What's your opinion on trucking ?

The truth is everyone has a different opinion and you have to form your own to understand what you are in this industry.

This for many is just a job, something to pay the bills and they just get by, by any means they can. YOU will find a whole cross section of drivers who are poorly educated on how to drive a truck, they don't care about anything but themselves and seem to be the first to cry if something happens to them. On the other side you have people who try to be professional, take time to do things right and most of all watch out for those others who are dangerous in a car let alone a truck.

Unfortunately having a clean record, great driving skills and so on doesn't always mean much, we have seen a low standard to enter this industry, making us a target for those do-gooders who want us to crap on schedule.

 

I agree education isnt everything, as Larry the Cable guy says " You cant fix stupid".

I have 4 children 3 daughter 1 son. Im proud of all of them, However that being said I could not be happier that my son has continued the long family tradition of being a, Quote Debbie Dootson " A Big Rig driver", and has been taught by me and his grandfather, My oldest and my youngest daughters both have Graduate Degree from Universitys here in California one is a executive planner and the other is a fund raiser for Green Peace, My son is now on track for making between 55 and 65k per year as a driver and very happy with his job, my oldest daughter is in the 120k area and the youngest is pushing 100k. The third middle daughter that I am equally proud of declined the offer of going to school and is making somewhere in the neighborhood of 40k.

You can not tell me that an education will not assist you in generating a better income, it is simply not true ( Birp, pass me a brewsy). Only the uneducated will perpetuate such nonsense. Once you have your education what you do with it is certainly your choice, and no one can teach logical thinking or common sense, but without it you are certainly stacking the deck against yourself.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Nite, May the God of Abraham, Issac and Joseph, Bless you and keep you and yours safe in the up coming year.

 

I know your post prior to mine was not directed at me. I know my response seemed like it was directed at you but it really wasn't. It was more for the general audience following this thread. My apologies if you took it personal.

 

Not at all sir.

 

Having a good education can give you a leg up when it comes to most career choices. A degree probably won't help too much if you want to make a career of driving a truck. But, if something happens to your health or you decide to do something else for a living at a later date, you will stand a much better chance of earning a good living with an education. You never know what is in your future. You might even decide to move into dispatching. I know a guy who went to work for a major carrier as a dispatcher. He only has a high school education. He was promoted to a planner a few months ago. He is in the same office as another planner who has been working at the same company for a similar time frame. The other guy has a degree and earns 25% more than the guy with only a high school education. If the college educated planner decides to move up the corporate ladder he will likely be given priority over the high school graduate. A college degree can make a big difference in your life long income and job prospects. The college graduate will usually be given priority for the first interview, first job offer and advancement opportunity. He will also usually start at a higher salary and receive larger raises. Whether you like it or not, the degree makes a lot of difference in your income.

There are exceptions. You don't need a degree to start and run your own business. You won't learn how to run a business from college. But, you will learn skills that will be important to your future success. For instance, you can learn about marketing, accounting and finance in a business directed degree program. You could earn an engineering degree and have a good career path open to you. While a degree in anthropology will not be as valuable in the business world, companies look more at the degree than the concentration, in many cases. My nephew has his undergraduate and masters degrees in totally different fields than what he is currently doing for a living. But, he would not have that job without his degree. I don't think he really needs a degree to be proficient in his job, but it did open the door for him and it will help him if he decides to progress up the corporate ladder. He may be somewhat limited up to a point, due to his career path and type of degrees. He could enhance his advancement opportunities by getting his MBA. He will have a huge advantage over someone with only a high school diploma. In fact, the high school graduate would likely not have even been offered the job.

My niece also has a masters degree. She lost her position due to cutbacks and had a very difficult time finding a permanent job. She could not even find a job at Walmart because she was thought to be over qualified for the position. She was over qualified, but just wanted to work. She finally had to relocate to find a job. She has since found a new position. This past year, she was offered another position with another company and is doing well. She could not find a job on the lower end of the pay and opportunity scale due to her education, so I suppose you could consider that to be a detriment to having a good education. She was forced into a higher paying position due to her education.

I have spoken on having a good education before on this forum. When jobs are limited, companies look for the best qualified candidate they can find. The will start with those with the best education and experience and work their way back to those who have much less education and limited work experience.

Even if you can only take one class at a time, the cost and effort is well worth the investment. Today, it is much easier to obtain a degree than ever. I have noticed some truckers or their spouses studying and earning credit online while on the road. You can earn a BS or Masters degree online today and never see the inside of a classroom. When I was in college, you had to physically go to class to receive the credit. Taking one class at a time you can pay as you go and not accumulate the debt most do while attending a major brick and mortar university. I don't know anyone who has really regretted spending the time to obtain their degree. I have met many who regretted NOT spending the effort to earn their degree.

 

Merry Christmas, Powder Joints. I wish you and everyone on the forum a very happy and safe holiday. May we all remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

 

G/MAN I couldn't agree more with your post. I know that I have posted things about knowing people with advance degrees that were idiots, or words to that effect. But they could function in their own field. They were just clueless about life in general, and without their degrees would undoubtedly be flippin' burgers or on welfare.

There is no such thing as too much knowledge. Nor is their too much education, although you may run yourself out of a particular job market because you are "overqualified," and they know you won't be there long.

Entry level jobs are just that, entry level. You are likely to make the same amount of money with or without a degree. But as you said, the guy with the degree will be hired first, and certainly promoted first.

It may not be necessary to have a degree to run your own business, but it sure can't hurt. There are so many ends to running a business, that the average employee never thinks about. By the time you get through tax laws, personnel laws, contract law, bookkeeping and accounting & all the other myriad things that a person is either going to have to know themselves, or pay outside help to do, your business degree will likely make your life a whole lot easier.

 

One thing college will teach you is how to find answers. Education, if properly administered, teaches you how to learn and to think. Knowledge is useless without action. I have known a couple of people with a good education who were helpless without a book. They simply could not think outside their comfort level. If it was in a book, they could understand it, but they had no common sense.

I have also known some very intelligent people who never even completed high school. Some still achieved success in spite of their limited education. I remember a guy when I grew up. He had a very good mind that could think critically. He was always coming up with some sort of brain teaser. There is no telling how much he could have achieved with a good education. I think he dropped out of school in the 8th grade. He was killed in his early 20's. I continue to learn. It is a lifelong quest. There is always something new to learn. I agree with your views on education, Big Don. There are some people who graduate from high school and that is as far as they want to go with their formal education. They should understand that that decision will cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost income over their lifetime.

It is a little off topic, but I think about all those who have the time to riot, loot and burn down our cities across the country. I would wager that most of them don't work nor have they even finished high school. I don't see how anyone would have time to riot if they work for a living. They complain about not having opportunities in life, but do nothing to help themselves, such as get an education. With all the grants and money available for college, there is no excuse for not getting an education these days. Minorities have even more opportunities for grants and loans.

My college experience has helped me in my business and in life. I didn't learn how to run a business in college, but did learn other things that have been beneficial to me. Some classes have helped that had no relation to business. College can also help in other ways. It gives the individual the time to explore their special interests and to find a career path that they might be best suited. Some people change their major several times during their college experience. Growing up I remember so many people that I met who did not enjoy their career. They were stuck in a rut and very unhappy. College gives you the time to explore your personal interests and to find the career that is best for you. Even if you come back to trucking after graduation, it is time well spent.

 

Every industry has some sort of "reset"

I owned my own flooring company for over 25 years with as many as 30 crews that worked for us, in the beginning I was told by the old timers that the pay sucked compared to years earlier, I still made good money and after a couple years the rates went up and kept doing so for many years, my guys were paid well and I would have paid them more but all my competition would grab my accounts if lost to rate hikes or that newbie would jump in and cut rate the jobs

Then it dropped off and actually went down some, I could have the same comments to new guys that the old guys had for me but the fact is that the industry evolved in to a better job by use of new products and technics therefore making it easier to make the same or more money

If rates continually keep rising then either everyone will jump in and cause a lower rate to evolve or the general public couldn't afford your services and rates would fall

Same with trucking, old guys made good $$$ but look at the trucks they drove, a friend of mine had a grandfather who drove, a 3 day run went about 60 miles one way, probably an old Model A but that same run now is a 700 mile trip in a much better vehicle

I got in this 6 years ago, have never worked for $500 a week and still make good money, could or should it be higher? I'm sure we all agree it should be but for every qualified driver that should get the higher rate there are 20 that will do it for that $500

In the end you just have to sell your service as a quality product and find the shippers or companies who want that and the money will follow