Advice? Don't become a trucker.

First thing, there is no such thing as luck.and you are rite about people haven controle of there own lives and taken responsobility for there own actions. There are hard workers out hear but you need to wake up and smell the roses, todays companies the harder you work and do the best job as possible the more they want and exspect you to do more. Thats why I havent operated or drove for a big company sience the mid 90s. I have 1 truck and I operate it my self Im allways on line looking for half way desente paying freight. If the government is deregulating drivers then thy need to regulate the freight rates and brokers. When you cut the drivers hrs. of driving ,you cut the money he can earn. As the econnomy changes the rates should change with it.

 

just wondering if you are a new driver I have heard to go otr for a year before going local or regional whats your take on that thanks E

 

You don't have to drive OTR to get a local job. But the better OTR companys want you to have 1 yr or more otr exp to drive OTR and local most of the time don't count. Eather way you can make a good living. Just depends on if you can be gone away from home and learn to live in the truck.

 

Use caution on this (my opinion) I have a lot of friends from India that are now citizens (takes like 7 years to do it legally as the companies own the work Visas & can low ball the pay rates to them. They have to stay close to the same part of the US even or they start the 7 year cycle over again). My close friends are like us now and realize it costs money to live here. A lot of the people from India are out of work right now as well because I get lists from those looking for work (as I have contacts in industry). Some companies are looking to Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic to save money. Great post though as the schools in the USA cost money (like 20-30K per yr) & feel for the younger population.

But you still get what you pay for as in the FDA sector Consent Decrees are placed for incorrect document trace to the code which is the Overseas weakness. A Consent Decree can kill a product to market and the US will figure it out as it always does.

If God is your employer you are never unemployed someone told me when I was out of work. Did not like that comment but true. Thanks for letting me vent as we all need to do that but the people on this post seem like doers to me as well & God Bless All.

 

Yeah, but most local drivers get little more than than min. wage.And they usually have to load and unload their own trailers . You can work with a local mclanes or sisco and make pretty good money but, they require experience.

 

I disagree with you cause on the min wage deal my fiancee's brother works for kellogs and makes about 80,000 a year driving and warehouse workers make about 55,000 a year just moving and loading trucks and skids

 

A new driver can look for many different driving jobs. Try Van, Flatbed, Roll off Concrete tanker, Lowboy, log truck ect... There are many different ways to work. And many make really good money. You just need to do some searching to see what you can find.

 

I’ll agree with the part about everyone being responsible for his/her own life, and that some luck is involved. And 20 years ago I would’ve have agreed 100% with the statement that excellence and hard work are rewarded. No longer. I’ve seen too many good people get the shaft after giving their all to a company. These are talented people who have done the so-called right thing: go to school, work hard, learn, sacrifice, be loyal. There are exceptions, but in general there’s no loyalty between employers and employees anymore. Companies ship jobs to other countries without giving a second thought to the impact on their current workers. They’ll layoff an employee who been with them 30 years – 6 months before that employee is eligible for dull retirement – just so they won’t have to pay the retirement benefits (I’ve seen it happen). They’ll milk an employee for all his/her worth and then discard them like garbage. Then they’ll hire someone right out of college to replace them, just so they can pay a lower salary. Employees are willing to jump to another company at the drop off a hat, and some don’t have pride in their work. Some couldn’t care less for whom they work, they just want a paycheck. It used to be when I was growing up (in the 60s) that it was common for somebody to stay with one company for his/her whole career, or at least they didn’t change jobs much. It was a two-way street – be loyal and work hard, and you were rewarded. The rules have changed and all that’s gone. I remember in IT back in the late 90s that it was EXPECTED that IT workers would stay with a company about year (give or take) before jumping to a new place. I was with the same place for 9 years, and I was considered weird in that regard. Yes, you control your destiny, but some of the options that were once there are no longer there.

 

Hi all, Interesting thread here. I normally wouldn't, but signed up so I could post because I wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

I'm 52 and was a driver for 20 years. The last 10 in the union with Roadway. I'm a conservative and not generally crazy about unions but my problem lies with those at the top (corrupt????) not the guys and gals in the trenches. A lot of the bad things in trucking that have been discussed here are eliminated in the union.

To the newbies looking to get into trucking I'd say get the required 2 or 3 years experience however you can so you can get in with a good company. As has been discussed here, find a niche job. I was fortunate in my career in that I started, at age 20, with a guy that owned 4 trucks and had 4 drivers. (stayed 2 years) It was before the CDL came along and it was a blast. Then went to a company that had a U.S. Mail contract. Another fun job. (7 years). At Roadway, you busted your tail every day but the pay and bennies are great. I just couldn't see myself growing old working that hard for the rest of my life. lol

Now I'm a food vendor, working for myself, selling hot dogs on the street and loving every minute of it. Like others have said, no matter which path you choose to go down, it's what you make of it.

 

I guess the point that I want to make is this. I was hearing the very same things when I started researching becoming a driver.
If I had listened then I would still be on unemployment.
If I can be successful, then others can to. This gives a person hope.
And just because they do not make the correct first decision, that does not mean that they can not push on until they find the correct spot for them.
I would rather encourage people to go for it and keep on trying instead of trying to shoot them down before they ever even try.
Where would we be if the pioneers would have listened to all of the nay sayers?