Is it reasonable to ask for 6 weeks off?

At least your sense of humor is strong, dang sure can’t fault you for that

 

What if you just keep driving and pay for the online course. What does Uber pay vs trucking. Is the pay at Uber plus the online classes more valuable then just driving and paying for it yourself.

Trucking does not have lot of downtime and you might end up driving and not doing the online classes. Seems like it depends on the end goal. If trucking just is a temporary job to get online degree in something and the the goal is get a different job. Then the Uber and free online classes might be a better deal if the pay is the same or close the same.

I worked for a mega trucking company one time and asked for more home time once and they said I could take as much time off as I wanted I just has to clean out my truck and leave it at the terminal. So basically they would just rehire me when I wanted to return. I was there many years at the point so only having 6 months, a company may not do that. Basically you are quitting with the understanding they will hire you back if they have openings. Nothing is guaranteed they will rehire you back and you are leaving them on good terms.

 

Drove full time and got a computer degree online. Read on your downtime.

 

Yeah, nobody looks at a plastic truck and dreams of living in it lol.

 

No, the industry standard is not 1 day off for 1 week out. That USED to be the standard, but it's not anymore. And most regional guys are getting more than a 34 reset, so that's not correct either.

1 day off for every 1 week worked is the worst hometime in the OTR sector, for every new driver reading this thread you don't have to accept such a pitiful work-life balance of 1 day off per week. Remember, local drivers and 95% of other jobs get 2 days off per week, 8 days off per month. 1 day off per 1 week worked is awful.

As for the OP, doing a degree with trucking would be very hard because your breaks are inconsistent and erratic. You will also be mentally tired from not only driving all day, but from your sleep schedule constantly flipping and your load planners planning it so tight that you're having to get into "hurry up and sleep mode" during your 10 hour break after you eat and shower.

I agree with others, if you want to stay in trucking get your 1 year experience while constantly applying to other dream jobs/"end goal jobs" at the 6 month mark (worst they can say is no).

If you're unsure about trucking, maybe go all in on focusing on school because most online degrees don't help you that much and most employers don't look favorably upon them. If you want to go to college instead of trucking, my advice would be to do physical labor trucking like food service (they hire newbies) where you'll actually make money, unlike at Western where you're currently at. Grind at food service for 1 year, save as much as possible, then go to college and work part time jobs/Uber on the side to help cushion your withdrawals from your savings.

That's my advice, anyways.

 

Then you should have stuck with Uber or Amazon or whatever. Trucking is not conducive to side hustles. The long term successful people in this industry know this is a lifestyle, like being a cop or a nurse or in the military. If you see this industry as just a Mc J O B it will chew you up and spit you out. So yes, ditch trucking and pursue your new an you outlined but STAY WITH THAT PLAN. Jumping from one to another is not feasible. You obviously didn’t come up with this overnight and it would have saved some stitches and heartache if you had taken your 1,000 hours if Uber and focused that

 

Everyone says that you will not have the time for classes if you are a trucker because of the schedules.
But I have managed to have enough time nearly every day by managing my hours and choosing my loads.
(I don't do online classes, but I would have the time if I wanted.)

Sure, sometimes things get tight on time. But for the most part I run daytime hours with plenty of time to relax.
Averaging hours so as never to take a 34, which means an average of 8.75 on duty hours per day and running on recap hours.
I doubt that I have needed a 34 more than once a year in the past dozen years.

It is possible - with the right company and the right people working with you - to maintain a steady enough work routine to make online classes a real possibility.


As to taking 6 weeks off after being at a company for just a few months, well... not a good idea if you want to keep your job or get another (decent) one in trucking in the future.

 

Might not be readily available, but you could try and find a yard dog or local shuttle run position that RUNS ON PUBLIC ROADS, and bam, generating local experience and working a normal 40-50/hr week schedule and home daily. Pay isn't great (think 1000 or less/wk) but that's what your Uber trips will make up for. Somewhere like Cowan comes to mind, Lazer Spot, or other similar companies. Maybe even Averitt would take you on. Never heard any questions about it when I went OTR. Simply listed as "regular local route pulling a 53' dry van with a day cab tractor". You won't have 'all' the options that way, but there are plenty of good carriers that don't specify OTR experience.

That's how I started in trucking after going through a CDL school. Lo and behold, found a decent company that only specified CDL-A experience and skipped the Megas when I went OTR.

You still get experience for trucking, get home everyday and probably 2 days off a week, and probably will make more than you do now.

Will lessen the stress of figuring out what to do next when you're living a semi normal life and not sitting around bitter in a truck, at a company you hate. Bad jobs are a lot easier when you get to drive your personal vehicle away from it everyday.

(You'll also get really good at backing. Comes in handy most everyday. Also, very little chance of inspection or citations, so it's basically a free ride to experience and a clean record)

 

Just as an example:

 

It's doable if you're flexible and set reasonable goals.

Swift has some kind of set up with Southern New Hampshire University. I read a story about a dedicated Target driver at their Dallas terminal that got his bachelors degree while working for Swift. He was retired military.