Looking for advice

With an English degree, of any sort, whether lit, education, creative writing, etc. will at least get you a look in positions that are writing intensive or center around the editing and revision of writing. One that I always seem to remember is the army of English majors out there writing those instruction manuals and warning manuals for products. They may never get read, but, people get paid to write them.

For example, I hold a minor in what, rather than name, I will say deals with the intricacies of television, radio, etc. Just call it a communication minor, though that isn't entirely accurate. Somebody has to edit the script at the news station.

Of course, teaching is always a possibility if you obtain a teaching certificate. Something I never pursued because I knew I'd never have the patience to teach children.

It's also a good undergraduate degree to have if you plan to enter law-school at some point. Contrary to some people's beliefs, you don't have to or need to be pre-law to go to law school. Chemistry majors, English majors, art history majors, you'll find them in law-school. English sets you up well because of a (presumably) higher level of reading comprehension and writing ability.

Back to trucks:

You're right. Not every day is going to be like that, and not every company is going to be like that. But, the question remains, what will your reaction be?

 

I am not here to recruit anyone which is why I mentioned other companies too, but this is flat out not true.

Stevens does offer a lease, bit everyone has the option of saying no. I know this for a fact because I am one of them that said no. I was asked one time just before I went solo with them. I emphatically told them no, that I was not interested in renting a truck from them, and with the exception of the occasional random QC message mentioning their special that month, I have never heard about it again . I average 2800 miles weekly with them as a Company Driver.

Pay attention when you see our trucks, all of the Lease and O/O trucks, say Contractor Division on them, the ones that do not are all company drivers... about half the fleet.

That said, the company works for me, my experience is unique as is everyone else's, many factors go into the results one gets so others have had different experiences. I can only speak for mine.

 

I dropped out of college and have no experience in anything other than food service or unarmed security. What the hell could be so bad that I would quit? Come home and hope to find something that pays a little over 10 dollars an hour? I don't know how old you are, but some of the old timers in this thread don't seem to understand how todays job market is. Apparently, 30 years ago, a guy in my situation could just get a job relatively easily that could support a whole family. Jobs like that are far and few between now with a lot of competition for any spots available. That is, the ones that haven't moved to Mexico or China. Yet. People seem to talk about how harsh the trucking industry can be while thinking the rest of the business world is still in the mid 20th century. That's while I'll support making 35K and putting up with crap for A year from a job with the minimal training trucking requires. Tell me how to do better than that and maybe I'll just go jump on that.

 

But, Wanderingaimlessly and Chase05, for what it's worth, and it is worth mentioning:

I didn't pursue a college degree out of some desire to seek some office job or anything of that sort. Trucking wasn't a fall-back profession for me after nothing turned up post-graduation hunting for a job.

Trucking was always what I was going to do.

My parents raised me telling me I would always earn a four-year degree. Regardless of my profession, I would earn a college degree. And I did. I've always had a talent for reading and writing, and it was a degree that interested me more than others. That is why I hold a BA in English Literature.

 

Ah, that makes sense. I always feel bad for the people that go for these majors that have extremely minor to nearly non existant hiring careers. Sure, it's great to have a degree, just having a 2 to 4 year degree gets you some jobs, but what are you gonna do with Political Science? History? ENGLISH (not picking on you, this is just a terrible thing to try to get a job with)?

 

I had a job in the 90's that was paying me a Salary and Bonus and it was averaging $45k a year, now if I did the small emath to divide out how much I made over hour it was in that $3 - 4 dollar range too as In was putting in around 90 per week often, $70 in thenslownseason, and then there was the hour each way commute to consider, so add another 12 - 14 a week depending bow many days I worked that week.

Trucking is not for everyone and has many unique challenges, some take to it some don't. I don't get paid by the hour, I get paid by the mile so all that figuring to redifine how I look at my earnings is a waste of time, it just puts the same number in a different context. It is still the same bottom line. With my carrier, I have very few loads below 1,000 miles and most are between 1,500 and 2,000 so Most of my time is actually on the road and not sitting in shippersaand receivers. Yes there is she of that, but a lot more is spent driving.

Once again, everyone's experience is unique.

 

For most of the liberal arts majors, you either have to go after a job that is tangentially related, teach, or go after a terminal degree (PhD) to teach at the collegiate level.

Or, law school. Believe it or not, law school is one of the easier things to get student loans for. The general assumption on the bank's part is that it will get you into a high paying profession and loans will be repaid. It's getting through law school that is the hard part.

And, in all honesty, if I chose to get out of trucking, I'd probably go and earn a JD and practice law.

 

Look at truckstop parking lots; you see very few tankers or flatbeds sitting there. Get the tanker/hazmat endorsements, TWIC, passport, then you won't have to start out at poverty wages. Start your career with tanker or flatbed. When you start the application process, ignore any "experience required", and apply anyway.