Checking into Trucking as a possible Career Change

I am sorry but you're not going to have any room for negotiation if you go to a company sponsored school. They're paying your way and after you graduate you'll have to go to work for them at the rate that is specified in the contract. Yes, you'll have to sign a contract with said company if they fork over the cash to train you which basically means that you're going to be a slave to them for at least a year.

Stay as far away from this as you possibly can, company sponsored leases are pretty much just that. You'll basically still be a company driver only with all the headaches that goes along with owning a truck. If you want to be an independent, go buy your own truck and find your own freight. I don't recommend doing that either at this point and time.

If you start out as a company driver out of pocket expenses will be minimal. The only thing you will need is traveling money, food, etc...

That's really going to be up to you, you're company is going to expect you to do all you can in the time alotted. Legally you're allowed 11 hours to drive, if you average 62 mph that would be somewhere around 682 miles per day. If you're driving local most companies pay by the hour, although your chances of driving local fresh out of school are pretty much nil.

As i said, just starting out you're going to have to go OTR and you'll be out with a trainer the first 2 or 3 months of your employment. You'll probably be gone 4-6 weeks at a time.
Now i am going to give a little advice here, you say you're wife is going to have a baby soon. Why in the world would you want to get into this line of work, it's not a good job for a family man? If you're just bound and determined to do it, get your training out of the way and you'll probably have to start somewhere like j.b. hunt or schneider. Get a year or two of experience and keep your nose clean then start applying to the LTL carriers such as UPS, Fed-Ex, ABF, etc... Those are much better jobs, good luck.

 

I feel your pain. I got my MBA at Regis. Schwab paid for this and let me go two months later. Since then (2001) I've been through 3 more office closings.
& totally burned out. My wife did not stand behind me, divorce is final next Monday & I start at Schneider that Friday.

I left CO to go to WI with her. Man am I a putz

 

From what I've heard and read of and about those folks going into the truckin' industry, more out of desperation than desire, don't seem to find Big truck truckin' to be a good fit for them.
Some will blame the entire truckin' industry.
But the truckin' industry is what it is, .... and not likely to change much. Certainly not to please, what THEY might consider a whiner.

It's said, that the squeaking wheel get's the grease.
In the Big truck truckin' industry, the squeaking wheel gets
replaced.
The powers the be might consider that to be preventive maintenance.
But in the end, it is what it is.

Some quit.
Others stick it out.
Those who stick it out, seem to be miserable.
From an office job, to OTR truckin' can be, and often is, quite a culture shock.

A VERY wise driver trainer I was assigned to, back in the day, put it like this, ........................
The MOST important thing a driver needs to do before leaving home after their home-time,
is to make absolutely sure that no matters went unresolved during that time.

When the key to the door locks, that's where anything else remains until their return.

Stress out there OTR is bad enough.
Don't compound that with those problems left at home.
To mix the two, can create a disaster, On the road and/or at the home-20. But one usually has an effect on the other.
Ya reckon.

If THAT ain't painful and discouraging, by golly, I don't know what is, and probably don't WANT to (know). These are the potential stresses I make reference to.
IF, you can't leave those feelings and emotions behind while OTR. and concentrate on doin' your job driving a Big truck, I think you might be headed for a break-down.
Could be physical.
Could be mental/emotional.
Could result in a disaster, --- even involving others you've never seen, but met in the wrong way on a highway, or street, --- somewhere out there, stressed out.
Stress?
How 'bout some more to go with what'cha already have too much of?

On the flip-side of the coin, and you're like me, Big truck truck driving causes a calming effect, it just might be good therapy. As long as your MAJOR focus is on the road ahead and behind, and you can SAFELY drive without your concentration taking a time-out, and goin' back "home" -- without your knowledge and/or permission, ....... I'd say give 'er a shot.

WeLL!
Thar ya go!
Things are lookin' up.
IMO, Schneider is one of the better starter/training truckin' companies. It's to your credit that they accepted you.
Will you be attending classes in Green Bay?

A "putz"?
Hmmmmmmmmmm

Nawww, I don't think so.
Although the Dairy State does have it moments.
Personally, I like the atmosphere around Green Bay.

Folks, Green Bay isn't ALL that big, --- population probably around 100,000. But I swear, at LEAST 50% of the friendly folks you'll run into there, are SOMEhow related to Schneider.
Husband/Wife drives, works in the office, or related to someone, or more likely several, others in the family who are involved, directly or indirectly with or to Schneider In SOME capacity.

Waitresses husbands drive for Schneider.
The cook's brother, and probably father drive for Schneider.
The motel clerk's wife/husband works in a Schneider office.
The landscaper's cousin loads huge paper rolls on Schneider trailers, and Schneider usually has a huge contract with the paper mill where is OTHER cousin makes the products Schneider hauls.

OH!
And don't badmouth the Packers in Green Bay .
Folks there tend to support their team no matter WHAT.
And, heaven forbid, anyone were to switch FROM the Packers to another team, well, .......... shunning comes to mind.

One of the most desirable aspects of driving, for ME, was to see and experience how lifestyles change from one location to another, state to state, city to city, town to town.
I basically like people, but I'm also very comfortable alone.
Doesn't bother me in the least.
Camping out in relative luxury.

Accents are a favorite of mine.
I delight in hearing some of the different accents.
Mannerisms.
Another thing that changes.

Things are more fast-paced in the bigger cities, like Los Angeles.
Compare that to Arkansas, well,........... big difference.
Go with the flow ------------------------->
Not lkiely gettin' upset will change it.
Dare to ENJOY the experience.

And for lay-overs and/or re-sets?
One word ----
Bicycle.

Hey!
I started in a Pumpkin, Cab-Over International pre-9700.
Graduated to a "bus" in about a month.
In about a year, or so, I was offered a driver trainer position, and a brand new Big truck (Cab-Over), first driver, ---- well, it DID have 36 miles on the odometer, so I reckon SOMEone else drove it, at least once.

I was satisfied with Schneider, and recommend them often, -- based on MY experience and personality.

MY personality seems to fit truckin' rather well.
Better than anything I'd done prior to truckin'.
But I've ALSO been told, ...... I just ain't right.
And THEY just might be right!

 

Thanks,

Trucking has always been in the back of my mind. I've driven many miles through the desert in a deuce. It met an untimely demise on the dock in B-hoven. The crane dropped it it looked like an overgrown banana. Folks here in WI are nice. I'm looking forward to the adventure.

 

jmc1972,

I'm about to address all your questions about this possible career change. I'm nearing 50 and I've been around trucking, quite literally all my life! I've got over 20 years of over the road driving experience. There are a lot of guys out there who have a whole lot more than I do. But I've seen this industry from the seat of a truck and from the seat at a desk. So let's get to your questions.

1) First of all, any company who is wanting to pay for your school and then pay you .26/mile after you go to work for them is a company that no one should be working for. That mileage pay is better that .10/mile lower that what driving wages are. I can remembe writing payroll checks to drivers in the early 1980's for .26/mile. The kind of school that these companies tend to send students to are just quick little "CDL mills" that only teach you enough to pass the tests to get your CDL. If you are serious about getting into truck driving, spend the extra money and time that it takes to get into a driving school at a technical college or the like. I realize that you may not like this piece of advice since you are about to add a new member to your family, (more on this later), but, it will make a huge difference in your career success.

2) Trucking is like trouble, it's the easiest thing in the world to get into and the hardest thing in the world to get out of. It can be a great career, but it can ruin you just as quickly. Those who get into a company that wants you to make their truck payments for them are the biggest scams in the industry. Leasing a truck from your employer is just that, you making the truck payment for them. Here's a test to use with the company(ies) that you are considering. Ask them if you would be leasing a brand new truck with less than 100 miles on it. You will most likely hear something like this, "well, we'll put you in a used truck first while we wait for your new one to come in." They'll run you just enough for you to survive for a period of time between 6 months and a year, then they'll start starving you so that you'll want to quit, and guess what, you won't be able to take the truck with you! So, you've been making their truck payments for them.

3) If you go to work as an owner operator, in other words, you lease a truck, or you buy a truck, you will have a truck payment, maintenance and tire expense, insurance on: equipment, carrier equipment, and your health insurance. You will also have to pay for fuel, Qualcomm costs, worker's comp. base plates, etc. You will most likely have to keep an escrow account with the carrier that you are leased to so that they will be assured of being able to collect any monies that your mistakes may cost them. You will have to pay for EVERYTHING,including your own truck washes. You will have to have some knowledge of the mechanics of the equipment or you'll go broke paying shops everytime you need something done. This list of expenses can get very big in a hurry. By the way, your monthly truck payment will most likely be between $1,800 and $2,200 per month, depending upon the deal. You will not be able to take very much time off because you will be having to keep the wheels rolling to pay your bills. Also, you must be able to do your own accounting so that you can track your expenses and income to the nearest hundreth of a cent per mile. If you don't keep a thumb on your finances, you may very well find yourself without everything in a hurry. I'm not trying to scare you, but this is how it is.

4) Go to work for someone who will pay you competitive wages, and provide health insurance and other benefits. It's not how much you need to expect to drive per day, it's how much you should expect to drive per week. It's not worth going out there for much less than 3,000 miles per week. Some days you may drive 200 miles or 800 miles, the loads control how many miles you drive per day. And you never know how this is going to work out until you get hooked up with a particular load.

5) Most companies have a home time policy that allows a driver 1 or 1.5 days at home for every 6 days out. It's extremely hard to make a living as an OTR driver being home EVERY week. It just doesn't work that way. You may be out anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks at a time. Again, this depends upon the company that you do with. Some companies will not let you get home but every so often. You don't always get to plan your home time. Holidays are just another set of days on the calander. In trucking, the only holidays that you can reasonably plan anything around are Christmas and New Year since the industry as a whole is notoriously slow during that week. You should expect to spend MOST of your holidays sitting in a truck stop parking lot somewhere waiting for your customer to open up the next day. But the hardest part of this whole hometime issue is that you're going to miss almost EVERYTHING in your son's life if you are an over the road truck driver. So before you jump into this, you and your wife may want to satisfy yourselves with this question: Are y'all prepared for her to be the only person taking care of the home and family while you're on the road, and are you prepared to miss your son's life? You will have to get reaquainted with him each time you walk in the door, and I'm here to tell you from first hand experience, that is one of the most painful experiences that you will ever have for the rest of your life.

It's very expensive living on the road, especially when you're trying to send money home to pay those bills too. Not only do you have to buy groceries on the road, you have to buy groceries at home, and not only will you have to pay a water bill at home, you may sometimes have to pay for a shower on the road. So jmc1972, before you jump into this fire you need to ask yourself if you're prepared to make the sacrafices necessary for you to make this career change? Try to remember, there's a whole lot of the trucking picture that we didn't even touch on in this conversation.

Best of luck to you and your new family.

Georgia Joker

 

From what I've heard and read of and about those folks going into the truckin' industry, more out of desperation than desire, don't seem to find Big truck truckin' to be a good fit for them.
Some will blame the entire truckin' industry.
But the truckin' industry is what it is, .... and not likely to change much. Certainly not to please, what THEY might consider a whiner.

It's said, that the squeaking wheel get's the grease.
In the Big truck truckin' industry, the squeaking wheel gets
replaced.
The powers the be might consider that to be preventive maintenance.
But in the end, it is what it is.

Some quit.
Others stick it out.
Those who stick it out, seem to be miserable.
From an office job, to OTR truckin' can be, and often is, quite a culture shock.

A VERY wise driver trainer I was assigned to, back in the day, put it like this, ........................
The MOST important thing a driver needs to do before leaving home after their home-time,
is to make absolutely sure that no matters went unresolved during that time.

When the key to the door locks, that's where anything else remains until their return.

[/quote]

I know what your saying about the culture shock. I looking into doing this 14 years ago and decided to go back into the Army. After serving another 6 years (10 total) I decided to get out when my ex-wife and I divorced while I was on an isolated tour in Korea for a year.

Luckily I have a very supportive Wife who has and always will support any decision I make. We've talked about this in great length over the past 3-4 weeks. I know she can handle the seperation since she's also a Military Vet who was previously married to a guy who deployed to Kuwait in the 90's. We've also talked about my returning to service to finish my 10 and she know's I will have at least two to three deployments to either Iraq or Afganistan or both. We're not too young and have been around awhile so I know I can trust her Maturity and she is a professional woman who also understands my professionalism in business.

I just don't know what to do, I'm still thinking about the possible change.

By the way - when OTR after the 5 or 6 weeks on the road how much home time is there?

The company I looking at is Stevens Transport - I don't know if their a good company to start with or not.

Thanks!!!![/quote]


You don't want to go with Stevens Transport. The whys and wherefors are very long on this one.

Georgia Joker