Somebody give me the real deal.

I'm not sure what LTL carriers have terminals near you, but most of them have dock positions where you can eventually become a driver. Sometimes the hours can be really unpredictable but you'll make a lot more than you currently are. Once you get a little seniority they're all pretty good jobs.

 

Why even consider fast food? What is the point of toiling your way through all the hardships that go together with driving a truck? To turn into an obese lazy bones on the verge of a heart attack in the fifties? The same about smoking and not taking 30min per day or at least every other day to exercise-unforgivable to your body and consequentially mind.

 

Probably because fast food is cheap, and you are only making fast food wages. It's up to you to get the exercise. Its not the fast food that kills you. Its the lack of exercise

 

You don,t get into trucking unless you want to live the lifestyle. It used to be a fun job that paid ok, now it,s neither. You can do alot better, this past week I talked to a streamfitter, he said they have a shortage of welders, 2 yr. apprentice program 30.00 to 68.00 per hr. depending on where ya work, nuclear plant, pipeline welding,ship building,etc. With awesome insurance and pension. I started driving in 89, I worked on a big horizontal drill rig, rail plow with a train, I made more money in 1994 2,500.00 per week ave. high weeks of 4,490.00, fly home 1st class or lear jet. I figured out the hours worked in a truck, being paid cpm, it,s usually around 8.00 an hr as low as 2.80 an hr. There,s a ship yard in Marrinette Wi. that needs welders, 18-20.00 to start. I would leave trucking tomorrow, if I could afford a decent vehicle to commute, and I have over 1 million miles. I love mack trucks 89-98 working on the rig, we had to drive the 270,000 lb rig to the next state or country, a v8 mack turned up is freakin awesome. I still like mack trucks otherwise I would,ve stopped driving in 06-07 when most of the cool drivers quit. If your mind is made up and your going driving, you don,t have to attend a school, find a local milk hauler show up with your can do attitude and you,ll do just fine. DO NOT go to crete, I,m embarressed to say I was there, 80 days out at a time, had 2 pay checks of 00.00 You would be better off moving to another state, and doing a apprentice program like welder 2 yrs or steamfitters,maintence mechanic 5 yrs.

 

Must have been a while since you went looking for a job in the milk hauling business. There are but a handful of companies in the country right now that will hire a newbie to drive tanker and none of them that I'm aware of will hire a newbie and train them without a CDL school or experience. If you know of a single one, by all means, there are a ton of newbie drivers who would love nothing more than for you to provide a name.

 

I know you are excited about the whole trucking idea but man you have a family. Trucking and families don't mix well at all. Especially with kids. Why do this to your kids man? Driving over the road is going to keep you away from the house for a minimum of 6-8 weeks at a time with 2-3 days off when you come home. Its not worth it. Trust me when I tell you this... its just not worth it. Its going to cost you a lot of money and time to find this out. You are going to miss holidays, birthdays, weddings, school events, funerals etc... its not worth it. Didn't you say welding was one of your other options? I would look into something like that. Probably better money too. As a newbie driver you are looking at about $25,000 your first year. You could work two jobs at home and make more than that and sleep in your bed every night.

 

as someone who has been both a truckers wife and a trucker herself i can tell you right now the 1st 6mnths are gonna kick your butt in every which way it can. the road will beat you up and spit you out along with the companies, the ppl and the lifestyle. not to mention it will be hard on your wife and kids; she will essentially become a single mom doing everything and your kids will wonder where you are and if you left them. so you had better have your head full on in the game and fully devoted to this because for the 1st 2yrs at least you will have to cut your teeth doing otr and then you can try to get a local job with better pay and good benefits. you probably wont be making much more than what you make now but on the bright side; you travel and see awesome things, meet cool ppl, try new things and get stuck in new situations its never boring and it keeps you on your toes. so if you want something you can possibly fall in love with then i say its better to have a job you love then a job you hate. at least in my opinion oh and before you even think it lol i do have a kid and was married.

i didnt get a divorce because of driving it was unrelated but it is hard to have a family sometimes you will feel like you have split personality disorder lol. you will have your life out there and at home

 

........oops...double posted. sorry!

 

What company was it that your husband made $15,000 the first six months, and $22,000 the next six? Was it his first year of driving?

We've been getting really discouraged lately. The recruiter at Western Trucking School said that truckers make $36-38k the first year and will be out 12 days and home 3. My man's been in school almost 3 weeks now, and the companies on the list that the school is affiliated with aren't like what the recruiter promised. 3-4 weeks out, and a few days home, and MAYBE 30k the first year, if you're lucky. I stay home with the baby, so it's really important that he make some decent money the first year.

 

Get use to the lies. They come a dime a dozen in this industry. Also what do you think Recruiters get paid to do? Get you in the seat. You might only see him 12-24 days all year. So Also home time keeps your cash low. Some times you can't afford to go home because you had a slow week. Most companies only give 1 day for every seven worked. So 3 weeks = 3 days. Now 10 weeks out will probably equal on 4 days at home they might give you 5. Also if the guy really made 15 and then 22,000 that doesn't mean your husband will. Hope it works out for you and your family but the reason turnover is so high in this industry because the recruiters don't tell the whole truth.

I have a family and yes I was divorced after 10 years but she hung in their. My new wife is very supportive but wants me to do something more local. Its tough but it is doable. Some even get a gig where they can be home more and it doesn't hurt the pocket book too much. I just wouldn't look for that right off the bat. Don't set your hopes to high see how it works out. Good night.