I think I want to be a TRUCK DRIVER!?!?

I can only tell you from our experience. My husband and I were married 15 years with 4 kids (under 10) when he got his CDL. He is a journeyman machinist but there just isn't work anymore for that. We needed something that gave him the potential to make what he was as a machinist. My husband has always loved to drive and hated being a machinist.

The change was really really hard on all of us. I miss him, the kids miss him. It has made our marriage even stronger though and has taught us how much we really mean to each other. I hate having him gone and he hates being gone but when he is home it is awesome. How many couples get to feel like newlyweds every weekend?

He quit his over the road job and got a local job (you normally need 1-2 years over the road before getting local). He was home every night but unloaded his truck all day and was exhausted. He did it for us but it took it's toll on his body. There was a huge layoff with that company and he is getting ready to go over the road again.

My husband LOVES being a professional driver. It is a really good fit for him. He has never been much of a people person so it really works well for him. He can be nice and sweet to the customers but then leaves and doesn't have to deal with anyone else for awhile. He loves not having a boss looking over his shoulder all day. Thanks to cell phones we can talk to him just about whenever we want.

It's hard, it is an adjustment but I would rather have him happy then miserable every day at work.

 

Sure, any day now.

 

But 60 gallons of water, is a good way to clean a floor, right??

Just be glad one of your cooks have never emptied hot fryer grease into a 5 gallon PLASTIC pickle bucket......oh it held for about 45 seconds.....



I didn't know I couldn't run a 1200$ Robo Coupe threw the dishwasher with out damaging it????

 

yes'er...........I's shorely a reel "trip" now isn't I....????

just don't get your hopes up too high for your career change, that's all.

expect to bust your hump for about a year or two till you get enough experience to tell potential employers to "go pound sand" when they offer you 30¢ per mile, when you should be making more.

but still too, expect to put in long hours for no extra pay as well..........


now, i'ms gonna go and "trip" someone elses thread.........

 

I am going to venture into being a truck driver too. Leaving for school on Sunday as a matter of a fact. I have been in call centers for about 11 years and have managed over 100 people and am more than ready for a change. My uncle has been in trucking for about 25 years and we have spent considerable time talking over the last few weeks as I have contemplated this change. I have no illusions about the industry, but as he keeps saying "You don't know how tough it is until you experience it". He isn't encouraging or discouraging me per se, but has told me about a million stories when everything went wrong and how stressful things can be. Of course, he now has one of those cushy dedicated routes where he is home every night and makes $70,000 a year, but he somewhat jokingly says it may be 25 years before I land a job like that since dedicated routes that pay well are far and few between.

The thing I look forward to about OTR is the fact that I will only be responsible for my rig and myself. Im tired of being responsible for making others do their job. I know there are a ton of stressors in the truck driving industry (bad dispatchers, receivers, shippers, 4wheelers, and disgruntled truckers) but at the end of the day, I am in control of my attitude and how I view my current career. Anything you do, whether managing a restaurant, managing a call center, or driving a truck requires one to make a decision to make the best of it or you will be miserable. Once you are unable to make the best of managing a restaurant, managing a call center, or driving truck, it is time to make a change. God knows that I realize this decision will be no cake walk but I am nonetheless excited about this change in my life. I have always had a restless heart so I think this will be a good fit for me personally.

Good luck to everyone on this string. I enjoyed reading it especially since I am about to make this leap myself.

 

do any thing but dont drive a truck