Is it possible to be a trucker and have a side business with computers?

Have to give the OP some credit he is asking for advice , and not going when he get's it even though it might not be what hw wants to hear.

 

Yes you can have a side business working on computers but will you have the time,not always.Trucking is a very demanding job.When your dispatcher wants you to pick up a load,you had better be ready to head out and not be working of someones computer otherwise you're going to have one unhappy dispatcher as well as your company.I would drive for awhile then see if you can find the time for your second business.

 

why not create programs for the trucking industry, get rid of those lazy pointless "load planners" hell maybe you can even cut out dms, you'd make millions. you'd think they would have some kind of algorithm which preplans the load to the nearest driver that also computes his hos availability, they don't have anything like that as far as i know and the load planners have their heads so far up their ### and they cant account for every driver

 

I'll have to agree with you on those lazy load planners.I don't think the industry really needs them as well as many other depts.Heck there are many companies that does'nt have ld planners and are doing real well.

 

And remember that any compensated work must be shown on line 4, so no 10/34 hr resets or it would be falsifying the logs.

 

Can you have a computer business while also driving trucks? Absolutely.

So you may be asking yourself why I've said yes when everyone else has said no. Simple. Everyone else who responded fell into the classic trap of assuming that by driving a truck, meant driving a truck over the road. There is more to trucking than just OTR and there are lots of drivers (myself included) who have never gone OTR.

There are lots of local driving jobs that would give you a schedule which would allow time to work a second business. But you need to realize that this would have to be a very long term goal because those kinds of local jobs are usually only open to those with experience. For that matter getting just about any trucking job requires you to be at least 21 and tons more require you to be at least 23. So you might have to slug it out in the trenches a while (even if you're driving local) before you can find a job that will allow the kind a schedule you would need to do what you want to do.

But that's only part of equation. The other part is figuring out how much of a market is going to exist for freelance computer techs in 5 or 10 years when you've got enough age and experience to get a local driving job that will allow a schedule which is conducive to also working as a computer tech.

Speaking as someone who worked as just such a tech, I would have to say the future of that industry does not look bright at all. I personally think the heyday of the computer tech industry has come and gone. At least as far as local hands-on bench techs go. Same with the home PC industry itself for that matter. Ipads, tablets and smart phones are steadily eating away at the home pc market. And while those devices do break and do require knowledgeable techs, they don't require nearly as much local hands on technician time as traditional computers do. IOW most of those support issues can be resolved remotely or by trained in-store sales people as opposed to actual trained technicians. And as anyone who has ever called for remote tech support can tell you, it is far cheaper for companies to go overseas for their remote support staff and so, most of the do.

We are already seeing a decline in demand for trained technicians. And I predict that in 10 years we will be in a situation where the demand is even lower and thus the job pool will be flooded with tons of unemployed experienced techs who will all be competing for a relative handful of available jobs.

This is not to say that you won't be able to achieve your goals. You well might. But from where I'm sitting, the odds are not likely to be in your favor for quite a while so you would do well to plan accordingly.

 

Most people would be really skeptical about leaving their computer with a person who doesn't have an actual shop they could return to. For all they know, they hand over their precious laptop with the understanding you'll add a video card and upgrade the RAM and as soon as they turn around you could take off from the truck stop.

 

I'll tell ya young man over the road trucking these days is not an attractive option.If you have good computer skills I advise you to stick with it.I would rather be a night manager at 7-11 than be an over the road trucker.If you are set on driving try and find a company that you can be home at night just to see if the stress of driving is for you.
Just think about the last time you took a long trip in your car,say 200-300 miles and look back on how you felt when you got to where you were going.
Now think how you will feel when you do 500-700 miles a day,every day,then add in the aggravation with shippers,receivers,dispatchers,miserable people at the truck stops,getting lost,and trust me you will.
I know I sound negative but trucking is not what it used to be.I remember when there were Truck Stops and not Travel Centers,where there would be one big round table in the middle of the restaurant that was for "Truckers Only" where you would sit around with total strangers and recount your days adventures.
Truckers used to be the heroes of the highway,now they are a bunch of hodlems wearing black tee shirts with stupid sayings on them.
What ever you decide to do with your life I wish you the best of luck.

 

I did pretty well with it when I did it. Granted I wasn't trying to do it from a truck at truck stops while also running OTR. That sort of model simply wouldn't work. But like I said, everyone seems to forget that there is more to trucking than just OTR.

The bottom line is, I made a good living fixing computers. I never had a shop and I never had anyone blink an eye when I needed to take their equipment back to my basement for bench work.

 

After the discussion on your thread, kid, it it was me, I'd say, "I'll be with computers until I get my CDL and a company to drive for." And then I might use my computer degree as a back fall.