Looking to begin a career in trucking.

With three family members in this business-all who have been at various times, company drivers, owner operators, company drivers again, owner operators again, etc. I think I have had a vast amount of experience with this business for the past three decades. I also teach career classes and to put it bluntly, the first thing I say to any one who says they want to be a trucker, is "Shoot yourself in the head-getting into trucking is the same thing-might as well get the misery over quick." Why trucking? So many people get into this bloody business because they can get the training over with quickly and get out on the road-and the training companies often charge thousands. Yup, just crank them all through the "training mill" and send them out on the road. First off: you will likely get treated as necessary vermin by the company you work for. 90% of the dispatchers will treat you like sh**. You will find that this industry if rife with a thousand creative ways to write up a pay statement. It is amazing how many ways you can add "charges" so that your pay dwindles away. In BC there are lots of small companies that are set up-it seems a new one every week, that basically seem to be set up just to steal either the company driver's pay or the O/O earnings. If you are married, you will miss important family events-lots of companies will fire you if you ask to have a day off for your wife or kid's birthday. Here in BC, there are a hundred and one small companies that will undercut rates-and then the O/O's that work for them are not making enough money for basic repairs and run around on bald tires. Of all the trucking companies in Canada, only about 2% are honest. Most of the "big" national names aren't. Most folks think that there are no more slaves in North America-of course there are-they are driving trucks. You will be involved in an endless revolving door-you will always be looking for better pay and better treatment. If you leave a company to look for greener pastures, the company you left will often bad mouth you to any other company inquiring about you. This business is dirty, vicious, hostile, and soul destroying. See what else is a possibility other than frigging trucking, for your retraining.

 

I don't agree with the above at all for the most part. I did my Class 1 training through EI and have had no problems finding good paying work. My first job right out of school was driving Super B chip trains for Ledcor at $25 an hour. I left there to work for Arrow driving 9 axle ore trucks and I love it. I make $300 a day (0.62 a mile) and am home every night. It seems to me from conversations I've had is that it's general freight that sucks. Hauling 53' cans around is no way to make a living. Get into bulk hauling. My $0.02

 

Trucking CAN be vicious and soul destroying, if you let it. There are good and bad places to work, everyone has a different opinion of who they are working for. It is a great way to see the country and be paid to do it. It also can be very stressful on relationships. If you go long haul you will be gone for days at a time. Even the short haul, home every day can be tough sometimes. You could work 14, 16 hours a day, and by the time you get home you are dead tired and want nothing other than to sleep. I still say it is one of the best jobs to get into when someone is down on hard times - you can be trained quickly and start making good money in a very short time. People gripe about "training mills" and all that - but let's be honest, the only real way to learn how this industry works is through experience. When you get bored of whatever your first job is, there is many more other options. Tanker, flatbed, reefer, dry box, team, stepdeck, RGN, oversize, super oversize, LTL, lots of options. I hope you find a good company to work for and enjoy trucking as much as I do.

 

Could you get anymore sour on the industry? Why the heck are you involved in the industry if it sucks so much for you? You sound like you have sour grapes because YOU could never cut it as a businessman and it sounds like you come from a long line of wanna be's.

 

I got my AZ through second career while on EI at Humber College in Toronto. After completing my course I found work right away. I have been with this company for 1 year in April making about 65k. I feel that I will get more when I finish my first year. There is money to be made out there.

 

I agree with you 100%. There is plenty of money to be made if one just has sound business practices, like in any other industry.

 

Jesus...who let the recruiters in???

 

30 years? That would put you how old driver?