What's your opinion on trucking ?

I'm currently debating on whether or not to get into trucking. I've pondered on it for a few years now. I, like a lot of other folks out there made some bad decisions when I was young, nothing criminal, but I spent too much time bs'in around, dropped out of high school, never finished home school and went straight to warehouse work at 17. Now, at 27 years old, I've got hardly a dime to my name, nothing material to speak of that would translate to any amount of success, and you know, it's 100% MY fault. I screwed up, many times.

Never went to college, never did anything significant with my life and here I am, at a cross roads. My grandpa was a trucker, as a matter of fact, that's ultimately how he passed, "trucking accident" due to another truck pulling in front of him, so I've always had it in my mind that I wanted to drive trucks, was fascinated by them as a kid. So here I am, tired, worn out, and just plain tired of the "9-5 grind". Yea, I'm home every night, but I'm absolutely unhappy with my current existence, and again, that's all on me. So here I sit, browsing the trucking forums again, looking for that little bit of insight that really hits home that you see in 1 out of every 100 threads.

I can't comment on how trucking "used" to be, but by god, I know what hardships lay ahead if I choose to take the dive and get into this industry, and I question every day if I have what it takes. There's really only one way to know, and that's getting out there, putting in that year with "put any crap mega carrier name here" and sucking it up and having a plan to continually move toward your goal. Do I want to drive for 70 hours a week just to make 500 bucks? Hell no, but I also don't like breaking my back in a factory for 60 hours a week just to bring home a 350 or 400 dollar check, with NO hopes of making more.

At-least in this industry if you can cycle through the BS, make the right moves and keep your nose clean you CAN upgrade your pay scale. That's the one thing that despite all the BS I know I'll encounter, that keeps me interested and itching to make the jump. I know it will be tough, I know I'll have to put in time at a carrier that wouldn't be my first choice, I know I won't be at home for long periods of time, I know the pay will be less then stellar my first year, but ######, at this stage of the game and due to the choices I've made, I've GOT to make a change in my life that will actually provide me with a future that has at least a little bit of hope vs where I'm at. Scraping the bottom of the barrel for scraps just to barely make it by. Good luck to all who are also pondering on this as I am. It won't be fun at first, but there IS a possibility of success. Have a good day everyone, and many thanks to all who are seasoned who take the time to share their thoughts,opinions, and experience from various years on the road. It IS appreciated. Stay safe everyone.

 

Trucking is like all other professions, it changes daily- sometimes for the good, sometimes for the not so good. If you're not afraid to work, if you don't mind being the target of every new trucking law that takes effect, If you can smile when the four wheeler tries to cause you problems (Not all do but many do), If you can look at your paycheck and reason that it is sufficient for the things you have to do, If you can raise a family even though you are absent for most of their lives, If you can still hold your chin up high even when things go to hell around you, If you can be patient even though your hours dwindle away while waiting for someone else to make a decision and If you don't mind tackling all kinds of weather in all kinds of terrain yet always keeping your head and knowing when to stop, then trucking may be for you. You can make good money but that will usually depend on your decisions you make, not only about trucking, but in all matters pertaining to trucking and relationships. Always keep in mind that money is not the most important thing in life, though it is a requirement for living the American Dream. As one great musician once put it in his song "Dreams are for those who sleep, Life is for us to keep"- David Gates/Bread, you just have to decide which of the two is more important to you. Can you get rich from driving a truck? Its possible but not probable-that too will depend on your own decision making ability. There is a sense of Freedom driving a truck, but you are never really completely free. This could apply to all occupations, even self employment. Just roll with the punches and get back up swinging, never throw in the towel.Good Luck in all of your decisions.

 

You sound ready - get out there and make it happen. Like you said, you are at least a year away from making good money in a truck, but working in a warehouse for $14/hr will get you no where fast. If you jump now, you could be at $50 grand a year pretty easily in 24 to 30 months. Good luck, and just make sure you keep your MVR clean while you get that first year under your belt.

 

thats the key right there. If you can suck it up 2 years with one company and have no accidents, incidents, tickets or violations, then the barn doors will swing wide open with so many better opportunities. It's been said so many times but it is the gospel truth. Show up with an unblemished record and stable history at one carrier over 24 months and a good carrier will lock the door behind you once you get there lol. Drivers with those qualifications will always be in demand for the best gigs while everyone else picks up the scraps.

 

It's a job, sorry "lifestyle" that anybody can do with very little training. It's not a bad option if you haven't went to college or learned a trade. It pays more than the alternatives that a prospective driver would likely qualify for ie. fast food and retail. Some argue that you are better off working at Mcdonalds because if you add up the hours worked in trucking you would get paid better at the fast food place. In theory that's correct. In reality you would never get the hours needed at Mcdonalds and would run into scheduling conflicts if you tried to work multiple fast food gigs.

 

I have little to add.It will all come down to what your expectations are.
Some drivers are soft right from the get gthers can take a brutal
beating before learning they are getting taken.
Set your goals,and standards,and stick to it.Only you know what works
for you.Its a job,but its not 9-5.
Your gonna start before everyone else,and your gonna shutdown long
after those same people made it back home.

 

I've heard that a few times. My reply would be, "after 2 years at McDonalds, given you made the right decisions, would you be clearling 50K or more easily?" I doubt it. As stated earlier, I'm not a "trucker" quite yet, but my common sense keeps whispering to me after reading thread after thread of unhappy truckers complaining about pay is this. Maybe some people are too lazy and or too ill informed or bad a decision making that they have ultimately landed themselves in a position to make crappy pay driving a truck. With the right moves and smart decisions in this industry, money can be made relatively quickly compared to most lines of work, that would have you making well above and beyond what that McDonalds employee is making, regardless of their time at that establishment. The same goes for factory work, or whatever type of work you'd like to plug into the equation that most "normal" people do without a college degree, and even then, you're not guaranteed any type of decent paying gigs in your chosen field. I know several people with degrees who can't even get a job in their chose field of profession.

 

So I've heard a couple things regarding how long to "stay" at whatever starter company when you first start driving. Six months and start looking for another company, and anything from 1 to 2 years before you start looking around. The drawback to leaving after just six months is it could make you appear like a job hopper, but at the same time the money will be much better provided you find a better company to work for after the six months. What's everyone's opinion on this?

 

If you look at the higher end companies, the ones where one can go and presumably have a solid, lucrative career at and retire from, the first requirement listed at almost all of them is "min 2 years OTR experience"

I've looked at at almost all of them in my research into where I wanted to go in this industry. There are a few out there that even require 5 years minimum but the vast majority of the ones who offer better than average employment want no less than 2 years.

Given the the much talked about 'shortage' of drivers there are many that are lowering those standards some, which in my opinion is a mistake. Even malwart has backed off in their hiring requirements recently. There is no shortage of wheel holders. The shortage is one of safe, competent professionals who handle themselves as such.

thats my vote. Get 2 clean years in at any one carrier without hopping somewhere else and you can almost write your own ticket into a much better gig.

 

My opinion is that my parents were right about how i should quit ditching school and study hard.