And now for something completely different...

TThis is a good place to do a LOT of reading.
Lots of info, anx most ( ok, some) of it is pretty interesting.

Good luck
Mary

 

you were told wrong, to a point. im pretty familiar with new york teacher salaries' and this is pretty indicative of the average for someone who has been doing it for any length of time. but you do need a masters degree, so its not like they are making a fortune. when you consider they HAVE to work for 9 months a year, the equivalent yearly salary for this particular teacher is $86k. id gladly pay the good ones quite a bit more, if only we could get rid of the bad ones. and the fact that you CANT pay a good teacher more based on performance is downright criminal.

as far as trucking for 10 weeks a year...i wouldnt hire you. not meant to be offensive, but as you would need at least a couple weeks of "refresher" every year, it just wouldnt be worth it. id gladly take you as a RETIRED teacher, but thats not your question. your best bet would be to find an owner operator that wouldnt mind TEAMING with you during the summer. it would mean some extra bucks in his/her pocket, and (s)he could more readily take your experience last year into account than a large company with strict guidelines.

i hope op, that you take nothing i said offensively. i still think good teachers are underpaid. i just wish it were easier to weed out the bad ones (and you know of at least 10 im sure) to make room for ones that care about doing a good job. i have many friends that are teachers, and many of them waited for years for a permanent gig, mostly because of the horrible teachers that cant be fired unless they do something criminal.

 

oh and i have to ask.....did you MEAN to make a python reference? cause now i cant get john cleese's voice outta my head.

 

Why dont you contact the small trucking companies in your areas and see. Tell them its for educational purposes. Ride with a van truck 1 week, cattle truck 1 week, hopper 1 week, and a flatbed. Out and back.

Years ago, this radio personality, Robert D Raiford used to down trucks and truckers all the time on the air. Some driver challenged Raiford to take a cross country trip with him. Halfway through the trip, Raiford did a 180 on his views. I am certain that one of the smaller carriers or independent would let you roll with them.

But you want to drive...

I dont know about that one. The average truck feels incredibly huge going down the road until you get used to the size, and the only way you get used to the size is by driving it for a longer period of time than you have.

 

Hey DY, I made it work. Last summer I worked with a local driving school who, based on my background (prior military aviation, clean driving record, etc.), got me two pre-hire interviews. Based on that, I pulled the trigger and got my CDL. Called the local company that I thought was a good fit, was hired, did a couple of weeks of training and then was released to figure the rest out on my own. Got over 7,000 miles my first month solo. Now, I drive once or twice a month on weekends to keep from getting too rusty. Did some work over X-mas break to help them out,too and plan the same for spring break.

I retire in a couple of years and wanted to get a bit of a head start. I plan to go OTR when I retire. May take a bit of looking, but if you really want to do it, it is possible.

 

You would have to take the refresher coarse every year , because after 3 to 6 monthes off driving it is for most companies a requirment ! Just the training costs to get a CDL is pretty high ! Have you ever looked into RV transportation ? Or maybe a company (Drive-away) that does re-po cars . I done that for awhile & it was pretty awesome ,does not pay a fortune , but you do get to see alot of the country . And doing it in a car gives one alot more freedom to see things verses a truck & trailer !! Hope you can find what you are looking for , good luck !

 

Good ole' Raiford. lol.

he's our "curmudgeon-at-large", here in Charlotte.

 

you really wanna do it you'll find a way, prob best to start out with some p\t local work

i doubt there is any interest in your deal, as far as getting trained goes vs your terms

 

"Romantic image" huh??? Have you ever spent time in a truck stop??? That ought to put the flame out pretty quickly....

 

It takes two solid years of training and then driving to be really good as a trucker driving a month every year would never give you the experience to be a safe driver you would be better off buying a small rv and I would suggest you get training for that to most rv drivers are dangerous to everyone around them .