Newbies why In The World Do You Want To Be A Trucker

Wow the reason I got in to driving was the rock star life on a poor mans budget nothing like party in LA on Friday than a week later in Miami then cross in to Mexico ohhh sweet Mexico best country in the world

 

Unfortunately, income in a lot of fields has either stayed stagnant or dropped since the 90's. It's not just trucking. Right now, doing what I'm doing as a mechanic pays almost exactly the same as guys with my current experience were getting back in the mid-90's'when I started. It's nowhere near 1500 a week, by the way. My wife's job, with two degrees, is in the same situation making what a similar position would have paid 20 years ago. Not all careers are like that, but too many of them are.
Also, you have to realize that 600 a week is still good money in places out here in the middle. A family of 3 or 4 can live off that if they manage their money halfway decent, especially in the smaller towns and rural areas. You have to be fine with used cars and cheap clothes, though... which is all I've known, really.

I'm not excusing 600 a week or even lower wages, or that people should settle for less without ever questioning it, but there is a reality that we deal with in this economy that is beyond our control, and we're having to adapt for the time being.
Hopefully, I can work my way out of the 600 range quickly if I play my cards right, but as a newcomer into the field, I'm not expecting too much. Of course I'd like to do better than that to start, but again, gotta be a realist. Several companies advertise 800+ for newbies, but after perusing the forums, I'll believe it when I see it.
Compared to a lot of things out there a person can do, that's not too shabby of a starting wage. Staying at that level long term wouldn't be ideal.

As for why I want to go into trucking, it's something I've always wanted to do. Dad drove a flatbed. Father-in-law drives a log truck. I like trucks.
I'm a nice enough guy, but a bit introverted which co-workers aren't always understanding towards. Sometimes they can be downright hostile about it, getting their feelings hurt because I don't want to chitchat about the weather or whatever. I like my solitude. I like to drive. I hate punching time cards. I hate sitting still or seeing the same building all day every day. I can barely live in the same house for more than a couple years without getting tired of it.
Speaking of wages, the nice thing about trucking is that it's not unheard of to make the same wage in dirt-cheap podunk rural places as you can in the pricier, more hectic big cities especially if you're doing regional or OTR.

 

For the money, the glory, and for the fun. Mostly for the money, now you know what we're gonna do when we get the money? We're gonna buy a new rig.




Smokey and the bandit was one reason I got into trucking. I have no regrets

 

Stability is the number one reason why I jumped into this industry. I do love to drive but honestly years ago I wouldn't have seen myself as a trucker. Starting a family at a young age changes everything and you must make the best decisions so that your family is taken care of. With the economy the way it has been for the last decade, you cannot name another career with minimal training to make decent money and to have the stability like in trucking

 

I'm not actually a trucker yet, but I thought I'd hop in here and also see if I can ask a question to all the newbies who are just starting their career. First, my reason for wanting to be a trucker is twofold: 1. I love to drive. I literally have put 100,000 miles on my 2011 gmc sierra since new (feb. 2011). The truck before that I put 200k+ in 6 years. I just feel at ease driving and enjoy spending my time that way. So much so that I go out of my way to find a reason to do it. 2. I can't work a desk/office job. I did that for a few years and it was the worst thing I ever did with my life. I was miserable and it literally made me depressed.

The question I wanted to ask others is: how hard is it to get a job with companies that offer training? I don't have a CDL and don't have the $5k or so that I would need to get one through private trucking school, so I'm wondering how hard it is to get on with one of the major carriers that offer driving school? I had a DWI in 2006, am I going to get disqualified for that? No tickets or otherwise since though. What are recruiters looking for in the interview? Are the reasons I gave above enough to satisfy them or are they looking for me to be motivated by money, advancement/status, etc.?

 

Have a search through the forums . You'll find plenty of 'answers' to these questions. Refine your searches, and take your time. A veritable treasure trove of info on here.

 

Me, I just love big trucks. Growing up my brother and I, on trips with the parents, would give the arm signal to big rig drivers on I-95 and get the biggest thrill when he would blast that air horn at us. I'm a grown man now and still stop at Malwart just to look at the rigs in the parking lot.

Sharing the blame is Tonka!

I'm pretty much a loner, no family to hold me back, and I love driving. And as previously posted, find waking up somewhere different each day exhilarating. Time to fulfill a dream.

 

I always blow the air horn for kids or women that give the arm gesture. I do it for adults sometimes when i feel like it lol, i myself get a thrill every time i blow the horn.

 

If ya love noise put a train horn in yer truck LOL! Not long ago I heard a truck layin on the horn just for fun as he descended the mountain road past our drive, out in the woods, no houses in sight, good place to fool around with the noisemaker.

I don't really wanna be a trucker. (What I prefer to do ain't gonna make money) But I know it's not a bad job, and it's the most logical thing to get into right now. I know with my skill set handling the truck is gonna be the easy part, I can back trailers and put em where I want em, I've learned to drive relaxed and still be very alert. Drove cross country several times in noncommercial vehicles, occasionally with long trailers and heavy loads. conforming to all the rules might be a challenge, considering I feel like a lot of it is being over regulated. I can step into the O/O paid for category right off the bat and work up rapidly, maybe have 2 going before many months elapse. I've always worked independently and can't bare the thought of working a steady job for set wages, much too boring. I've always worked most of the time for nothing, and an occasional day or few for anywhere from 20-100 an hour. Like the load I just took in last week, a days work and $1000. But the paid work is failing on me as I finish harvesting the trees on our property, (that was the last $1000 load I will ever haul to the mill, a few more at 5-700 range and that'll be it for the high grade timber, will have to wait 20-40 years for more to grow) so gotta do something else for awhile. Once I save enough $dough$ I wanna build a greenhouse and start growing winter vegetables, (that can be quite profitable) maybe build a powerplant which will take a bunch of money and a lot more experimentation, but that'll be my final retirement project. I've always intentionally kept my bills to nothing or next to it, and practiced living very cheap, so making a few thousand a month will be enough to make something happen fast. Besides, as a little boy I was always pushing trucks around in the dirt and making engine noise for them. I would quite enjoy sitting up there riding the road with a load part time. Once I get going on it I might just do it part time for a long time. Maybe trade off with another driver when I get tired of it, or have something else that needs doing, so I don't have an idle truck. RT