Is it worth? Please advice

Quality home time is a problem. Especially in the first year. Can you stand the thought of being away for 3 to 4 weeks at a time for 3 or 4 days at home? You can easily make $40 + your first year, but expense of living on the road will eat away at that and you won't be sending much more than what you are making now home. You can cut costs and live frugal on the road however.

Buying a a truck with no experience isn't recommended. And, even if you find someone to teach you how to drive and you get your CDL, most companies will not hire you without actual schooling.

In your case, I am inclined to believe trucking may not be for you.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

 

Take a look at some of the company sponsored training not all of it is garbage. I would also advise for you to take a good hard look at Roehl transport. They will get you your CDL for a one year commitment to them (like most places do), they have a Texas regional that gets you home every 5-7 days, and they are one of the best paying companies for newbies. I hope that helps.

 

Roberto, your first year of driving you will be hard-pressed to make much more than 31k.....Buying a truck with no experience is an absolute recipe for disaster and chances are you couldn't afford the insurance your first year anyway..... As far as the freedom aspect, that time has passed.......Many companies now have cameras in the trucks that monitor you and a computer that tells them where you are and if you're moving.....You have a good work ethic which is great but.......the government tells you when to take your break and when you can work so..... so much for the work ethic....Don't get me wrong it's needed but the bureaucracy is always there to knock you down. I would rethink a career especially with a family.

 

Don't buy a truck now. No one will hire you and insurance, if you can even find it, would be sky high. I think even OOIDA website requires 2 yrs. experience before you can be insured at all as an owner-operator.

You make $31K now; you can easily add another $20K + to that as a trucker with the right endorsements and company, plus full benefits and retirement package. Houston is tanker heaven; plenty of good high paying jobs there for new drivers right out of CDL school.

Community college CDL schools are cheap and excellent for training.
You will have to make some sacrifices in the beginning until you aquire your CDL from a school. Some CDL schools have weekend or night classes for those that can't afford to take 4 weeks off at one time to complete the school.

 

First of all, you can buy a truck with no experience and be quite successful. But you have to avoid mistakes. What you need to do is learn the business. OOIDA has course work you can take that will give you some advantage. You still would have an up hill fight. Plus there is a lot involved. I am just now going through the buying two trucks and trailers and becoming an owner operator myself. That process takes time. I won't go into detail but it takes months.

Your best bet would be to start with any company that hires you. They are all about the same. Just keep it in mind that you are wanting your own business. Don't get side tracked but don't starve while you are working on the dream.

Do join OOIDA and use them as a resource. JMHO

 

And just for reference; OOIDA will NOT insure new owner/operators no matter how much company driving experience you have.. And just for the record, I've taken a couple of the OOIDA courses on line and didn't learn anything new...Maybe that's because most of it I had already learned in almost 18 years of driving...Moral of the story, if you need online courses to learn about the industry you shouldn't be buying a truck, you should be putting in time as a company driver to learn the industry. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I'm thinking of opening a restaurant...I've never worked in one but I love to eat; after all, how hard can it be, just cook and serve food right? Do you see where I'm going? Statistically over 70% of new company drivers are out of the trucking industry in the first year so the odds are not on your side. You can talk to company sponsored training, community college, etc.. but they are all interested in taking your money more than your future career..."Training" is a business just like moving freight so they will all give you the "it's great money pitch"... The government now regulates everything from the hours you work to what kind of engine you can put in a truck so yes, the odds are stacked against you....It's not like it once was and will continue to get worse. The trucking industry is an easy target.

 

Stevens Transport has a school in Houston. That is company sponsored. LIke people say if you are looking for freedom this is the wrong industry, but you probably won't get freedom from any industry these days. Also most of the benefits at trucking companies are expensive. But u can sometimes luck up and get on a dedicated route or get on with a decent company after a few years. Yes you will get bent over, but if you already know what you are getting into, and don't have unrealistic expectations. It won't be as bad. Most people complain, because their expectations they were never promised to them in the first place were not met. Also Grocery Supply which is a hard job, but if you work in the warehouse they will train you to drive the truck as well. They make pretty good money but again its hard work.

 

I keep hearing that word..."part-time." The only jobs you can get these days is part-time. That's why I got into trucking is I had two jobs at the time and still not making enough. The only way you can find out is by taking that risk. You will never know if you don't try.

 

It can offer you more freedom in some aspects of your life, but typically at the expense of others.
It's all a gamble. Some people will come out ahead, and some will not. Whether you're willing to play the odds is up to you.