Question about a career change

I don't have a college degree but I worked in a kind of unusual trade for 20 years and made pretty good money. Got bored, moved half way across the country for a job and change of scenery and then that fell apart. I was crushed. I'd always been interested in driving a truck so I got my CDL and got a local job in construction. I made a lot less per hour, and had to work a lot more of them but once I learned the ropes I thought how could I ever go back to work in the same office/factory every day? I liked being "outside" all day, seeing the sun, and the freedom of not having someone looking over my shoulder every five minutes. Well, after about a year my former employer called me asking me to come back. The money, and the idea of not working 55 hours a week hooked me.

When I talked to my wife about going back to my old job she thought I was crazy. She was right. Now going to work feels like going to prison (or so I imagine)! I was happier and more satisfied driving a truck than I ever was working in a factory or office. Even though it means taking a pay cut and working more hours I'm seriously thinking about getting back into driving. The way I see it, a big screen TV and cool car don't mean much if you hate waking up every day.

 

Sounds like you might have a lot of the same issues with driving a truck as I do--it creates an image in people's minds, correct or not, and I want to fit the old image people have of me as a salesperson more than I do about driving.

But you are working 55 hours a week now? That seems like a lot. Are you doing that to maintain the same annual pay as your other career, or are you making more annually than the other career?

I ask because I don't want to get in to this and find the actual hours are 55 hours per week to make only $40K the first year. Maybe I am fooling myself about the income and hours though....

 

Amen Brother!

 

In the peak construction season it was not unusual for me to work 55 hours a week, but I'd say the average was 48 to 52 hours. Then again I always made myself available to work in summer and never turned down a job even on holidays or weekends because hours can be very uncertain during winter. I currently make more money working less hours (around 45 - 48 a week) than I did driving and the work is stable year round, but I hate my job and miss driving.

I can't say if 55 hours a week is the norm for any type of trucking job but I suspect if you want a typical 40 hour work week it would be hard to find one driving a truck.

 

Actually, I never really thought about image but I found myself becoming proud to say I was a truck driver - even though everybody hates construction drivers. At the same time I never really felt one way or the other about telling people I was a technician or worked in a factory or office. Don't know why.

About the income issue, I don't know anything other trucking jobs but if you spend some time here and look at the old postings I think you'll find for a rookie driver you'll be working an awful lot and it might be optimistic to say you'll make more than 40k your first year. Not impossible, but not the norm either.

 

55 hours a week? LOL!!! with my last job, I would have referred to that as "part time." my typical week was anywhere from 70-90 hours. most local jobs you would be looking at 60-70 hours/week. and $40k your first year? ah, no!

 

Let's backtrack a bit. Let's say you worked only 60 hours a week for that job, not 70-80. So 60 hours per week for 50 weeks is 3,000 hours per year, and you are saying $40K was a bit high, so let's use that income for arguments sake.

The way I see those numbers that is a pay rate of $13.25 an hour. Does that make sense?

 

You have to figure if you are going to drive local or OTR. As far as local goes it depends a lot on where you are, not only on pay but if a company will hire a rookie with no experience. Also, IIRC, 'for hire' trucking companies don't have to pay overtime though some do. If you are planning on going OTR there are a lot of people here who can tell you what to expect. Spend a few hours reading through old posts and you will get some idea.


70 to 90 hours a week for local work seems like a lot to me. When I lived in the midwest I talked to a lot of LTL drivers and from what they told me 55 - 60 hours seemed like the norm but that was several years ago. Construction also can vary a lot. Because some companies charge by the hour, some customers don't want to pay for trucks sitting in traffic during peak travel hours, the customer might send you home because they need to move equipment, somebody hit a power cable accidentally, or whatever.