40-something corporate guy ready to quit the rat-race

Man isn't that the truth lol Philly has always been one of the worst places for me to end up but rob you could have just said 'anywhere north of DC' the result is the same if you end up out of hours anywhere up there without a plan or if your plan didn't work out as planned lol

 

My degree is in accounting and after 13 years for five companies I was never anything more than a bookkeeper. Then I did three years of COBOL/DB2 for three years before 10 months as a stock broker. I never made more than 33k in accounting and 42k in COBOL. I went to a community college 7:00 am to 1:00 pm and still worked 8hrs at a retailer. I completed all tests and only skipped the bus endorsement before the first day of class.

My first day of class was January 2nd 2004 and I was 47 years old. Completed class march 20ish looked for a Less Than Truckload and gave up in May. Started with a 48 state Crete Carrier eight weeks with a trainer, six weeks of hell on my own, six weeks of nearly hell before I was stable and comfortable. For the tax year of 2005 I made 48,000.

My weakest point after both school, training, and 12 weeks on my own was backing. After two years of Crete Carrier I made it to an LTL carrier where I am typically home every other night.

What you may want to know:
1) 50% of drivers hate truck driving as an occupation unless union, then 98.6% hate it.
2) Good paying carriers DEMAND a good driving record.
3) Two days off May mean 48 hours off so if you get home at 5:00pm on Friday you will need to return at 5:00pm Sunday to Start driving.
4) You may be starting your trip at 12:00 Midnight because that is when you have hours again to drive.
5) Truck driving is both an occupation as well as a life style.
6) The truck stop that would work out great for you may be full before 7:00pm

 

There are lots of issues regarding time away from home, being held up by shippers/receivers, not being allowed to use a restroom because you are a truck driver, waiting in line for everything, no parking, and you will generally feel hated by everyone around you ... but it doesn't have to be that way. When it comes down to it, you either love trucking or you just can't hack it and get out. The best way I describe it when people ask me if I get bored, lonely, whatever, doing the same thing day in day out ... I tell them "I love to hate it." That being said, I too got into a routine where I was being told where I was going, my weekends were almost always shot, if I did get home it was a day here or there, it averaged probably 4 days per month I slept in my bed at home, I kinda of got burned out and began hating being told what to do. I still loved driving, but I felt like I wasn't using nearly the potential of my mind. I got bored more than anything. My salary when I quit being a OTR company driver (refrigerated) was about $65k. I knew there was more to it. I decided to buy my own truck and sign it on at the company I was with. This quickly didn't work out and I went even further and decided to get my own authority. After the first year calling my own shots, I can honestly say I love trucking again. I haul what I want, go where I want, DO what I want. Home time and schedule around things? Not a problem really anymore. There is MUCH more paperwork and bookkeeping to be done, but in the end, I do make more money than I ever did as a company driver and I am not stressed out every day. I would not advise you to go out and buy a truck do this right off the bat, but I'm just trying to shed some positive light, and maybe something to think about AFTER you have driven a couple years and decided if you want to stay in it or not.

 

I'll take that any day over a job that pays less than that.

 

Why don't you check with one of the moving companies such as Mayflower? You can get some exercise loading furniture and pays better than average because most truck drivers don't want to do any kind of physical work at all.

 

My upper-body strength at the moment is pitiful. I need several months worth of consistent weight-workouts before I'd be even remotely fit enough for this.

 

This is interesting and pretty spot on.

I'd also like to point out that there are very very interesting owner op positions in the moving business. Basically you haul loads that were booked but they don't have a truck to do them. The owner op basically gets paid what he wants for the load, even if the moving company takes a loss... They are in a contract bind. I talked to a guy doing this, and couldn't believe what he was pulling in, around $14,000 for a 3 stop load from Arizona to Nebraska and Iowa. And that was just the start of his week. Made me want to pull my savings a buy a truck on the spot. LOL

 

I have 14 years in the "white collar" world and before that, I was blue collar to the core. I thought life was gong to be FANTASTIC in the white collar world but,,,ha ha,,,not happening. You all think it is tough out here driving a truck, try dealing with Corp. bureaucrats on a regular basis. None of you regular drivers born for the life would put up with the crap we do in white collar. I remember when my father tried his hand at it...lol Let's just say, if he would have stayed a second longer, he would have been in prison for a while.

Siberius, I commend you my friend. I don't think I have to tell you this but, take your time, adsorb all the information on this sight you can. Money is not your motivator so, you are way ahead of the pack. I have a friend that was in the IT business and he tried his hand, in fact I trained him. It didn't work out for him but, money was not an issue so, he quit and is still not working.

I wish you the best sir and pray it all works out for you...