If we are supposed to be these "profesionals"...

Quickway I say you go for it. If you continue to drive, next thing you know, you'll be 65 at the Petro with the shape of the seat permanently shaped into your rear end, talking about your 40 years of experience that nobody cares about. There are people who love it, like my dad. There are others who don't, such as myself. I got into the trucking industry 6 years ago to help me pay for school and subsequently, law school. The whole ride shouldn't been 6 years. Well here I am, still driving a truck, I still don't even have my bachelors degree yet (one semester away) and god knows if I will be able to attend law school. I want to say yes, but I think I have lost the way. I can no longer afford to work for $8 an hour because I have become accustomed to making at least 45k a year. If you can maintain your current lifestyle, or wouldn't mind downgrading if you have to, then go for it. Run as far as you can, then come back and tell me about it so I can gather up some strength and do the same.

 

I would encourage you to continue working toward your BS degree. With only one semester to go it would be a shame to stop now. If you want to get your law degree, then you should do that as well. Have you taken the LSAT?

 

Y'know, when I started trucking (up in Canada) we had no logbooks. We ran 24/7 on chemicals and dispatch sold us the pills. We had drivers burn out, we had drivers die. Companies didn't care. Nobody cared.

When govt forced logbooks, I heard the same thing from the "old pros"... nobody has the right to tell me..... gonna be death of trucking.... gonna quit. Many tried to keep on with the old way. Several logbooks, cheat the man..... big tough truckers. Gotta do it MY way.

Remember watching "big tough" go to pieces trying to get to the car he just ran over. Remember his wife in tears cause "big tough" was going to jail for Vehicular Manslaughter and they were gonna lose everything. Remember her asking me "What are we going to do?" and having no answer.

I know of no trucker, old or new, who hasn't pushed the envelope to get those "few more miles". No, we do NOT always "know ourselves better". Yes, we often do things that we look back on and think "Well THAT was stupid".

Things change. Better or worse is not always easy to see. But like every other "professional" in every other trade we gotta learn to adapt.

Kinda wonder what the "new kids" will be moaning about in another 30 yrs or so.

 

I'm about in the same predicament. Now that I been off the road 8 months, I'm starting to like it. There is life on the other side of the road. Little things like sleeping the same time and being able to go the bathroom when you want are golden. Not to mention the home cooked meals. I had steak and an assortment of vegetables out of my garden last night. What did you have?

 

Thought I would reply. Supper last night was BBQ pork steak,baked potato, mixed veggies and 2 Coors lights while I was grilling the steak and potato. Didn't worry about the DOT,Scale House, delivery time, or the stupid clock. Mighty good fixin's for us. Guess to be honest here I should say that a few months ago I bought a small 1 ton dump truck and deliver some rock, sand, gravel and top dirt now and then. Nothing spectacular and I do it as people call. No pressure, no dispatcher, friendly receivers,friendly shippers, etc. In my opinion it's really not as hard to get off the road as people think. I had to stop driving because of the heart attack, but if one really wants off the road it can and in my opinion should be done. There ain't nuthin' worse than a job you don't like. It's miserable, believe me, I know.

 

If I hated driving as much as some posts suggest, I would find another profession. Every job has it's frustrations, but if I detested my job I would find something else where I could earn a decent living. We spend at least 1/3 of our lives working. It is much better to work at a job that you enjoy.

 

So.... do you tell folks you retired to work with a Rock Group; the Stones for example.

 

G/man, no LSAT yet, although I've taken the practice exam 2x and I scored in the low 160's both times (161 and 163). Not bad I guess but if I can get it to the high 160's or in a dream world up to 170, I'll be set. Problem is that I could not affor school so I started trucking at 23. Started earning $1400 weekly for a ltl company in NYC and quickly lost my way. Started going to school part time. 6 years later, I I'm still going for the bachelors, which shouldn't taken 3 to 4 years. Now my uncle gave me a truck and I joined the big O/O ranks. I can feel myself getting used to the industry even though I despise it. Law school? That sounds more like a dream now, but it was reality a few years back. That's why I advocate for an early departure from the industry if possible. I think I'm screwed, but at this point, I don't have an option. I have 4 years in the marines as a mortarman, meaning? Useless in the civilian world. Then I almost have a bachelors degree in philosophy, which by and large is useless without grad school. Then I have 6 years trucking, not many choices for me.

 

The essay plays a lot into their scoring with the LSAT. That part is so subjective that you never really know what they are looking for until after the fact.

You are right about the value of a philosophy degree. About the only thing a philosophy degree is good for is law or politics. Still, some companies don't care what you have your degree in as long as you have one. That always seemed strange to me. To tell you the truth, I think we have too many lawyers, anyway. Law school requires a lot of commitment. Few schools seem to have evening programs that you can attend while working. There could be more today. One other option would be for you to go to graduate school and perhaps get your MBA. Some now offer online or weekend programs. The Executive MBA programs are mostly on the weekend and takes about 12 months. They prefer you to have a few years work experience before entering the MBA program at most colleges. They like to have a diverse educational background in the graduate program. You would probably need to take a few business classes to make it work. It is an option.

There is also nothing wrong with staying in trucking. I have actually met two lawyers to got out of law and into trucking as owner operators. I doubt that either would go back to law. One told me some interesting stories about the DOT with his law background.

Nothing is forever. You may even find something that would match your background perfectly should you decide to get out of trucking. This business doesn't have to be a death sentence. You can earn a good living. You could always buy more trucks and build your business. If you had a few trucks you could stay home and dispatch them or hire someone to do that for you while you go to school. Having drivers does have it's challenges.

 

I didn't hate my job. I always itched to go back everytime I took a local job. But there has been a decline in enjoyability (is that a word? lol) over the past ten years. I'm just saying life is full of opportunity and trucking isn't the only thing. Some of you as you get older, your health can turn for the worse in a short time. Mainly because of the lifestyle. Is it worth it? If I didn't truck, I wouldn't be in the shape I'm in now. The skinny ones are just as much a high risk as the overweight ones when it comes to diabetes and a heart attack.