Trucking in general is in the toilet

Unfortunately, your right. Only chance of making it in my opinion is get on with a smaller company that won't burn you right outta the gate. Get some time in and figure out where you wanna go and make it work. I damaged equipment a few times starting out and thanks to the fact I didn't work for ######## they realized I was learning and didn't can me. I started out putting a curtainside conestoga, they are very fragile. These companies throwing a fit when you scratch a dry van are a joke.

 

I think NOT... when you're with the right outfit, nothing else comes close to truck drivin'. Sure, those grinder outfits suck, but if a hand can sign on with a smaller outfit that treats its drivers right, a good living can still be made while that driver has a blast. I don't even look at a company unless it runs long, literally from coast to coast, because that's where the money is, and ya don't spend anywhere near as much time dealing with the proverbial wanker on the docks. If you run short haul after short haul, spending half your time in docks, waiting to get loaded or unloaded and making little or no money, then you're with the wrong carrier. The last two years have been rough on the industry, but they've been rough on EVERY industry, and this recession won't last forever, even though it sometimes feels like it... I can't wait to get back on the road, running from CA clear to the East Side, and having a blast again like I've had so many times before. Bash trucking if ya want... you can always go back to school with that other hand and get a "real job."

 

I make an above average living working in the LTL segment of the industry. I work for a profitable carrier and am very happy in my job.
I started out like most of you, just barely eking out a living. I paid my dues took my share of hard knocks and learned a hell of a lot along the way.
Attitude is 99% of it and carriers are able to be much more selective than they once were (at least the good ones are). The driver mills obviously exist so if you have to, get your time in with one, keep your nose clean and move on. Raising hell about every little thing, un-realistic expectations among other things will doom any chance you have of succeeding.

 

Melpromud- but isn't all industry pretty much the same right now due to the economy? Alot of people were making better money a few years back and now if you are lucky -you still have a job that hasn't been outsourced overseas, cut backed, or just plain shut down. Many have taken pay cuts ( I am not talking management here I am talking the regular worker) Maybe being in a profession for alot of years jades you over time when you see that said profession going down the crapper but you see all the newbies running thru the door in droves!! We all had to start somewhere and if anyone today is SERIOUS about driving and gets their facts straight, goes in eyes wide open and does not think they will make 80k yr on a fleece deal -year one- running 10,000 miles a week-why discourage them? Maybe some of these newbies ( alot who I have noted are in their 40's and 50's) may bring back some of the dignity I hear about in the 'ol days.

 

While Railsplitter makes some excellent points about the joys of cross-country hauling, I personally prefer medium haul regional work and still make a decent living at it. It comes down to what the particular driver prefers. Some drivers love staying out two and three months at a time, some like being home every week or two, some like being home every night. Find the schedule you like the best, then find the companies that will work to that schecule. That'll give you the best starting point to start applying for work. And I have been told time and again on this very forum that local ltl outfits do hire students if you live in the right area, if you like that type of work.

 

Yeah, I should've mentioned that regional gigs often work better for family men and women... I like stretching my legs because I'm a bachelor and I love truck driving, while my "interpersonal skills" aren't so hot when it comes to dealing with certain dock personnel... Give me big ol' triangles every time, from CA-PA-GA-CA, CA-NC-IL-CA, etc. Home fairly often, mileage is good, hours roll over so the truck keeps moving... what's not to like??? Mr. "brsims" is correct... a driver must figure out what works for him (or her), then choose a company that best fits in with the program.

 

Hubby has a dedicated route miles not so hot but does get unload pay and is home pretty much every weekend- works for us. Brsims like regional and Rail cross country. What ever floats your boat. Or put in the time -shut and put up and then move on.

 

That's the great thing about trucking your both right. I like to get out and run hard on long hauls personally but I have children and a wife at home so i like to go home and be with them more. So I found a gig where I can do that till the kids get older and then I can hit the road for longer times once again. I'm still driving but only a small 7 state region but it works for me cause I'm home 2 1/2 days a week with the family. The nice thing for me is that I work for a private fleet and if I want to go somewhere I don;t normally run I can simply ask for a load going to one of our other DC's and go pretty much anywhere I want for a week or 2. I have planned a route this summer to go to our dc in Idaho then California and take my oldest son with me for 2 weeks and he'll get to see a part of the country he has never seen before. I can't wait because it is something I don't think he'll ever forget and he is extremely excited also. What other job can your kids spend the entire summer with you while your working and get to go places like that? It's not for everybody and you get out of it what you put in just like anything else you do in life.

 

Good point... my nieces and nephews have yet to ride with me OTR (one at a time, of course), but two or three friends have taken big ol' cross-country jaunts, and they STILL talk about those trips... My best friend "T-Bone" ran a big ol' 6000-mile run with me, 21 states, CA-PA-GA-CA, and he loved it. My nieces and nephews HAVE gone camping in the tractor (I call it my 10-ton RV), off-roading in the tractor, etc. In my photos, you can see a classic shot of one truck stuck in a rut on top of Otay Mountain... a bunch of us camped out in the Laguna Mountains (young nieces got to sleep in the truck), and the next day I took my nephew and his friend up on Otay. Rolled at very low speed into this rut while looking over my shoulder at a spur road (all roads on Otay are dirt or gravel), and it took us three hours to extricate ourselves. Best lesson I ever imparted to my nephew: self-reliance in the field...