Switching career to trucking, need advice

Probably the only way you get 2 days off a week is to burn out your 70 hour clock in 5 days and then take a 34 hour reset. So technically a day and a half.
Or if you have a dedicated account you might be off 2 days a week.

If you take a month off for vacation you will probably have to clean out and turn your truck in, since they won't want the truck sitting idle for that long.
Then when you come back from vacation you will have to be reassigned a different truck. You might have to wait extra time to get that truck if none are available when you come back from vacation.

 

Get a couple years experience OTR, then work for a temp. agency so you work when you want to.
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Once you have some experience, you can take extended vacations and have no problem going right back to work when you return, A temp agency is best for that.
Myself and some others on here have done that. I know two truckers that liked Beijing so much they just stayed there. Another one goes to Africa and a few more go to Thailand & Philippines.
Personally, I'm gung-ho China because it's cheap and practically crime free.
These are just some ideas you can think about for the future.
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At the top of the New Driver forum here the first pinned post is new driver questions to ask.

You will be working about 70 hours per week, legal maximum. If you do that much work you will maybe get 34 hours off, legal minimum.

If you work regional you can mostly work Monday-ish to Friday or Saturday-ish. If you work OTR you might only get home every few weeks (2-8).

The type of freight (dry van, reefer, flatbed, tanker) could be more/less common in your area than in other areas.

Some freight, like reefer, could have lots of waiting times & appointment times in the middle of overnight period.

Some companies pay a higher CPM (cents per mile) but not drive as many miles per week. Just because a company offers higher CPM doesn't mean you make more money if you drive fewer miles.

Some companies have very strict rules & lots of micromanagement. Other companies offer less of both.

Finding a good fit between driver & company is like buying shoes. If the shoes don't fit you, they aren't good for you even if the shoes are good for another. You have to talk to current working drivers at a company and have them describe the pay & conditions. Recruiters are car salesman, not experts on the company. They may tell you anything you want to hear or not know an answer you ask.

Most newbies ask almost no questions, pick poorly, quit quickly. DON'T DO THAT. DO THE RESEARCH.

 

I seldom work 70 hours or need a 34. Mainly because I like to average my hours so I can run recap hours.
All in the trip planning and choosing the right loads.

I am regional, but I run the same as when I was OTR. I stay out for 4-5 weeks and then get home for a few days.
Others choose to get home more often, so...
And the pay is better as a regional driver, but as you said the miles are also fewer because of the shorter runs.

And while my company does have some strict rules, I do not feel micromanaged very often. I pretty much do as I please, while trying to stay within the boundaries of their rules.

 

If you currently live in Sacramento -- it's likely that you live within 100 miles of a Dot Transportation terminal:

Driver Training & Orientation | Drive For DTI | Dot Transportation, Inc.

They are easily one of the best refrigerated carriers to join, & work for -- & they hire drivers that are new to the industry.

Their website also has a listing of CDL schools where they like to recruit:

Schools - Drive For DTI | Dot Transportation, Inc.

-- L

 

Aw, there's the love for ya',,, enjoy it now, because once out on your own, others may not be so helpful. As the resident wet blanket, I'm required to say, 50% of new applicants quit in the 1st 6 months, and 25% of the remaining don't make it a year, so the odds are clearly against you. You can do it, however most quit because they didn't make that $95,000 bucks the 1st year the recruiter claimed. Trucking is a seniority thing, you won't get the best loads as a newbie, and rightly so. Switching careers is a big deal, and you'll find, truckers still look out for one another, I don't think there's a "Web Designers Report",,,

 

LTL is 5 days a week, home daily. Thise days can be long, +/-12 hours, but you sleep in yoir own bed, have weekends off, and at least a little time each day to live like a normal person. Some hire inexperienced drivers, so keep looking.

With a year's experience you can go to one of the USPS contractors who sometimes have bids that have you work 4 days a week or 3 on 3 off. Theee also tend to be long shifts, so you'll be at 40 to 48 hours a week and between $30 and $40 an hour. Won't make you rich but may give you the work-life balance you want, or time for a side hustle if you're careful about HOS rules.