Good day and looking into career change

The specifics are fluid. That's my corporate speak for the day and I promise I won't do that again! I do believe that van and refer would be available for local, regional, and OTR, so looking at that. Not sure about tanker, though it does seem to be higher income. I expect to start at the bottom, and that's a bit of a bummer considering I've already been there. It's not a bad thing, just chips away at me a bit. My hope is that I'll like it, perhaps even enjoy it, more than my last jobs which had me angry all the time and burned me out a bit. My previous work with engineering involvement on flatbeds and specialized cargos confirms that I don't want to do that. That mode should be operated by folks wanting to sling chains and tarps. It can be very difficult work. Some people are into that sort of challenge, but I'm over it having dealt with it for some time. Maybe I'll change my mind, but doubtful.

I don't have any rose-colored views or expectations. I would think that I would have to do OTR at first in order to build all the necessities: time, mileage, routing, etc. Surely that will be upwards of a year just to be considered a real-world driver. I would think that will give me time to look into other options such as what you list. This applies to both modes and companies.

Recruiters are a breed I treat like lawyers, accountants, and politicians. I don't particularly like them. They have their use and place but trust them as far as I can throw them. I am of a more mature age that can recognize and has little time for double-speak and baiting methods. Expect that this industry's recruiters are just as bad as the technical recruiters I deal with.

The only issue I have with the company schools is that you're beholden to them for whatever duration they feel is appropriate and the cost. Schools (private or community vocational) run around 4 grand while the carries are almost double that.

The pay is the only thing I'm not familiar with as I've always been salaried. The idea of $/distance and other forms of payment due to delays and the enforced operation time limitations is foreign to me. That'll take some effort to get my ducks in a row on that. No, I do not expect 100 grand. My wife still works, but I would hope that I can get enough income to pay my part of the mortgage along with basic living expenses. Perhaps not having me at home for at least 50% of the time will reduce some costs. No idea.

I know you're not criticizing my current path and I appreciate the input. I did not pick the time to do anything with my career. I was sent packing by others and conditions are less than ideal for people like me nowadays. I'm looking at trucking because it's something I can start doing relatively quickly as well as having future opportunities. I would rather have a kick in the crotch and punch in the ears before going back to school for another 3-5 years which would only incur more debt an would not assure any return. I be too old for that!

I still have a couple of months to make my final decisions as I'm not intending on moving along until after Christmas. Until then, I'm going to delve and research further into this profession.

 

I'm wondering how the state of the industry is going to change with things like the removal of so many drivers due to the whole functional language speaking/writing/understanding requirement. No idea if it'll continue to be a thing or if it'll just fade into the rest of the noise and be forgotten about by the general public and not enforced by the bureaucracy as it should. Either way, it would seem to me that a chunk of the driver pool might be going away for a bit which might help in bringing up wages.

 

I believe the official number so far since June is a bit over 7,000. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it might become more noticeable if it keeps going.

One thing that I hadn't thought of is if the bad publicity is going have an effect on insurance rates. Not only commercial but every driver.

Have you or any other drivers noticed any additional scrutiny from places like LE due to the bad press?