is trucking good or not?

I like it. I have left it twice for more money and came back. Every job has its days. When I was OTR I showered everyday. If I didn't burn enough fuel to get the free shower I would pay the 5-10$. I would only skip showers if I was only driving all day.

 

Yeah , right . Tell all that to the over 90,000 people in the industry that lost their jobs in the past year . Big companies put you through school , run you a few months , then terminate you for some petty violation and send you a bill for a few thousand dollars for your training .

 

now i can tell you ive been in the business bout all my life and im older then dirt, and yeah im one of the red necks that the expert was talking about and you can call a truck whatever you want it your dime.

the first thing you need to do is learn not to pay attention to all the gloom and doom that a lot of these guys are cryting about , most of it just aint so.

just getting stareted you have to pick and choose carfully and dont pay attention to a truck driver story, becuse ther just that , every time a driver loses his job or his truck you will notice its never ther fault it always some one else to blame .

its a rewarding carreer if its what you want just go for it , its not easy to get stareted but you can do it . best of luck.---southernpride

 

That's the part that bothers me the most....

 

It could also be that the companies are taking the opportunity to get rid of some undesirables. Most companies practice this tactic when things slow down. The thing is you really have to keep your nose clean your first year.

 

I loved being out on the open road. But it truely is a life style. If you cant handle being away from home or if you have a wife and kids at home and they cant handle you being gone for weeks at a time, then it would be a big mistake to try and get into it. Also if you dont like yourself (which truely alot of people dont really know if they do.) cause you will be spending alot of time alone with yourself. you really need to think long and hard.

 

Wow, unless you are single with NO bills, that's not much of a wage. I guess if you are pretty independent, it is ok. Maybe the posts are right...now is NOT the time to be startin' a trucking career...

 

I spent 30 years in this industry and it's the worst I've ever seen it. I would not encourage anyone to enter the industry at this time. Frankly I think there's too many trucks and not enough freight. Whether you are company,L/O or O/O the economy has not recovered enough to support the trucks available. That's NOT true in all areas of the country however. Take where I live. SW MO. Looking at loadboards,talking to O/O's still in the business freight is REASONABLE. The problem is getting back to this area for all the ones I've talked to. Companies have freight out but drivers are setting or dead heading several miles to pick up loads. Not good. I strongly urge anyone thinking of driving right now to rethink their position. Go back to school, take advantage of some tech schools(welding,plumbing,mechanic etc). Just my opinion but the economy dictates how well you will do in trucking. It ain't that good right now.

 

And that's the big problem in the industry now . Too many wannabes think $4.50 an hour is o.k. - until they've done it 4 to 6 weeks and abandon the truck to be taken over by the next wannabe that thinks $4.50 an hour is o.k. .
The over 90,000 jobs reported lost in the last year are jobs that were eliminated by fleet reductions and company closings , not jobs where people quit or were fired then replaced by another driver .