Hello

There is plenty of money to be made in trucking. Like anything, you get what you give. My wife and I own 50 acres and a farm house from 1918...paid for. Also own a 2012 Peterbilt 386, also paid for.

Get after it. Make your own luck. Welcome aboard.

 

I am also in IT and have had the very same thoughts.

 

You don't have to take a pay cut; you can actually get a pay raise in trucking. CTL Transportation will pay for school then give you a job.

If you want reefers/dry van then attend a 160 hr. school and go with Freymiller or Abilene Motor Express; they both hire Florida drivers. Attend a community college cdl school; they're cheap.

 

Might enjoy it, might not. Dedicated and local are boring, I am actually switching to OTR this month. I can't do it anymore. I want to puke everytime I see this exact same road. But I was like you I loved big rigs since I was little. Still fascinated by them to this day. This work ain't a job it's a hobby. If you love it, you'll make good money. Look for companies with APUs and Inverters. So, you can plug high watt electronics.

 

^^^ @xephyr ~ I was in the telecom industry working for Lucent Tech and many other big names; IT and all the above, however-many years ago. I saw the industry taking a nosedive in the 90's (prob. when you were born...) and had owned a refuse/removal route in the 80's. I bailed on the telecom and IT, sold the trash route (my 2nd job) and have LOVED doing this ever since. Yeah, many people still call me a nerd / geek. . . I'm still that part of me, to an extent, I guess. Helps me plan my routes and make money, and it's there to be had.

As @Chinatown said, it's all about the 160 hour schools, as many companies won't even LOOK at you without that. It's the standard. (Unless you go with the all-inclusive, as he stated.)

And, as @miss elvee posted recently; it's not just a J.O.B. ~ it's a LIFESTYLE. This it is. OTR, regional, whatever. . . when it's snowing and you'd rather stay in bed and take a "vacay" day, you really can't.

And....as @Straight Stacks, we own 20 plus acres.. paid for... and I got toys in the pole-barn. Love the life, but it is . . . just that!

Kudos to you for looking into this ~ We NEED more level-headed people like you out on the road. . . with the common-sense and smarts all in one!

Good luck with your adventure...hope to see you on the highways someday!

ps: Love how you called it the 'ART' of trucking; how correct you are.