

Well, ....... just remember, it isn't a 'job' ---- it's a lifestyle.

That's just one of many reasons. That's another reason. SOME truckin' companies are worse than others. Avoid C.R. England at ALL costs. Read about them in the *Report Bad Companies* thread. I would.
My biggest regret is that I didn't do it sooner than I did.
But, keep in mind that I ain't 'normal'.


CONGRATULATIONS!
51?
You're just a kid!

I think many get into the industry with stars in their eyes, and not realizing what the lifestyle consists of.

Many don't like the solitude and/or the days, weeks or months away from the home-20 and family.
Some aren't self-starters and expect the company to hold their hand.
Some aren't willing or able to pay their dues for the first year or two. They expect the perfect gravy job with gravy runs, and expect to be making the big bucks right out of the starting gate.

Some expect to be placed in brand new equipment right away, before they've proven they can handle the program without wadding up the equipment.

Some don't do the proper research BEFORE signing on the dotted line. If I had a dollar for every time I've read something like,.......
I graduate Big truck truckin' school in two days --- does anyone have any suggestions which company/companies I should apply with?
Or,.........................
I just got hired by XYZ Truckin' Company,.....
can y'all tell me what they're like to work for? What kind of equipment do the run?
What is their home time policy.
How much do they pay and how long will I have to be with a company trainer? I don't want to spend TOO much time with a trainer, I want to get into a Big truck and run solo ASAP.........,
I'd be wealthy.
See where I'm goin' with this?

Some accept employment with the first company that'll hire them, and some go with the ONLY company that WILL hire them.

Some accept employment with one of the many 'bottom-feeder' training companies with the intent to only remain there for a year, only to hire on with ANOTHER bottom-feeder company --- and start the process all over again.

Here's what I suggest, for what it's worth.....
set your sights HIGH right away. Apply with the better companies where y'all can remain for a longer period of time and climb the pay-scale ladder.
Shux!
You might even decide to remain with the same company for many years -- especially if a company has a higher ceiling with room to expand into different divisions within the same company. Job hoppin' from company to company isn't the best way to advance, IMO.
The grass may LOOK greener on the other side of the fence, and the reason might just be because the sewer leaks on that side.

Stay AWAY from lease/purchase plans!!!!!

If I were you, I'd check out Schneider. Their training is among the best in the industry, but they want the better candidates. They're interested in Big truck drivers who are more mature, in age AND mind. And being one of, if not THE largest Big truck truckin' company, with several different divisions, their ceiling is higher than most.
From dry van to tankers --- and dedicated accounts, there's more to choose from. They're also owned by the Schneider family -- and not traded publicly as some truckin' companies are, so they don't have to answer to their investors.

I also highly recommend this site for your research. If y'all add up all the combined knowledge here, it'd equal about a million years.
And, as an added bonus, we're more than glad to share it with you, in a most friendly way
Yes we are.
And the price is right, too.
We take IOU's --- with a payment plan, which is, help others with whatcha learn here.

I think I can speak for the others when I remind you that the dumbest question is the one(s) NOT asked.
We're not Radio Shack, but, if you've got questions, we've got answers.

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

Ya think?



Keep the answers coming....
........ although I have to admit that the fact that your answers are some of the most useful and logical kinda scares me!...........

__________________


The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. — Albert Einstein

Well, .......Yeah,
Even better'n that .....
I know !!

How cool is that?

Your wish is my command.
And my pleasure, I'm sure and I hope,
too.
That "fact" scares YOU?!
Gee WHIZ!
Can y'all just imagine what that same fact does to me, ......... too?
AfterShock's the HaiL outta me!
Too, too, I suspect.
Thanx for your comments.
I appreciate that.

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

Aftershock pretty much said it all Papap. It is definately a lifestyle. And I think 9 out of 10 who try it can't take it past a month or two. That's one of the primary reasons for the turnover.

NaW.
I think others will have things to add. YuP!
The ol'
Momma never tol' me there'd be daze like this.
And they never thought to ask.
But, would they have listened to and/or, for the correct answer, anyway?
Hmmmmmmm

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

The best one I heard was about 5 years ago. I was training a Newbie on an I-80 run out of Chicago going to Gay Bay. I let him drive most of the flats and I took the Utah & Cal. hills. On the backhaul, about the time we hit IA, he said he had to quit when we got back because his wife wouldn't let him drive anymore.

From back-seat driver to front-seat.
Who's drivin'?
I wonder what his wife will say when the checks stop coming in ---- anymore?
You can always go back to Big truck truckin'?

And start all over again ---------------

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

Yep! A kid about 3 years ago, fresh out of Big Truck Trucking University. I was supposed to train him for a Sac - San Diego Line Haul. Watched him do a walk-around and afterward he promptly presented me with his schedule of "legally required breaks" he expected to take and even where the breaks were going to be taken at.
Lasted one round and said he was too tired to do another. Went back to WalMart.