2nd Career as a Trucker?

Dogs are lovely, However that dog above will get some travel time to the shelter and the future wife would get the snarl bringing that rat around.

 

I don't have the experience to offer any useful advice, but good luck!

 

Start preparing now; you will need:

Original Birth Certificate
Original Social Security Card - not laminated

Scroll to top of this page and click on "CDL Practice Tests" to study for the CDL Permit which you will need during CDL school. You will get the hard card CDL License just prior to graduation.

 

I am 48, and a nurse. I went to nursing school to take care of my mother, when shew was diagnosed with COPD. She passed away Set 1st of 2014. Now, 5 months later, I find that simply dont have it in me to take care of people anymore. Plus, Obamacare is killing nurse pay, and there are fewer jobs than before, PLUS as an LVN, i know i will never make more than 40-45K per year.

I found out that I can top that my first year on the road, so CAREER CHANGE, comming up.

 

You will be trading one type of stress for another, not that that is always bad, but do not think for one minute that driving as a team will be like going on a 600 mile road trip adventure every day. Sure, you will have times when it can be fun but mostly it is work. Not bad work but it is work. If you are looking to relax a bit as a couple you may want to think about expedited freight, it is hard work when you are running but then you can take time off and explore, also a lot of that is done is straight trucks so it is easier to get around and explore.

As for schooling I would go for the community college route, that way you are free to go to any company without penalty, otherwise you will be locked into a contract with a potentially bad training company, sadly most of the training companies are bad.

To maximize your earnings, if you chose to not go the expediting route, I would look for team companies that do tanker or refrigerated, there is not much of a team market for flatbed or specialized, unless you and your wife go the owner operator route and she becomes a certified escort, then you would get the freight and escort fees on oversize loads. This would require a truck and an escort vehicle plus a lot of training and experience. It is not something I would recommend right out of the gate, take some time to learn the industry.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

 

Well you CAN but most don't. In fact most end up lucky to make min. Wage their first year. Heck many are lucky to make min wage after a few years. Please don't get me wrong. It can be done. But I think you need to make sure that you do your research and be ready for a slow start.

knowing that it can be done I wish you the best of luck and hope you enjoy your new carrier choice.

 

Old Dominion Conference Call Transcript

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Yes, you can top that pay if you have all the endorsements, TWIC card, passport.

 

see, i hear that, and i know it is true, i just cant believe that people dont research how to maximize thier earnings while dealing with the hell that is the first year on the road.

just spending the last 30 days browsing this site, and doing some basic research, I have identified the most common mistakes and found fixes for them. Here are my goals and my plan to achieve them:

1) Steady Employment doing something i can physically do
2) Earning potential of 55-60K within 5 years
3) Good Benefits
4) Minimize time away from home eventually

I picked tankers because:
1) less demanding physically than flatbeds or dry van
2) my financial needs are possible in tankers, within the time frame as long as i get my hazmat and twic
3) benefits are pretty standard through the industry
4) Time on the road doesnt scare me, i am a Navy vet and spent a ton of time underway, besides, within 3 years i can get a local fuel delivery job that is home nightly

if someone makes minimum wage, forget that, lets say if someone doesnt make 35K thier first year trucking, I am sorry, they didnt prepare for the job.

Hell, McElroy starts people at 46CPM, in state 95% of the time, and M-F. Even if you only average 1500 miles a week, thats 35k Gross/26K Net

you just got to be smart about it

 

The fact that you are taking the time to do any research at all puts you with the 5% that learn how to make this work for them.