Changing career?

I think some companies have weekend Day Cab home daily positions.

Otherwise, maybe try another company that is in your field that might have a better office environment instead of bailing out completely. I'd be surprised if you find a trucking job that quickly meets or exceeds your current income plus benefits.

 

There are all kinds of reasons for wanting to change careers. If your primary reason is financial, I'd think again. I changed careers but it was late in life and my wife and I are on stable financial ground...thanks to her job. Personally, if I had stayed in the corporate gig, I probably would have had a heart attack. I love driving, can talk to myself all day and all night long and not have to worry about the answers I get.

It's an extremely personal decision and only you will be able to make it. OTOH, there's nothing at all wrong with giving it a go. You'll learn very quickly if it's the life for you. The upside is that you've got an education as insurance.

Best of luck to you.

 

Unless your degree is in Basket Weaving stay put or apply to trades. Boilermakers are in demand so if you are confident in your math ( calculus & trig) try the aptitude test.
If you anticipate $75k annually expect to work 70 hours a week 51 weeks yearly

 

Oh thank God, I could not stomach another "I always dreamed about driving a truck because my granddad drove one once" thread.

You seem not to get something, truck driving is a dangerous sport. People die every day from it and you will be more at risk of being hurt or killed than cops are.

You have a stable job, I would think you could get into some passive income and enjoy life better than being stuck in a cab of a truck, stinking from 11 hours (or what ever) driving along being a target of people who hate trucks.

If I was still working at my salaried job, I would be looking into rentals and other property related investments. I don't know ho it works over there, even though I have two cousins who now are retired and travel all over the place on their rental income, I do think it is the same as it is here.

 

For perspective, it might be worth comparing both the Income difference and the hours required to earn that income. I bet they're working much longer days for they money they earn. Do these friends also have a stable family life of their own or do they remain single?

As for family stuff, well one time on Father's Day I saw a wife and kids meeting the Dad at his truck in the staging parking area of the Meijer Distribution Warehouse in Lansing, MI before he delivers and leaves for the highway again.

I'm not sure if your friends can give you a strong lead on a local job to avoid a situation like that. In my case, I'm still single with no plans to marry or have kids while doing this kind of work. I am currently local with a crappy Yard Truck job, but I might wind up running long haul again. Even if I get a home daily job, I'm not sure how much energy I'd have left after working 14 hour days then coming home to sleep.

 

Got a cushy government job and a university degree and you want to quit,are you for real dude? You've really got to look at the pro's and the cons and make your choice, at the moment you get home at a reasonable hour you get to shower in your own bathroom and have a goodnight's sleep. When you start OTR forget about all that, the company will now dictate where you go and what you do your freedom as you know it will be gone an you'll soon be wishing you were back at your secure government job.

 

Go put a foam mattress on the floor in the closet at your house. Take everything out of the closet and put in enough to live off of for 2 weeks. You can't ever use the bathroom or shower in your house, you have to go somewhere else. No cooking meals, or you can only cook what you can cook in your closet. As soon as you get up in the morning, get ready in your closet, and leave. When you get back from work, go straight into your closet. You are allowed one extension cord with a 15 amp fuse on the back end to run things inside your closet.

If, after 2 weeks, this lifestyle appeals to you, jump in a truck. You'll love it.

 

Girlfriend, soon to be ex-girlfriend if you get into trucking. Don't be surprised when your out for 3 weeks and shes 2 weeks pregnant to some fellow named Shanesh or Jamal or Brad or all 3.