Advice? Don't become a trucker.

see in your statements ,you didnt like the shift changeing????? right now in todays economy be thankfull to have a job! due whats left of jobs due to the oboob admin!!!!!! nothings easy in life, years ago i built roads and bridges for a liveing, you want to talk about a uneven sleep schedual,work 24-36 hrs straight doing a traffic switch, or work all day and find the night forman or superviser is in jail and aint comeing in ,cant just let the 30 guys run wild with out supervision,,,,,,,and i delt with this for 15 yrs,,,,,,you have to take the good with the bad,,,,,people forget about dependablity,and loyalty,and yes if you show a good attitude and get the respect you diserve things go alot easyer than complaining,,,,just my opinion take it for what its worth dino

 

Thanks for the insight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never thought about that. Take Care & God Bless & Be the Light maybe like you already are.

 

if you LOVE what you are doing it aint a job

 

Thanks for the insight and unfortunately I saw some of that last week on a non crowded part of the I-90 and thought I was seeing things (aggressive tail gating of truckers to each other). Take Care and thanks for insight.

 

Sometimes you do what you have to survive. I've had jobs/careers I didn't like too much but at the time they were the best option available to me. The good thing was I went home at the end of the day. I can't imagine what it's like for an OTR driver, or anyone else in a similar situation, if they don't like it. Sounds like a hell you can't escape from which is probably why you hear some of the comments you do.

Fortunately for me, I love it. I'm not what you would call OTR I guess, I get home pretty much every weekend. If I were a single guy I would love to go out for weeks and see more of the US and Canada. As it is now, I get to do what I love yet be home with the ones I love every weekend.

Each person and each situation is different but ultimately you want to find that gets you to your goals. Once you realize that you will likely realize you can't tell others what they will or will not like.

 

Was thinking= Which is Dangerous !! Need to watch language on boards of any type of course. I would rather see people express themselves on a board versus in person, on the road etc. The last few weeks have highlighted news of detrimental incidents in the work environment (losing it from going down a slide on air plane to lives being taken at work). People stay too QUIET and then snap. Thanks for letting me be here & tolerating me as it sure has helped to get a feeling of the various personalities & educate me so much already. Takes time to read and learn & hopefully learn form other experiences. Stay Safe and Have Fun.

 

The key word/phrase is "trucking companies" as to why you experience so much negative treatment ‼ Most drivers will start out with a trucking company to establish their verifiable safe driving experience, then quit and settle down with a local hourly-paying job, preferably with a private fleet like Walmart Transportation, any grocery chain, or Foster Farms Chicken, to name a few examples. Trucking companies make promises of fast delivery service (push the driver beyond their safe limits) and being customer friendly (sales claim like "our drivers don't mind waiting 6 hours to load/unload the trailer; our drivers don't mind re-stacking to load/unload the freight"). Until you secure a position with a local hourly-paying driver position with a private fleet company, you'll continue to run into conditions of low pay and driver abuse at the hands of "common carrier" trucking companies.

 

Why do something like that? It sounds like they were just giving you a heads up.
If I were a snitch, I sure wouldn't be on here bragging about it.

 

Your saying I'm not? I beg to differ

Been There Done That Not Afraid To Do It Again If Need Be

As far as wages go I'm sure there are better paying driving jobs out there I'm happy where I am. I do alright money wise got a comfortable home on a lake my better half and I drive decent vehicles and she doesn't have to work plus I get along real well with my boss he treats me very well.Maybe I'm one in a million I actually like my job

 

You make some excellent points, but I have just some minor disagreement, the first being you seem to be painting all trucking companies with a broad brush.
I am quite pleased with my job at a large carrier. I spend three nights per week in the truck and travel the same route every week.
I drive 2312 miles in four days for good pay and excellent benefits.
I didn't fall into this position overnight, but my patience was rewarded.

I agree with you regarding private carrier jobs. It's a great gig if you can land it, but there are less of those jobs available than the number of drivers wanting them.
That means everybody can't have one. The math doesn't work.
And the odds of more people having them decrease every day as the number of private carriers has decreased dramatically over the last couple of decades.
One reason is the liability issue. If a huge retailer's driver is implicated in a serious crash, there is the matter of financial exposure.
If their product was being hauled by XYZ trucking, the biggest problem they have is late freight.
And they don't have the financial overhead(retirement, medical etc.) associated with the additional employees required to maintain their own fleet.

I'm not knocking your job. I have had a couple of those over the years.
Just don't take it for granted or assume everybody else has a reasonable chance of getting one.