Questions from a noob

You're young, but let me just say it...there is NOTHING wrong with honest work. Nothing. You want something? Work for it. It takes effort and determination, but if you want it....go get it. You sound like a good guy, and WHO you are is more important than what you do.

 

With the demand for nurses and in the medical field particularly, why not pursue nursing? You can pick and choose where and when you want to work, literally.

 

Was my first thought after reading his post, you said it well

 

The problem with nursing right now is most work for temp services. Can still make a good living though. It's cheaper for nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, etc. to use temp nurses.

 

Yes, but it's so much fun.
I never discourage anyone from a trucking career. If it was so horrible I wouldn't have done it for 30 years. It's a great career!

 

A lifestyle the OP has been enjoying for years according to his posts. I now a few nurses, some travel from one contract job to another, all over the USA, usually 13 week stints. Many come here to Alaska as a way to see parts of this state, some stay. Alaska has a particularly high demand for nurses et al.

 

I came to trucking in Jan. '03 after being in a white collar career since '93. I was quite naïve and had to learn some harsh lessons very quickly However, and not to brag, but I can be very tough and determined when I need and want to be. One thing my trainer told me was that he had never had a student with the stamina I had.
Based on some of the OP's questions, I don't think he is cut out for it. I think some of the hardships faced by trucker needs to be communicated to him by us. Also, as many of you know, and I have stated, I have less than 1 1/2 years OTR. That being said, I don't mean to offend some of you guys who have been doing this for decades. Maybe he will be OK if he chooses to do it, but he needs to understand just how unfair and difficult it will be, especially if he trains with a mega carrier and commits to a year.

 

The cost of getting a CDL will be between $4 - $5K, depending on where you go. Since you are broke, you will need to enroll in a company cdl program and pay it off by working for them for a year at a reduced pay rate of 20 cents a mile instead of the usual 30 cents a mile. So your pay would drop to about $4 per hour...see following comment on hours and pay.

Truck drivers have a lot of waiting time and hence unpaid time. Basically you are away from home for 144 hours and you are paid for only the time you are driving, so you are paid about $5 - $7 per hour for those 144 hours. There is no overtime pay, but there is overtime.

In Nursing you are paid $25 per hour, with overtime and you work about 40 hours a week. But a degree in Nursing means very little without the license. Why did you not take the licensing exam?

 

Henderson has a guaranteed minimum weekly paycheck figured at 2100 miles @ .38 cpm.
One of their new drivers posted they start out at .38 cpm.
Their website isn't up to date.