Do I get into trucking or take new local job? Suggestions please

Go to work for UPS Parcel Service.
Depending on where you live I think top rate is like $37 an hour and they have really good benefits and you don't need a CDL to work for that company

 

Here's a thought.

If you take the local job you have to drive to work every day, pay rent and utilities, and make it paycheck to paycheck. You won't be saving much if anything.

It isn't how much you make that matters, it's how much you keep.

Compare that situation to going OTR without paying rent. You can even give up the car and the payments and insurance. Get yourself an address for mail with a relative or a Mailboxes Etc and then all your personal expenses are for phone, food, and incidentals.

Even IF you were a low performing driver with a mega carrier making $3000 a month, you will STILL be putting money in the bank or paying off your debt. If you are motivated to outperform the usual mouth breather you will be able to bank thousands per month.

If you live in the truck and need a break, budget for a hotel and rental car now and then. Far cheaper than paying rent and car payments for a place you rarely see (again assuming you are motivated to WORK rather than sit in driver lounges and ##### and moan about why you aren't making money).

Run any load, any time, to anywhere.

I've met a lot of folks that have done the live out of the truck plan. My first trainee when I was at Swift did just that with his wife. They sold everything, ran team for three years, paid off $60K in credit card debt within the first year, and just paid CASH for a house with three acres. A single man who was getting over a seven year drunk and homeless was at my orientation at Swift. He lived in the truck and was salting away bank every week. I lost touch with him, but I am confident he's sober and well on his way to HIS goal of buying his own truck.

You are ideally positioned to cut loose and save some major money. You are young and untethered without a wife or other financial obligations.

Living in a truck can be your freedom. I think of my sleeper berth as my man cave. I'm happy in my truck and love my job.

Have a Plan. Work the Plan.

 

If you want to give trucking a try then you need more reasons then the money side of it because otherwise you will not succeed.Being an OTR driver is a lifestyle.Some weeks or rather days you'll get the miles then other days you'll sit.Truck driving is everything but consistent.As a new driver it's unlikely you'll be making much money and why the turn over rate in this industry is at 100%.Your gross income will be $500.00 to 700.00 a week.But once you get the exp which takes a yr there's many more companies that'll hire you and alot of different hauling that pays more.

 

Also consider the life experience that comes with otr. You will see many interesting unusual things and meet all kinds of people. I did otr for one year before going local and although I don't want to do it again, I am so glad I did it! It broadened my horizons immensely and I am a better man because of it. you are young enough to still be able to appreciate that.

The negativity you will hear from others is likely because they either got into it at too old of an age to appreciate it, or they just did it too long and allowed it to turn them sour.

Go otr man, even if you don't like it you will benefit from the experience in so many ways. There are many ways to get into otr with minimal costs, as you will find out reading these forums. Good luck!

 

That's an odd perspective, to say the least. Most people will tell you it's the exact opposite- appreciation comes with age. Ever hear the expression "youth is wasted on the young". That's kinda what that refers to, among other things

 

@averagedude This is excellent advice, every bit of it. Follow this and you'll have guaranteed success. Work the plan for a few years, if you decide the "lifestyle" isn't working you'll have ample opportunity for a big money, local job.

 

Perhaps I worded it wrong, sorry. I just meant that being a younger guy, he probably has a larger capacity for taking in, and learning from, new experiences. No offense but in my experience, most of the older folks I have met coming into this industry tend to have that "I've already been everywhere and done everything and therefor I know it all" attitude. So they aren't even open to the prospect of learning new things and so traveling the country and seeing new sights just isn't as appealing to them. And those are usually the grumpy negative Nancy's who feel they must ruin it for the young guys.

Not trying to insult anyone or anything, this is just my opinion based on my own experiences. I do realize that the current younger generation may not feel/act/think the same way I did, so I could be completely wrong on all this...

 

And don't forget that if single with no attachments, can get rid of a lot of bills (such as rent). Way more money in OTR.

 

This is a good post. I am not good at all with computers, but since you are, perhaps you can save up working there and study for a higher paying job in the IT field while working there. You can also use that $12 warehouse job as experience

I would think an IT job pays a lot more than trucking in the long run and you could end up getting sick of driving a truck everyday and not having a social life/girlfriend.

 

Thousands of IT guys are now changing jobs and becoming truckers. They post on here almost every day. They post the money isn't there anymore and there's more money in trucking.