Negativities. People trying to talk me out of driving a truck.

The general public has a very negative opinion of truckers. Some of it justified, most of it's not. I sat behind a desk in a suit and tie running my own company for 30 years and managing employees that sometimes drove me nuts. I sold my business and retired for 5 years but was very bored. Kids are grown, wife does her own thing and I didn't want to sit around waiting to die so I started trucking. Most people I know said "You're doing WHAT?" I smile and tell them that I love it and sorry that I didn't get into it sooner. Yes there are some real slobs and a-holes out here, but they are the exception, not the norm.

 

I totally had people trying to talk me out of it when I decided to go get my CDL. Trucking is not viewed as a sexy job. The reason why people talk a lot of negatives about it is because they only talked to negative truck drivers. I'm in my ninth year and this is for the most part a very good experience for me. Don't worry about what everybody thinks. Once they see how happy you are, all of that will calm down.

 

These images are the things the bashers don't know about trucking. You get the greatest television show on earth: Mother Nature herself

 

Watch out for the ' negative' souls in this business .... When someone is saying something
or defining something ' negatively ' they are announcing to the world they are just not getting what they want .

Figure out what YOU want and then go from there .... try not to let others cause you to stumble

So then what do you want ?
Money ? The solitude ? The ever changing view of the road ?

If its money then accept that it doesn't pay all that well in most cases
( I consistently hover around 52K a year , much much less when
i first started - low 30's iirc )

Its not a glamorous job , but it does have its own rhythm
once you become accustomed to it . Weather can be a mess
in the winter

IMO... The trick with ANY job is simply this .... Carry as little personal
debt as possible ( in know many drivers who have NONE and simply
drive around and each week , and with the exception of food cost put their income
in savings ) .. after all your work and hard effort have something
to show for your labors at the end of the day .

Work all your days and have nothing to show for it and you will be one unhappy human

 

Awesome post!

 

I’ve had people say it would be a waste of time, or I am too smart to be trucking. I make more money and live a better life than all of them so I don’t care. For the most part people love that I am a truck driver and after awhile usually ask me on how they can become one too.

 

I've been in the trucking business for over fifty years. I've done other things for a living but I always came back to trucking. If I had to do it over again I would without hesitation.
If you want to get into trucking then just do it. If you find out it's not what you thought it would be or if you don't like it you can always quit.
If you don't try it you might spend the rest of your life wishing you had.
There's a wealth of information available to you on TTR. If you have a question of any kind there are people here who can and will help you. I doubt that there's a problem or a question that somebody here hasn't dealt with first hand and found a solution for.
Best of luck to you.

 

This is my position too but I am the guy who is negative because I don't want people to do a couple things, one is take on the idea they can make big bucks and lose more than just a job, and the other is to understand that this is not a last ditch job, because much more than money is at stake when you are on the road.