For those who regret going into trucking...

The average pay for a railroad conductor is $68k. The benefit package is worth $22k a year. A lot of retirements coming up for the railroads. I read that BNSF expects 40% to retire in the next seven years. Engineers can make over $100k a year.

 

Been doing this most of my adult life. Do I have regrets, sure. But surprisingly most have little or nothing to do with trucking. I sigh everytime I hear about you folks with higher educations. Again when I hear you talking with pride about kids and grandkids. Again when I hear about y'all retiring from the life with a nice nestegg. I guess I qualify for that "Dumb ol Truck Driver" title 'cause I never did any of that.

But, those were mistakes in my personal life. Trucking had very little to do with it.

Listen up, trucking is basically no different than any other trade. Every trade/job has things about it that can bury you if you let them. You talk about RR engineer; my dad was one for 40 plus years. He died when I was 14 but I do remember that when he retired from the RR he got very little. The company hosed him (CNR, the govt owned RR), the union hosed him. And you think truck dispatchers are bad? Whooie, RR dispatch is a whole class of idiocy by itself.

Yup, you'll hate trucking... if the bad in it is all you're gonna look for. But there's one helluva lot more good things if you have sense enough to recognize them. It's all up to you.

 

I have been doing this for almost 30 years and I don't regret it at all! I love my job!

But then I don't have to bump docks or deal with loading or unloading or worry about being out of hours or it has to be there at any certain time .

The weather can be a bear in the winter but I just park it and wait for better weather.

It sure is nice moving around empty trailers! I wouldn't go back to moving freight for all the tea in china !!!

 

Just an odd thought.... just exactly would one do with all the tea in China.

 

Fill his empty trailers?

 

live a lifetime of happiness knowing he's got all the tea....?? as in "the one with the most toys when he dies, wins".....???

 

and you should be, getting a degree while driving i bet its hard, having a short 8h job and during a day and going to school at night is hard enough but i know its doable, congrats on a degree

 

I do not regret going into trucking. That was then. This is now. I would not advise it to someone who is just starting out now.

 

These days I wish that forums didn't exist. There's no surprise. I am going to Orientation on Monday (Roehl) and the more I read, the more I hope that I turn out to be one of you who like this. Not excited about leaving the wife and kids, but after 11 months unemployed, I need to get moving. I hope I will make the old timers proud.

 

Exactly my experiences and advice.

I should have saved up or got a loan to be an auto tech, but back then Trucking was still an honored profession that could pay very well and I honestly always have loved to drive or ride anything...and I have done exactly that, for over 3 million miles and still counting.

But starting out now trucking in 2010 with this messy economy, and the conditions and pay that drivers have to put up with ?

Forget about it!!

Get some schooling doing something else, anything else, is my advice.