Trucking or not?

The key word in this sentence is CAN. That doesn't guaranteed that you will. How many days a year will you lose to: equipment breakdown, weather, poor freight lanes, ect...........Alot of unknowns and you only make Good money when the truck is rolling. Layover and breakdown pay are usually a fraction of what you can make when the truck is rolling. And how many Other people can negatively influence or end your trucking career in a matter of a split second. Just trying to demonstarate the volatility of the job. Sure their are drivers out there with many years of safe and clean driving but they've not only been good drivers, they've been fortunate enough to not encounter the wrong moron at the wrong time.

 

XLS, you hit a BIG portion right there with that.

A lot of people can really sour your experience. Overall, it's the best job I have ever had. But there are definitely people in it I could care less for.

Even some on here. Negative nannies that will do nothing but cast negative comments.

 

There with you. I start CDL school on the 18th and looking forward to the new direction I'm taking my life!

 

Being in Jersey you should be able to find a local gig that will pay $40-50K a year. This will allow you to enjoy driving a truck and still be home every night.

 

Trucking isn't the glamour & glitz you see on tv or in movies.
It's a very demanding occupation.
And you don't get paid for all you do either -- only when the
wheels are turning.
You're often away from home for days, weeks, or in some
cases even months at a time.
You hafta also factor in the costs of living on the road
(i.e.; restaurants, laundry, showers, travel needs,
oriental massage parlors, etc.) .
It adds up quick.

IMO pay has been falling in recent years.
I hafta cringe when I hear drivers brag about making
.32 to .34 cents a mile nowadays.
I made .45 cents a mile 10 years ago doing this.
To many camel jockeys willing to work for peanuts are
dilluting the wage base across the board today.
I'm now driving tri-axles on federal highway construction
projects and I make more than I ever would running the
road. And I sleep in my own bed every night.

You also need to consider your age.
The older you get the harder it is to run the road.
That's why a lot of outfits dont want drivers over 50+.
Of course there are a lot of guys out there who would
run for a nickel a mile if thats all it paid.
Something about the road getting under yer skin and
all that horse $&#%. I never really bought into that
line o bull. I work to make money -- not show off my
big red rooster cruiser. To each there own I guess.
Just give it a lot of thought before you jump into this.
Running long haul ain't for everybody.

 

I make around 40-45K a year as a company driver averaging around 2500 miles a week, running mainly the 11 western states. My advise: do what you enjoy the most. If you love what you do, it's really not work (even if you pull a skateboard like me )

 

I'm a company driver. I make what averages to about 68K a year. I'm home every other night during the week, and home every weekend and holiday.

It's not all bad out here.

 

Have that driver give you contact info for drivers that have been driving just a year and are making $52,000 .
Note that all those telling you how great their job is have been driving 6 to 8 years . Their first few years the carriers didn't have desperate CDL mill graduates competing with each other to work for substandard rates like we have out there now . A lot of private fleets have disappeared to become BFI dedicated runs .

 

I can't say that I would be making $52K and I can't say that I'll be making $44K. but I know I'll definitely be about $12-18K OVER what I would have made working for the State of Minnesota.

And the bennies are just as good had I still worked for the state.

The state starts it's highway workers at $16.77 per hour. That's about $33K per year.