Does anyone have ANYTHING positive?

Job security and a genuine career if you're a safe driver, dependable and on time. A lot of what you're reading is a bunch of venting. Every driver is different and every company is different although a lot of them are very similar in nature. Go in with an optimistic attitude and you should be fine.

 

Is this a troll post cuz this topic seems familiar....

 

It's positively the wrong career move.

 

Yeah, driving is a blast. Seriously, driving a great big truck that weighs more than most homes is a serious high. It's all the BS you have to deal with that people gripe about. When you successfully back into a dock on the first try or go through the gears the first time without grinding one, you'll know why you chose this job. You feel like you accomplished something. When you're out on that Arizona highway and the sun is setting, and the clouds look like flames from the orange sunlight, you'll never want to do anything else.

But when the dispatcher calls you up and tells you to get from LA to NYC in 48 hours pulling a hazmat load you're not getting paid extra for, you'll want to strangle someone...

 

i am glad you said, "just another out of work"..........(person)

because frankly, why does everyone think trucking is going to save them....?? the trucking industry takes a big hit in a bad economy as well. right now, we have about 24 students at my employer (a trucking school) and many of those guys WILL NOT get a job after graduation.....why...?? there is NO NEED for more truckers right now....but yet, like lost sheep, they continue to enroll in schools, much like mine, for a better future.....it helps me no doubt, as it keeps ME employed, but the end result....?? not too many jobs out there.

it's a reality everyone ought to face, that just because "i like to drive" or "i always wanted to drive" or "i lost my job" or "it's in my blood *a good one, since one never drove before*".....all these excuses to become a truck driver simply do not add up to a very demanding job, of long hours, low paying, time away from home......so many guys cry a river of crocodile tears when they are told that many times to get a "foot in the door" they need to go over the road (OTR) and then they start crying about how important thier family is and how they cannot go on the road.....well what is trucking, a 9 to 5 daily job...?? hell NO it ain't........

today's "newbies" or "wannabes" are the biggest bunch of tail between the legs people i have ever seen...........ya'll gotta start someplace, but so many 'newbies or wannabes" just want things they think they are owed, simply because now they have a shiny new CDL license, and a high dollar student loan to pay off.

 

no.....go to college or trade school instead..

 

Listen to Groundpunder. That is real advice; and as positive as it gets. If this is the only thing you ever wanted/could do with your life that's one thing; if you want to fall back on it...not so much.
If I could go back now; I'd learn electrical/plumbing and heating. If I could afford a genuine college degree, I'd go for that. Much more financially rewarding over a lifetime, and would allow me to be around people I care about more than just once in a while.
just my .02

 

For 90% of the noobies, it is just a job.

A career last for a longer time !!!!!

But I wish you Good Luck !!!!!



Try to be in the 10% if possible !!!!!