Do you still enjoy driving truck after years behind the wheel?

welding hasn’t changed much, ain’t no welder putting up with the bs a dispatcher pulls. I’ve seen more fights as a welder, than I saw anywhere else. Rough, tough, get er done…no management knows how to get burnt, and there ain’t nothin to it more than burning

 

My brother was a welder for many years. In the last decade the pay has gone down significantly.

 

ive had the best meals money can buy in Chicago, nyc, Seattle, San Francisco…best wine/liquor money can buy, best drugs available, best everything. Nothing fills that cup better than a good family/deep relationship. All that **** that distracts from what fills a human heart is short. Nothing beats making the right decision for the village.

 

that’s why I left the industry. Welding parts that go through visual, penetrant, and X-ray testing all for 18.50/hr didn’t cut it to raise a family. They said stay for 10 years and I’ll make 100k. I moved to driving and netted 90k my first year. Now I’m sick of driving, and can net 90k in three months trading stocks.

 

First of all I want to say imo this is a great thread. Maybe be cause it hits home a bit. 15 years in and I'm finding no joy in this industry. Kind of looking to switch companies, but so many are the same with a different name. Been through the funk before, but this time it feels different. Just playing it day by day and beginning to plan an exit strategy.
But i will tell you this. Finding this forum as i was just getting started was a blessing. I received so much help from the people here, and have made some friends.

 

it’s definitely a good place to bounce ideas/insight. I agree with you, something feels so off in this industry right now. It feels like everything is melting away. No drive feels worth it anymore.

 

Yes sir. Around 2017 he said he made more money in the 90s welding.

 

I believe that. I was amazed at how hard they expected me to work when I first got in. Structural welding on construction sites (elevator shafts, stairways, tilt wall base plates). They had me out there in 110 degree sun in full leathers burning stick for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. For 13.50/hr.

 

Guess I'm lucky. Family is everything for me. No matter what i might come across, they've got my back. Same from me to them.

 

Yes those company policy’s are the worst that’s why I left my company after 20 years and got my own numbers and the rest is history