mostly negative....any truckers like their job??

I love driving truck (open step decks all over NA). I get paid VERY well, have great equipment (except when the DPF Cummins has something else wrong. ). Nice thing is I have gone through the crappy companies and have found a great company. Awesome boss and dispatcher, both were/are drivers and know exactly what we go through on the road. We also won't move a truck for under $2.20 pm so we are always making great money.

 

It is interesting to note that many who have found a great job, such as my neighbour Flying Finn have had to go through so many so so or terrible companies to get there. This is one of the only industries that skilled labour gets paid less and less over time. That is not being negative but rather a fact. It is good to see young blood enter the game but unlike the past, it will not take long for people to reason that getting paid less for more is not a good way to make a living no matter how much you love gear jamming. It will be interesting to see what happens when the economy really kicks into gear.

 

I'd say most of us, with over 3 years experience actually like our jobs. I say 3 years because some people use the industry as a short term bridge, and aren't here for the long haul.

As with any "job", it's good to have a place to vent about the BS that takes place every day. It helps keep us sane. And there is a lot of BS that goes on in this industry. It's the nature of the beast, pure and simple. You can NOT control the 5000 ###holes you run across on a daily basis. They actually have lives, and yours...isn't part of theirs.

Money ??? Hell no, we're never happy with the money. You won't be either.

Simple question for you.

WHAT amount of money will ever replace the time you've lost with family and friends ???

 

Maybe it has to do with the areas of this forum you frequent. Company drivers new to the industry discovering its an actual job, and not just a free place to live ='s displeased peoples.

 

I love being on the road. The good days still outweigh the bad so i keep going. Of course it wasn't always that way. Had a hard time to start my career at my end of the country because women just didn't drive truck here by themselves.

The key to my happiness that i found is working with small companies that have few drivers. I was miserable when i worked with the "Big Guys" and left shortly after.

Small outfits tend to care more about your concerns and of any issues you face with clients instead of pretending to be concerned and then tell you to bite the bullet if you want to keep your job. Just my experience.

 

I am quite happy with trucking, 2010 has been a great year for us, the last year and a half before had been tough for us, but that is trucking, it has it's ups and downs, fortunatly we were about to stick it out through the tough times.

I am in a different situation as we have a small fleet of trucks, but I still do drive just because I love it, our work is all short hauls now, and it is easier to keep drivers happy when they know exactly what they are going to be doing every day, and every week, and know exactly when they are going to be home. And since the drivers are not running all over the country it is easier to keep track of them and maintain the equipment.

I ran all over north America as an owner operator for many years and never made as much money as what I am doing now,

 

You bunch of guys

 

calm yourself princess, don't like others opinions suck it up and deal with it and stop whining yourself. gotta love super truckers, jeez.

 

You bet island boy. Think i'll listen to some one with some no how. Off you go.