I'm 18 - should I become a trucker in a few years? Need advice...

Problem is at 18 who will hire him? 25 is the magic # in trucking. Some hire at 21, several at 23, but his problem will be going to a school getting a CDL. At his age no one would hire him. When he does turn 21 with limited options his next problem will be no recent OTR or not a recent Grad and will have to go to a refresher course and beings it will have been 3 years with no recent. He will be looking at a full school term again. I would look around consider my options. Look into other schooling programs or do like I did. Join the Army as a trucker and get out and look for a driving job. I did that, BSed my way into a KW pulling a tanker, but due to my age 21 was limited on who would hire me. Always remember this if you think a college education is expensive; try ignorance. It will cost you more! Good luck, keep us posted.

 

There is no perfect job but some are much less worse than others. There's worse ways to make a living than driving and there are also much better ways. We all have aptitudes for different things. College isn't for everyone. Find out what you do best and then do it. I have an aptitude for driving and I'm quite good at it as are most truly professional drivers. I'm not saying I couldn't have done better but I've done pretty darn good.

You hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? There's a support group for that! It's called "Everyone Else"! They meet every night after work at the bar!

Four college grads were in a burger joint for lunch. The first, an engineering major, always asks, "How does it work?" The second, a science major, always asks, "Why does it work?" The third, a business major, always asks, "How much does it cost to make it work?" The fourth, a philosophy major, always asks, "You guys want fries with that?"

But seriously folks, no amount of higher education ever made a stupid person smart.

 

Maybe not an OTR trucking company but he could get a job shunting trailers or do some kind of local work or something and get some experience, you just have to look around, plus if you get in with a company doing something like that you might be able to work your way up to driving tractor trailers, and they might train you, The problem nowdays is nobody wants to start at the bottom and work their way up

I started out as a teenager shunting and I didn't even have a CDL yet, and it was the best experience I ever had, I learned how to drive, shift gears, back up and manouver a truck long before I was even old enough to drive on the road, when I did get my CDL I had several years of shunting experiece so I had an advantage over the other new drivers

I would look at your other options before jumping into truck driving, but if you do decide to drive a truck, do your research and find a company that suits you, it doesn't have to be OTR trucking either, call around, talk to other drivers, you just have to look around there are opportunities out there you just have to find them

I helped a young man not too long ago when he got his licence to get a job hauling flatbed locally, and they trained him for flatbed, I guess it helps to know someone in the business as well

 

I disagree with this, if u r smart with money, and know how to save it, I would do the opposite, I would drive a truck for a few years, and this would take work on your part only on the saving, I'm saying u could definitely save this much, if you don't blow $ on stuff u don't need. Without kids or a wife, u could definitely save 20 grand in ur first 3 years. First, u need to find out about a truck school. You have to nowdays, or they won't hire u, they last from 1-3 weeks(some offer 24 hour CDL), and cost about 5 grand, your first company u drive for will help u pay for most of it. The benefits aren't great, like hotels u get only if u get stuck without a load, no free food. U do get free gas, and pretty much everything free for truck. Breakdowns paid for, new tires paid for. Anything involving the truck is the company's problem, if you're not an owner operator, which I wouldn't do. Go drive for a company a few years, see how much you like it, then consider owning your own. If you don't like it, consider school with all the $ u saved. I think trucking is a great way to save a lot of $ in a short period of time, especially for a younger person. Good luck, and remember, it will take some work, but if you're serious about saving, trucking all the way. If you're not that great at saving I would suggest maybe the military, they can help u instill self-discipline, just as a possiblilty, and don't listen to these other people. Also, there r so many companies out there right now that need good drivers that u can definitely get hired on driving over the road(around the country) with no experience, u just need that school. Go to school, and u will get a job, and remember to keep a good attitude, I couldn't stress anything more in trucking. It is very mentally challenging.

 

He is only 18 how is he going to do this now except for the military part? He is not going to get one of those OTR jobs for a few years. If he waits a few years to go get an education like you suggest he could already have a degree by the time he is old enough to go OTR. Think about it. He won't get on with a decent OTR company until he is 23-25 anyway. Seven years down the road. Ever think about a medical field? Two year degree in nursing, X-ray tech, surgical aide, and a lot more to choose from. Decent pay, best bennies you will ever have is to work for a hospital. Medical fields will always grow. People are born, get sick and die daily. Just some options to think about.

 

I seriously take offense to this response. Trucking can be a great carreer, lifelong or otherwise and in reality NO carreer can be considered lifelong anymore. I'v driven Over the road for years, been driving for 12 total with some local. Been in the bsiness since I was a young teen. I'v never been out longer than it takes me to get to CA and back about 10 or 11 days. Usually home all weekends. YEs I know these days most the BIG companies consider otr as being out 2 or 3 weeks and that does suck but I'v never worked for them and I would not ever work for them.There are plenty of good companies out there.
I'm paid $25 day perdiem (for food!), $.43cpm plluse safety bonuses, longevity bonuses, chirstmas bonuses, three weeks vacation, average 2600 miles per week which is basicly a 4.5 day work week or less then I can work a day locally if I want. I do VERY WELL. So just because you have a bad ride doesn't mean the entire industry sucks and you sure shouldn't be discouraging this guy. Granted he needs to know what he's in for but don't discourage him.
Your time out will depend on the job you take. could be home couple time a week, once a week or once a month. Granted fresh out of driving school you will be looking at the longer strtches for a year.
DO you not mind Living in a truck? DO you not mind the possibility of not being there for friends, family, loved ones in an emergency?

If I had it to do over again I would have not had a house and just lived in my truck driving every mile I could and putting it in the bank. I have a friend (former employee actually) who did this and retired at 40yo being quite well off. I didn't do this. now I'm 33 and driving ever mile I can just to make ends meet with no savings but that's my spending habits and has nothing to do with the industry.

Good luck they say it but peple don't really understand it. But I'l say it again. It is a LIFESTYLE not a job

 

From a single man's perspective that would be OK to not have a home to save on the bills and put extra money back. The other poster's advice you said offended you. When he was talking about the price for being on the road and being away from family for so long. He has some valid points there. To a married driver with kids there is a bigger price to pay and I believe this is what the other poster was trying to explain.

 

You can save a lot of money, cause you won't have a lot of bills if your sigle.

 

Hey, I went the college route. Spent 20 years trying to build a good career in IT, only to get laid off every few years and have to start over, AGAIN. I'm sick of that ####. Knowing what I know NOW, I wish I'd have gone straight into trucking out of high school, even if I had to work local only, Class B until I turned 21/23.

The economy has changed, drastically. Most of what you'd go to "college" for is subject to outsourcing. Spend gobs of money to be saddled with payments on education loans to see your good job sent to India? Not a good plan. But I fell for the crap of everybody telling me I should go to college, also.

A better strategy is to pick a job that can NOT be outsourced, and pays relatively well, and offers decent benefits. THEN go to college, ONLY if college is required to get that job. And even then, only if you are SURE that you want to do the job.

Some good jobs to consider? How about pharmacist? Some positions can be outsourced (mail order), but there will always be a huge demand. The pay is incredibly high and good benefits. Other medical positions BESIDES doctor (most of your pay goes to malpractice insurance, so it's not all it's cracked up to be, anymore) or nurse (shortage is severe enough to make many remaining nurses QUIT). Like Radiologist, for a good example. Work those CAT scan thingies, something like that. Regular hours, incredibly high pay, good benefits, little stress. Can't be outsourced. Truck driver. Another good one, if you look at it as a lifestyle change. Hard to outsource driving jobs. -Dave

 

. You've still got a bit before you hit the minimum age (generally 25). If ya still got the bug in a few years Go for it. You'll have the initial cost of the school to pay off, but after that.... My advice would be to get into it with an eye towards saving $ to learn to do something else. It's as much a lifestyle as it is a job; and while you're on the road, you're not likely to have much of a life OTHER than being on the road.