Don't become a truck driver,or get out while you still can

Yeah but how much time at home to enjoy that stuff? That's the problem, you can make money driving truck, but dollars to donuts you're working round the clock, living out of a rig for weeks on end, and maybe get 2 or 3 days at home. Then when you break down the hourly rate, it's peanuts.

That's not all trucking jobs, but most of em'. Even alot of local jobs aren't what they're cracked up to be...many of those jobs are 70 hours/week in a daycab.

So I tell people all the time to stay away from trucking unless they're loners who have no friends/family or social life. Maybe 10% of trucking jobs pay well and get you home everynight with decent hometime to have a life and weekends off. And guys who have those 10% jobs aren't giving them up anytime soon so the odds of finding a good truckin' job are slim in my opinion. You're better off getting educated via college or a tech/trade school for a good career with better prospects.

 

Compared to what? Working in a cubicle taking hostages or some other labor based job paying nothing that is closing next month.

 

BS! Not all jobs are like that.
I got a buddy who's a pipefitter. $30.00/hr and home everynight.
Lots of good jobs in the medical field like radiologist. 2 year technical school and you're starting at $20.00/hr.
Linesman repairman around here make $40.00/hr.

You're not gonna be able to walk into one of those jobs, you gotta have the right skills/education.

Trucking sucks! Too many hours on the job! Too much time away from home! Way too many freebies!!!!!!

 

You ever worked in a hospital? I have
You ever been a lineman? I have. I am a truck driver. It is what I do it is what I am.. You with the trucking sucks outlook. Time to find a new job.

 

Your right... I don't get much time to enjoy that stuff! I've only been sitting at home now since the beginning of April. Doing a few things here & there to make a coin... But I've mostly been sitting here on my big ol' but surfing the internet & downloading porn!

Now that I've had a 4 month vacation... I feel that it is time to go back on the road. Sure I'll see the house for a few days every couple weeks... but right now is the time to build the bank account back up so I can take a few weeks off in December...

YEP! TRUCKING SUCKS!

I'm in 100% agreement! If you have an attitude then your not going to like the industry... Go find a real job! Me... I'm staying in trucking only because I don't want a real job... Real jobs don't like the fact that I take off when I want to!

 

Nowdays I wouldn't recomend anyone get into trucking, and I would never recomend anyone to buy a truck. And this is coming from someone who has owned trucks as long as I have been driving them. I am not happy with the trucking industry anymore.

I used to enjoy this job, I used to make decent money running my own trucks. I made more money even just five years ago than I am now. Years ago drivers and owner operators could make really good money. My dad and uncles all owned trucks. It is ridiculous that they expect us to be able to pay for a truck, maintain a truck and still put food on the table on wages that have not gone up in years. Maybe newer drivers think they are making great money, but that is because they don't know any better.

There are so many rules and regulations now, way too much "free stuff" that we don't get paid for. Too much undercutting of rates by all the carriers, which means our rates suffer. The carrier that I am leased on with now cut our rate by .10. How can drivers not be frustrated.

Trucking is the only thing I know so it would be hard for me to do another job, I will probably always be trucking in some form or another. I would like to see a lot of changes to the industry though, maybe electonic on board recorders would help us by making carriers and customers pay for all our waiting time. Maybe it would be a step in making us paid by the hour, not that it would happen anytime soon, but maybe in the future it will be the way to go.

 

Amen, brother!

Alot of these guys think $1.50/mile is big money. Funny, my dad pulled for $1.50/mile in 1982.

Wages are going nowhere but DOWN. Mexicans and illegal aliens will do the job for 1/2 the rate. So sad, this was once a good-paying, respectable middle-class profession.

 

It sounds to me like people whom have a history of making bad decisions are blaming a industry for the out come of there bad choices, Its not trucking or employers. First yuo have accept credit for your own life and the decisions there in. It does not matter what you do for a living you have to make your own decisions and watch out for your own butt no one else will.

If you live in a part of the country that has a limited economy you cant blame a entire industry. Maybe you live in a bad area for work, or maybe your employer sucks. both can be changed.

The same if you work for any number of companies that do not keep you busy that too is your own fault for putting up with it. People get into to trucking because they thinks its a easy quick way to make a buck, well quess what you may have been wrong.

I make a good living driving, and have put 2 kids thru college number 3 kids of 4 is in college, and hopefully number 4 daughter will want to get her education.

You have to plan and work for your goals no matter what you do for a living, If life just happens to you then your not taking control of it. It get tired of hearing the newbies (less than 3 year experience) wine and complain they cant make it, great go back to school find something that suits you.

You get what you look for.

 

powerjoints !!!!!amen brother!!!!! what you said!!!!! my dad and i were in trucking yrs ago we did ok! not rich but made a liveing ,it was better than unemployment,one must look at the hours and the job ,the sacrifces and the comitments<<<its like anything you do its all in what you put into it, a good friend once told me today sacrifices are tommoros pleasures,but everone has exscuses and exscuses dont fix the problem,,i got back into trucking because i love what i do,my kids are grown and gone and my wife dos her own thing and im #### tire of construction!!!!!i built roads and bridges for ten yrs annd dealing with ungodly time scheuduals and complaining young men that can barrly get the butt to work on time and have to leave early because they have a tampon up there butt iv heard all the exscuses and yet i could drive 60 miles one way to work be there before them and leave after them and work 7 days a week while they only worked 5 1/2 ,and catch the butt chewing for there mistakes cause they didnt want to take responablility for there actions,when sometimes it was easyer to do it myself and get it done right and in less time well just be proud of what you do and stay positve

 

I agree totally, I think in the near future trucking is going to be such a low paying job, that only immigrants will want to do, up here in Canada it is already happening with the east indians and eastern europeans taking over the industry, and they will haul for almost nothing.