Are you sorry you are trucking?

Then you're doing it wrong.

And you just minimalized what most here cherish and have a lot of pride in.

 

College grads make on average 6k more a year than non-college grads. And truckers make more than 90% of those. You didn't miss out on anything unless you were going to go for 8 years.

Who do you work for and how long have you been doing this? DAC/MVR/Background issues?

 

If you or anyone else felt slighted by my earlier comment then i apologize, you are right to take pride in what you do but for me trucking isn't a very rewarding line of work and lets face it, there is no real career path in this industry. I realized too late that i'd be better suited in an industry where hard work can advance you up a ladder to better paying positions maybe leading to different kinds of work.

And as for my job, its not a question of my DAC, background etc. Its freight levels. I work for a well known LTL carrier and theres always been traditional slow times of the year for us (moreso nowadays), times when i only get 10-15 hours a week...or worse none. I'd consider switching companies but we have good bennie's and when the freight is there you can take home a decent paycheque but alot of what gets put away is quickly chipped away during the slow periods.

Make no mistake though, i'm grateful to have a job when so many these days don't. Just wish i had taken a closer look at what i wanted out of life when i was younger.

 

I tried the factory jobs and even local driving jobs are just not for me....I just don't due well with a boss that is bugging the hell out of me all day...I love being home but until I can win the lottery.

 

Please explain this statement, in case I am misunderstanding you.

If his opinion on driving is that it is a dead end job, then so be it. Not every driver is driving because they want to. That doesn't make them a bad driver or a bad person. The original poster was asking for an honest opinion, not a politically correct one. He gave an honest opinion. Good for him. He shouldn't apologize and you shouldn't try to shame him into doing so.

 

I used to love driving when I was full time but I also knew there would come a time when I didn't love it anymore. That time came one evening in Montreal when I woke up and there was a foot of snow on the ground and I had a 7 hour drive ahead of me and it was still snowing like crazy. My dad told me not to get into trucking because there was no future in it, since he's been doing it over 40 years I guess he might know what he's talking about, I still miss it everyday and I still drive (but not nearly as much as I used to.) I decided to go back to school and driving has allowed me to pay for it on my own so I will be debt free when I graduate. If you want to go back to school do it, you have to figure out what you want to do with your life before you're too old to do it though. I know people that took 25 years to figure out they didn't like trucking but once you've been doing it that long it's too late to change.

 

I won't turn this into a pissing match, but I will say this;

Most here are proud of what we are and don't consider trucking a dead-end job. Sorry if you took offense at my defense of the lifestyle.
Good day.

 

Love Driving!

 

I love driving, but sometimes regret my decision to leave a good company job- benefits, retirement, 401k, to become an O/O in this economy.
I left the company job primarily because of the stress, which I was starting to bring home to my family, (wife and dog). Now as an O/O, I don't have to bring it home, it's already here! But even with the economy in the toilet, sometimes I think I'm better off as an O/O.

After reading that, are you'll confused?
Good, NOW you know how I feel!!!!!!!!

 

I'll never stop hauling boats, some of best paying loads I have ever got.