Question about the economy and changing careers

Most companies have a "no rehire policy" why if you quit a job with a company, or they fired you!!! Would you wanna go back? The DAC is a very good thing, that companies use poorly... Failing a drugscreen or leaving equipment on the side of a highway is basicly the only thing that can bar you from this industry...I am a member of DAC... I lease guys on all the time I got one guy that had over 50 jobs in 18yrs he has been with me a year now...It depends on the person,some people are not cut out for this job no matter how long they claim to have been in it...

 

Well, that's a good positive statement !

When the economy pisks up.... Hope in a truck !

 

Hmmm.....

Not that my opinion really means JACK, but it seems to me that she would stand to make more money than she is now, even as a beginner. She is currently GROSSING $380/wk as a local delivery driver at $9.50/hr. I think that even the most worthless brainless steering wheel holder can make more than that in a semi. I would imagine that she should be able to gross at LEAST $600/week with minimal driving since it appears that she is rather intelligent. Even at 2000 miles per week at .30/mi, she'd gross that, and some companies start newbies higher.

The only thing that makes me think again is that you have two teenagers at home who are ALMOST grown. Are they over the age of 18? If not, and you are single and have nobody to live with them while your gone, just wait til they turn 18, then turn them loose and get on the road.

The one thing you must realize is that this is not the glamour that it appears to be. Just driving on the "open road" is a rarity. Sitting in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and DC traffic will be enough to make you want to pull your hair out, then you get to pull into a pee-smelling truck stop and try to sleep after eating the "fried garbage" that you bought from inside. More fun things on the road:

Nasty NASTY public restrooms
Few choices for healthy food
Expensive ice for your cooler full of home-cooked food
Rude drivers who complain when you are trying to take your time to back in
Filthy mouths on the CB trying to pickup female drivers
That nasty smell in the back of the truck stops from drivers who are too #### lazy to go inside to do their business.
Lot Lizards waking you out of a dead sleep at 2:00am
Breakdowns
QC Messages telling you to stop idling..... when it's 10 degrees


Shall I go on?

Either way, I liked driving and hope to return to it some day soon.

 

like the others have said - right now ain't the time to change jobs.

"I am a single mother with two almost grown daughters living at home,"

if they're under 18 - who's going to baby sit them while you're gone? if they're 18 or over, why aren't they working and paying rent???

 

You haven't been reading much . Plenty of newbies get less than $.30 a mile and don't get anywhere near 2,000 miles a week .

 

I throw opposing viewpoints at RickG so often that it feels like I know the guy personally. This isn't one of those times. I talk to all the people I went to school with still. I am the only one making good money, because I landed a job driving trucks for the city and work with a friend at his law firm. Newbies are in a bad way right now and they are not getting the miles they need in most places that newbies go.

When I was at Trans-Am, I barely met anyone that was averaging better than $500 a week. I met plenty that were under $400 and losing their collectives ##### out there. Even on the cheap end you will spend $100 a week just to live out there. Probably more.

RickG is right, stay put if you can.

 

A student starting out today or with any company always has it rough for the first year or so.. You do the school thing.. BUT, when you are done there your still not making $$.. You get hired on w/ "mega carrier X" they put you through their student driver program.. usually about 1-2 months with a trainer.. You get paid .. but barely.. Usually you are given a salery.. like around $250 a week while training.. minus taxes, and the food and stuff your going to buy while you are on the road.. There is going to be practicaly NOTHING to send home!

Once you get your own truck and are solo.. Your still at the bottom of the pay scale.. The company will push you and brush off personal concerns, minor truck problems, and will fire you for just about anything they weant to.. Your on "probation" as far as they are concerned..

Your not going to make big bucks right out of school.. Lots of companies are laying off drivers.. Miles are being cut.. Loads are short and camping out in truckstops and terminals is common..

I'd wait for the economy to improve before taking the plunge.. It's not easy out here in the wonderful world of trucking..LOL

 

Oh, I've been reading, trust me. I know it's a mess now. I would certainly hope that at least there is a bump in miles in the next couple months, at least for freight like reefer. And personally, I dont think any driver, new or otherwise, should settle for anything less than .30. Yes, some are, but there are training companies paying .30.

Still, my biggest concern would be two MINORS at home alone. And as far as expenses on the road, I only hit less than $100 one week when running flatbed, and I smelled like it. But it was the first week back out and I had a cooler full of food from home, so I didnt buy much other than coffee, cigs, gum, maybe a bottled water, and showers (only two, which would explain the stench).

 

There's nothing wrong with opposing views . That's the whole purpose of forums . When well presented opposing views are stated everybody learns . It would be best though if views were legitimate and verifiable and childish attacks were omitted .