400,000 TRUCKING JOBS AVAILABLE...Here's why.

Sounds to me that the OP and the other driver that quit had no long term goals and just got stagnated. I'd quit too if I had to work for the same company that new drivers get hired for and the pay is lousy. Not to mention all the cr*p you have to take. I didn't do it that way. I took the bottom jobs in the beginning and worked my way out of it. Into a job where I had the choice to work 4 days a week or 5. Where I was paid as soon as I came through the gate no matter what was going on. I looked for benefits, pay, and not the type of truck or transmission. I felt I got paid what I was worth for the experience I had and I knew then that's the company I'd like to retire from. You also can take the other route and become an O/O. Anything besides working for the same old lousy company.

 

KI have a long term goal and I am set on metting and hopefully suceeding it. I want myself a nice truck with a nice double drop and I want to haul specialized freight with my own authority and maybe get a couple of other trucks running to. I have goals and I will meet them and I'm pretty sure I can suceed in them.

 

I agree wholeheartedly! I get respect. period, point blank. I also give respect.
There are many places now that you can sit down and have a decent meal, a healthy meal at that. Every BIG truck stop that has a diner, has a halfway decent salad bar. put down that red meat( nice to have everynow and then) and leave them sodas alone. or is it that you dont know how to control your eating habits?
TV, well I could careless about that! Pick up a book stimulate the mind!
As far as my apperance, I am a TRUCK DRIVER, and just because I am, does not mean I have to look like one! My cloths are very clean, NONE of my body part are showing(stomach!) clean shaven and hair is combed! This industry has gotten to this point because of US! We can change it by just cleaning US up!

 

I agree MT. When there is a guy in front of you in the fuel line that smells like he has not showered in a week do you say something? I know I use to and I will in a few months when I start truckin again. We as a whole can help the way that the common american person looks at us. We just need to assist eachother in cleaning ourselves up. When that guy smells like BO or crap tell him nicely hey man you need to take a shower. You should cut your hair, you should shave or any of it. LOL I enjoy telling people they need a haircut after being in the Corp for 4 years. I always have mine short and clean cut every week and a shave everyday. I can say its not going to change when I start driving again to. As for the shower well I have gone months without one under certain circumstances but I have one available everyday at a truckstop there is no excuse not to unless your just that gross.

 

....or the shower is that gross? Haha.

 

GasHauler, there just aren't that many jobs like that anymore.
Fact is...the majority of people getting into the biz today will never see one of those type of jobs.

What does that get you?
Maybe a little more freedom to choose where you want to run.
But overall not worth the headaches and BS.

It just don't pay to be out there anymore...

 

I just had to bring my 2 cents in on this one.I also am one of the "unskilled " my ### crowd.I would love to see a congressman(yes I know a few have had a CDL) or higher bust there chops doing our job.

Lets see them get up in the morning at a customer and be told it will be 5 hours till they get empty.meanwhile dispatch is griping you have to p/u ASAP to del 600-700 miles away by tomorrow am.
Lets not forget to mention the meals,showers,fuel,laundry and bathroom breaks you still need to fit in.Oh yeah and this cycle just repeats over and over.
But the bright side is if you can manage to deal with that there are alot of good points.
1.Think of all the sights you see and the appreciation of the size this country really is.
2.If you can last past your first 6 months to a year you start to get more independence in the way you run and what you do.
3.With more than a year under your belt you can choose(if you have behaved and been careful)to get on with a company that will respect you and treat you decently.

I have found that most of the disgruntled or disgusted drivers worked for one or more of the majors their entire career.I have worked for two of them myself and will not go back unless I absolutely must.

 

1) Thanks for posting; Could you describe, in great detail, what you had to do to get into building, electrical and mechanical inspector? This sounds right up my alley as i am/have the capability to be very anal.

2) While, yes, based on my experiences there is less Bull's Hit of the type you describe above in the driving industry, if you think you can totally escape it, you may be in for a surprise;

My view is it's not nessesarily the company, company policies, company culture/atmosphere so much as it is co-workers(other drivers---better watch them) direct managers (not so much upper level mgmt, although they can and should make a difference, but often don't). Also, is the sales staff (again tied in with upper level mgmt) doing their job----are you getting the miles/loads?

It's not the government either(although we really should do something about the tax rates, but that's another topic......) It's mainly you're co-workers/other drivers and you're immediate supervisors who make all the difference between a s////ty working environment and a good one.

a) DO NOT TRUST ANYONE WHO SMOKES.

b) Long hair is ok for men, but DO NOT TRUST ANY MALE HAS HAS A PONYTAIL!

 

If anybody thinks this is a really hard job............

You have never had a hard job before !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Who cares let all the people that hate trucking go on their merry way we don't need them or miss them anyway cause there's plenty more whiners and crybabies to take their place.