I Remember the First thing a Trucker Told me when i was on my own.. In your First year You either Love it or Hate it.. I love being out on the Road every minute of the day.. IF you cant Stand being out on the Road, Driving, Have Kids, Widow i can see where you would have a Greater Need to want to be at home..
OTR may not be for you but then again if you love Driving but Hate being away from home.. Keeping in mind your a Full Grown Adult and can Take responsibility for your own actions... you should be Well Aware that you Must pay your Dues... Look at my Signature I've been Driving just over 2 years, and dont take it the wrong Way I Love Driving but Look at what i got in return from MR. CEO.. its like saying here I'll give you unlimited Miles but in return we are going to have to take away some money you cant have everything...
BUT its a improvement the next stepping stone... I Busted my Butt to get onto Wal-Mart Dedicated where Every Load is Drop and hook Unlimited Miles, Contracted Minimum Miles ect ect, but i also lost minor things, This isnt the end
At the moment I am working to get on at another company who pays "Company Drivers" not O/O's 22% of the Gross Line haul Rev, and be home every night Free Medical ect.. ITS out there Open up your eyes you have a computer and if you Read The Posts on this msg board you will learn how to Search and what to look for and what to steer clear of...

Always keep this in mind i had a Dart driver tell me this In my life's experience if you dont love what you do its not worth doing and your wasting your life killing yourself slowly and painfully every day
(btw this man was 69 years old and drowning in medical bills with a wife at home in the hospital, and i asked him why and thats what he told me) this man was in no fashion shape way or form trucking for money he did it for the love of the industry

and i can tell you this I dont want a driver who hates his job to be out on the road You Represent a Statistic to me of that 5% of drivers who give the industry a bad name because your too Ticked off to pay attention to your Job and kill someone or a kid or a portion of a family, and leave much pain and anger in your wake, that Recycles into Retaliation against hard working Truckers Across America..

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There are Old Truckers and there are Bold Truckers, But there are no Old Bold Truckers.

You could have put another option on the poll: Yes, No, Maybe!. I agree the 1st year on the road is definitely tough and makes you question your choice of occupation. I think some people are more suited to the lifestyle than others. The thing that got me into trucking was never the money. I am a restless person by nature, pretty much a loner type too. However, during that first year on the road I was constantly wondering why I got myself into this mess. Funny thing is that in the past couple of years since I haven't been driving I have missed it. My driving school instructor use to say that once you got the diesel in your blood you were hooked. Guess he was right since I'm looking to go get my cdl again.

"I hate my job!"
"I love my job!"
"My job is okay."

Don't think your first job will be in "phases" that are several weeks or months long. When I drove I had days when I felt I wanted to quit in the morning, felt neutral at noon, and loved driving by dinnertime. This describes how I felt when I had two days experience, two months experience, and even two years experience. Such is truck driving.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

What is this "lifestyle" of which you speak?

ICERAT,

$800 a week sounds pretty good to me. Even though I`m a newbie and student driver it still beats what I did. My last job I drove 300 miles to work (from southeast Iowa to Northwest Chicagoland burbs) + drive over 100 miles each day THEN get paid by doing Cable Tv services. Being I was A sub contractor I paid for my fuel,food , cell phone so IF I was lucky I would make maybe $200 a day but more like $150 a day.

Ok I might make lets say $750-1000 a week. Now Minus expenses. Lets say $200 a week so that is $550-800 gross. I would drive over 1200 miles a week and NOT GET PAID FOR THAT. The Driving was the EASY part.

I also had to deal with dispatchers , TIGHT TIMES , HEAVY workload and a mountain of paperwork just to get paid so I think it will not be so bad.
Also Irate dispatchers, Supervisers and clients so I think I can handle it pretty well.

so goto [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. and READ about the horror stories about being a cable\satellite tech.

I agree you have to like to drive.

I'm not a trucker quite yet, but this post was good for me. It lets me know that it isn't all sunny morning breakfast feasting. And honestly, I expected that. But c'mon, for a guy that isn't married, no kids, no debt, and no attachments period, 800 a week isn't too shabby at all, don't you think? That's me. Well, I haven't driven a truck OTR, but I am by no means a n00b on the road. Luckily, this post did not deter me from my goal to become a trucker. Looking forward to it still!

Vince, you're kinda young. That will hinder you for the time being, as it may be hard to get on with a good outfit.

If you do get into driving, you should drive your behind off for twenty years, save your money like a pack rat, and invest in 401K like there's no tomorrow. If I had done that, I'd be a millionaire by now easily.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

I would also take a small portion like $50 a month and invest in a stock with dividend reinvesting (DRiP). Plan on keeping it long term. Also a whole life insurance policy that you can cash out when it matures for when you buy your house. Also, its worth looking into the services of an accountant to handle your taxes.


I have to add a disclaimer that I'm not an investment advisor or CPA so do your homework and make your own decisions.

Get with a good union company! I know some UPS feeder drivers that made $90,000 last year and slept in their bed every nite! See what a difference an union can make!