I'm a potential college dropout, should trucking be a plan 'B' for me?

You're getting some sound advice here, trucking is great for a while but after a couple of years I garuntee you'd wish you chose a different path. How about learning a trade as a truck mechanic or technician? It would open doors for you if you decided later on trucking is what you want and then if you didn't like it at least you'd have something to fall back on or at least you could then drive part time, alot of guys do that here. You are still young, now is the time to shape your future, you've got plenty of time, it's all about keeping your options open, I know I wish I did!

Food for thought: I know a guy driving in Australia, he's working for a mining company, he earns almost $4000 a week, thing is he is a qualified mechanic, he couldn't have got to aus without his qualification Eventhough he has no desire to work as a mechanic, Get yourself a qualification (whatever it is! Truck/automotive electronics would be my choice given the way truck design is headed and the lack of decent technicians) you've plenty of time, Truck driving is a dead end job and it's not a healthy lifestyle!

 

Ok best to say is. You lose contact Do not expect to get home often or on time. The life expectancy of a long term driver is 62: 50%smoke. 67% are overweight. Divorce rate is double that of general population. Hard to meet a special person out on the road. You will be treated like dirt. Companies love to nickle and dime drivers. Rare is a reasonable benefit package. Recruiters will misslead. You are expected to sit in the truck for days between loads without pay and without idling. In a sticky dangerous truckstop. And the treatment you can expect at shippers and receivers is terrible. They want you to wait 2-24 hours to be loaded or unloaded without access to a restroom.. you have to keep track and record every minute of your life. There are more regulations you are goverend by than a Doctor. You are severly handicapped where you can drive. You can damage the truck easily. You can be fined thousands of dollars for a wrong turn. If you are lucky you will find parking at the filthy truckstop. And you may make 20kthe the first year you drive. Ok i have depressed my self i tthink i quit

 

Dayyyaaaammmm man, where the heck you working???? I'm 65 this year, I smoke and I'm healthier than a goodly percentage of the "young turks" I see every day. Sheet, I often meet drivers 10-15 years older than me who are still " keeping it between the navigational beacons" . No, I don't run like I was younger and dumber. I don't earn the "max wages" anymore but y'know what? I don't need to cause I ain't partying and blowing every cent no more either.

No, trucking isn't the "coolest" or "most lucrative" trade around. But look around son; there's alot of those "professionals" knocking on closed doors these days 'cause their "profession" decided they were "too old" or "not current enough" or just flat out disappeared overseas. Pretty sad when you're grey haired and wondering where the "corporate ladder" that you was climbing disappeared to.

Trucking, on the other hand, has kept me pretty much steadily employed for the past 39 years (come Sept). I've seen and done things that an office monkey doesn't even know exists.

And I do have a "degree" that I'm very proud of .... D F T D !!!!

 

You should try to get your degree or something to fall back on, but, if you think you may enjoy trucking then give it a shot, there is money to be made.. The guys that are miserable, hate their life, and complain about not making any money have no one to blame but themselves! So take all the complaining about how bad it is with a grain of salt..

 

you sum my feelings up exactly, except i did take college seriously. trucking of today sucks

 

Thank You! You nailed that right on the head. Some of these guys complaining are Steering wheel pullers who will complain no matter what the situation is. I bet you give these complainers on here $3.00 per mile per load and they will still find something to complain about.

 

for reasons unknown,i have been thinking about this thread and was eager to log back on. The word comprehension,as pertaining to what is read and absorbed in this forum/on this thread,hit me.better late than never,eh.the OP has been inundated w/so many #### good replies and thoughts and experiences that i am hoping he has benefitted and makes a sound decision. Even if the decision is not a competent one,the OP certainly has plenty to base it on.We have each passed it on and have attempted to help a (potential)driver.that's just plain cool and what it is supposed to be like.I did not have access to something like this back when i was in a similiar situation,well in excess of 20 years ago, yet i don't feel as if i made too horrible of a decision.Best of luck to you OP.

this has been a great thread.

 

The State of Ga. has the Hope Scholarship,a grant,that is given to students that attend schools and Ga. has community colleges that actually have truck driving academies.perhaps your state has something similiar or you can attend a state run school and exit not too far in debt.THAT would be a WIN/WIN by allowing you to drive for almost whomever you desire w/out the indentured servant feeling and the total cost should be much lower.I am sharing an option.Times have changed as i was literally just put in a truck and let go.that's another story-

regardless,keep this thread going as i am thinking most of us are interested in just what decision you make and perhaps how you arrived at it.


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