Should I become a trucker

I think you said it best. Good thing I don't have any of those things at home, or I would be screwed. But the problem is, what about people like myself who have no degree, but can't quit trucking to go to school because there's no local jobs? I suppose that's where driving a day cab or a spotter may come in handy. Go to school part time at least, right? It's always good to keep your options open and not go through life blindly, caught up in a routine. Especially in trucking, where the years go by so fast.

 

At 22 you are too young to give up on life. As a first year trucker you will be hard pressed to make $30k. $40k is out of the question. I have been through the ND oil patch quite a few times. It is an all around brutal life - the weather is extreme, the work is physically demanding, housing is "iffy" (pay through the nose or live in a company trailer with a room the size of a prison cell), and your social life will be non-existent.

Consider going back to school and targeting your education (Public Admin, Health Admin, etc) or get into the best B school you can and get an MBA. If you really want to play high stakes, borrow your way into Law School. So many people have been scared away from Law School that a shortage of lawyers is forecasted. Frankly, I see our society becoming more litigious by the day. As you learned in Micro Econ, when demand goes up and supply is static prices can only do one thing!

Good luck, at anything but driving a truck.

 

Me thinks you sound a bit disgruntled and had some poor experiences in the industry. A first-year driver can easily attain 30K even with the mega carriers. Many low-pay mega carriers will start a driver at .28/mile. Figure 2500 miles per week at .28 equals $700/week x 52 weeks = $36,400. Even at 2000 miles per week the driver is near $30K.

And $40K isn't even close to being out of the question. There are numerous ways a first-year driver can bank $30k. Will the majority do it? Nope. But that's only because they didn't do their homework, necessary research, have the necessary background (clean license, criminal record, endorsements, work history, etc.) but please, PLEASE stop telling people it's "out of the question." I came out of the gate making more than that my first year. Several drivers on this forum come out of school making more than that so it can be accomplished and IS accomplished often, just not the majority of the time.

Not sure why you would wish the op good luck "at anything but driving a truck." You may be surprised at how many drivers here have a college degree but are driving trucks, some through necessity and others by choice. I love my job and wouldn't give it up for anything. I had a successful career (25 years) in the media, retired and came back to trucking (I drove for a few short years part-time to help pay for college) for my second career. As with anything else in life, luck has little do with it. It's all in what you make of it and put in to it. You can take a dead-end position that sucks and stay in it forever and complain and whine or you can use that job that sucks as a stepping stone to move on to a better driving position in the future. There are all kinds of decent (and downright "excellent") paying jobs in trucking. For every horrible paying gig there is a good paying gig. If you're not aware of them you're either not qualified, not looking in the right places or don't know how to locate them but please don't toss the baby with the bathwater.

 

Give it a shot. I just got my CDL at the age of 56 and just wanna spend my twilight years before retirement on the road. This is something that you gotta earn like your degree, it isn't gonna be handed to you, and that's what makes it special. Good luck.

 

"You will still be making $60k-$70k You will still be working 60-70 hours a week, working most weekends, paid peanuts if at all for holidays & vacations, no sick or personal days"

Bull ####.

 

Thanks, 900 and sorry for taking so long to reply back. I didn't see this post til now.....