Life is short, should I go for it?

Lots more regulations. Still can make some good money if you stay away from those reefer outfits that service grocery warehouses and meat packing plants.

 

Maybe get your CDL now and sign on with a part time local outfit just for appearances sake That way in 5 yrs the ins companies won't see you as a rookie.

 

Thoughts:

--18 YEARS / 12 YEARS / 30 years -- Federal employee? If so, you'll collect 80% of your salary after retirement plus some medical benefits for you and your family. Toss that away? If you're not a federal employee, will you get a pension?
--Home every night with wife and kids -- not in OTR.
--Family issue and you're out on the road? Not good.
--You might find that truck driving is boring. OTOH, you might really get off on it.
--12 paid holidays and three weeks paid vacation -- not in trucking.
--Carefully evaluate current medical benefits for you and your family vs. what you might get in trucking.
--Retire at 52 with a pension ... sounds pretty good. I retired at 55--13 years ago--and have never looked back. I know people who are older than I am; they still work and not one of them likes it.
--At 52 you'll still be young enough to sample life on the road. Or do something else.

--Industry turnover remains, to put it mildly, high. That's a clue right there that things haven't changed much. Sure, there are more regulations (which means nothing to someone just starting--you work with the regs you're given).
--There are lots of YouTube clips that deal with trucking to sort through; they might help you get a feel for OTR.
--You're closer to retirement than you were six years ago. That's a good thing.
--BOL

 

I don't know what kind of rosy picture you have of trucking, but few jobs in trucking are as good as what you have now. Pride keeps many from telling the whole story of trucking jobs, but the basic fact is many of them pay less then minimum wage, are always on duty and away from family, and suffer from conditions where employee turnover is 100%. Those conditions each define trucking career worse than fast food.

There are good jobs in trucking, but not as many as there are drivers. And the trend in the last 30 years the number of good jobs in trucking has reduced greatly. The point being, your chances of landing a trucking job is good, but landing one that is anywhere as good as what you have now is very slim. Landing one with a retirement is just about impossible. Good luck.

 

People say I have it made driving.I Don't do nothing but hold the steering wheel for 7.5 hours a day. Paid holidays and 3 weeks vacation. Gross well over $70k. M thru F. I'm home more hours than at work but I'm totally bored with trucking.

 

dont go to school until your ready to drive
6 months after you get your license it is useless without a refresher course
insurance companies rule the world

 

and i have jumped into a lot of different things in my life
sometimes it got new mercedes for the wife
sometimes it got eviction notices
just be ready for whichever happens