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

Hey Greylink. Judging by the way you write, and the quality of your thoughts, I have no doubt you have what it takes to obtain a college degree. As far as trucking goes, or any other path you choose to take in life, it's just a matter of what's on your 'bucket list'.

 

Trust me when I tell you that trucking is not an ideal industry for right brained individuals. I get that you enjoy being on your own and don't want to be near your family. But if you are truly a right brained person, you're going to constantly feel like a stranger in a strange land in trucking. I won't elaborate here because truckers get offended too easily when you talk about such topics. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk privately. The bottom line is there are plenty of other trades out there which can make you decent living and which don't require a degree and I encourage you to investigate them fully before you consider trucking as an option.

 

I'll chime in myself here and repeat going along with the vocational-tech certification in any given field.
I dabbled in general ed courses off and on over the years myself and can highly relate to the "math-block".
After working security for a few years, I too ventured into the trucking world after hearing all the usual success stories about it.
It's been eight years since I stepped through these doors.
While I did get an academic student loan paid off thanks to one trucking job, I'm attempting to keep myself in this just so I could get moved out of state and into a driving position where I could work my way out of it once and for all.

After that, I'll get back on my regular track and start working towards a tech-vocational certification that interests me.

The way I see it, as long as you don't have kids or some complicated relationship also running your life in circles, you'll always be able to pick back up where you think you left off.

 

OH HELL NO....Don't even think about it...

 

Ok, my 2 cents that might make some sense. Think about getting a job with UPS on the loading dock and going to school in a major you enjoy. They will pay you and help you get your CDL, and you can work PT while going to school. Then if school doesn't work out, you have your "foot in the door" for one of the best driving jobs there is.

 

Trucking can be a good career choice. It isn't a profession that everyone can or is willing to do. Pay is around $30-35,000 your first year. Your options are somewhat limited until you get a year or two of experience behind you. After you get some experience then you can go pretty much anywhere you want. Your income should be over $40-45,000 after the second year. There are some specialized areas where you can earn in excess of $120,000 as a company driver. It will take you several years to get to that point and most never achieve that level of income in this business as a company driver. $50,000-75,000 is achievable, but it does take time.

Wifi is available at most of the major trucking chains for a fee. I have had a laptop with an air card for years. The down side to Wifi is that it is only available at the truck stop. An air card can be used anywhere that you have a signal. It has been rare that I could not get on line with my Sprint card. I pay about $65/month including sales tax and all their little fees. I would encourage you to do something novel. Rather than spending so much time online, find other truckers and strike up a conversation. You might be surprised at what you can learn, especially starting out. We seem to be losing the art of conversation in this country. I am not suggesting that you give up getting on line, but it can be good to have a conversation with other drivers. It is getting hard to even hear anyone talk on the CB.

 

I didn't read the whole thread, but based on your first post here's my resonance.

If you can't get through a 4 year degree at a state school what makes you think your going to do any better in this industry? What do you think this is easy? It's not a leisurely ride home on the weekend with someone else paying the bill. This job is hard, really hard.....

Get your frigging degree, then if you want to step up to something a little more serious consider trucking.

Trucking has been a great life for me, but learning how to back a trailer is harder then any undergraduate course your ever going to take.

Finish it and then come on over and pay off all those student loans.

 

SIGH!!! Right brain-left brain.... here we go with the psycho-babble crap again. Gremlin old son, I'm not offended, I'm just tiredof the crap like this that "educated people" swallow in a vain attempt to feel themselves "special" and "different" than the rest of us "lesser beings". It's GARBAGE.

Trucking is a huge trade (one of the largest and most diverse) that is full of thousands of different people. There are all kinds of types, personalities and makeups. Hellsbells, we're a microchosm of the whole dang world. Over the years I've trucked with some of the brightest people that ever were. I've worked alongside some of the most dangerous people you'll ever meet. I've managed to find a level of mutual respect with all of them.

By contrast I've also known people with many degrees who were some of the most ignorant and miserable people on the earth. People that I would not invite into my home under any circumstances.

Truckers are not a "class" or a "type".... they're just plain old folks who can sometimes amaze you with the depth of their intelligence. We'll be around long after the "smart folks" wind up in a padded cell snarling and snapping at a world they can never make fit their ideal.

Just relax and enjoy the ride.

 

I like monkeypunchers idea! Whatever u do get a qualification at something, truck driving isn't hard,it's boring! once you get some experience behind the wheel they are no harder than an automobile to drive, the hard part is the crap u gotta put up with and the fact you're responsible for everything even if you're not! If college isn't for you then you're the best person to judge that, its not for everyone, doesn't mean you're dumb, far from it, at least u got the brains to figure out it's not for you, a cdl is a good thing to have, its a qualification in itself and great to have it to fall back on or to do as a part time job