sent my company a drunk "nasty" email and they still want me to come back , should

As you say, and from what we have all read, "I love driving", "I can drive all day long", "I always wanted to drive a truck", "I have no family so I can stay out for weeks at a time", and the list goes on and on.

They all want to drive, but once they get thru schooling, then with a trainer, they think that things should all be by the book. They think that everything is peaches and cream while in school. They are most likely never been away from home more than say a sleep over at a friends house.

They have all the things at home they take for granted, like a bed, shower, refrigerator, stove, toilet, barbershop, pizza parlor, friends and cable tv.

Then they get with the trainer. The trainer puts the screws to them, that he/she is NOT their mother, and the newbies just don't like that. They want to be coddled, and lead by the hand. They want the life they had at home, but find that to do the laundry, they must stay with the machine, lest their clothes be stolen. They must wait their turn for a shower, or how about a toilet stall that is not only clean, but actually has toilet paper.

They see that trucking is indeed a lifestyle that is hard, hell being in the Army may be a cake walk, compared to the first year of trucking. So when they cannot get their way, they cry a river of crocodile tears, that fall on my deaf ears. If trucking, the lifestyle of trucking, the mental and physical demands of trucking were actually that easy, then why do even seasoned vets like me for example want out after I have put in my 26 years now.

Some seasoned vets get out sooner of course, but I nary hear a whimper about it. We all got into this industry for whatever reasons, I got into and decided to stay as I am not a quitter per se, as I quit school at 16, and got into something else, then into trucking. It is true, quit high school and you'll always be a quitter. Once I got my GED, I put my foot down regarding at least, the direction in my life. When I quit a driving job, it was for more money, that's what I looked for, but I stayed in this industry, vowing to NOT QUIT the industry I chose.

Today's youth, want everything handed to them, including a paycheck, with NO DUES to pay, suck up and git-it-done.

Many of today's newbies sicken me and many other long time vets, I am sure. Put one in a foxhole, bombs bursting in mid-air, and I'll bet dollars to donuts, they will quit and go AWOL, as the life of the military would be too much as well.

I feel absolute NO sympathy for newbie cry-baby, never did, never will.

But they "always wanted to drive, or like driving all day long".

This ain't your mommy's mini van, KIDS, this is the REAL WORLD of trucking.~!!

 

I too see many uninformed and ill-prepared young people in and around the trucking industry. However. I want to point out that a few bad apples don't spoil the whole batch. It's not good thinking to generalize an entire generation based on the actions of the few you know personally, enough to judge. What about "judge not, lest ye be judged?" Think about it. Last, young people have a lot of enthusiasm, and make choices that don't work out for them, frequently. Nobody knows the future, after all, and today's bright idea can be tomorrow's sad sorrow for anyone. Let's be honest and look in the mirror a bit. This forum is judgemental and critical, quick to place fault and blame. Always on somebody else, I have noticed. Very few responders come out with any fault or error of their own. Maybe this isn't the place for that, I don't know. Like, who among us has never complained, shipper, consignee, DOT, dispatch, management, we all do at least once in a while. That's why drivers change companies all the time. So, does that give us a reason to point a finger at someone else? I think not, and I encourage young people to give it a try, eyes wide open, expectations left at home. BTW, who says new drivers come from a nice, stable middle class home? I don't see that as valid, whatsoever.

 

No one is making movies like "Over the Top" anymore, you'd think that disillusioned people of dreams of the open road would be out of the market. I think people are looking at the industry as a high demand, moderate paying gig, at least on paper.

Get into the headaches, the stress, and lifestyle, they question whether or not a construction or other trade is worth getting into, factor in their age and if they are willing to go back to school, you might get a lot of drivers just quitting all together. Those who don't have the mobility will stick around, put up with it, but maybe never really love their job.

The job is important, trucks bring everything we need to all parts of the country, at least find peace of mind in that, you might not always get recognized for doing it, but it's gotta count for something.